Investigating the bidirectional relationships between social and emotional learning and academic outcomes among refugee students

This study investigates bidirectional relationships between Syrian refugee children’s social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and academic performance in an education support program in Lebanon. Using data from a cluster randomized control trial with 2,757 students who completed performance-based academic assessments and reports of their SEL skills from 131 teachers, we examine bidirectional associations between academic and five teacher-observable SEL skills/behaviors: Working Memory Functioning, Inhibitory Control Functioning, Prosocial Behavior, Hyperactivity & Externalizing Behavior, and Emotional Distress & Internalizing Behavior. Controlling for child-, teacher-, household risk-, and site-level covariates, multilevel modeling revealed that Working Memory Functioning uniquely stood apart from other SEL domains: start-of-year teacher-reported Working Memory Functioning predicted end-of-year academic performance, and start-of-year academic performance predicted end-of-year teacher-reported Working Memory Functioning. No other SEL skills demonstrated such bidirectional associations. Start-of-year academic performance also negatively predicted end-of-year teacher-reported Emotional Distress. Findings highlight the distinct and central role of Working Memory Functioning in academic learning, suggesting that easier-to-collect academic performance data may serve as an indicator of SEL skills that may be difficult to assess sans strong teacher–student relationships. Further, they highlight the utility of teacher-reported SEL assessments in resource-constrained contexts, calling attention to bidirectional developmental pathways when supporting children’s holistic well-being.