A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Digital Social and Emotional Learning Program for Adolescents: Effects on Social-Emotional Functioning and Academic Achievement
A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Digital Social and Emotional Learning Program for Adolescents: Effects on Social-Emotional Functioning and Academic Achievement
This study evaluated the Who Are You (WAY) program, a 10-week online social and emotional learning program designed for adolescents. The program aims to help young people better understand and manage emotions, regulate their behavior, stay motivated in learning, cope with stress, and develop goal-directed skills.
A total of 120 adolescents took part in the study, including 60 middle-school students and 60 high-school students. Within each educational group, participants were randomly assigned either to the WAY program or to a waitlist group that continued with their usual education. The WAY program combined weekly one-to-one online sessions with structured independent learning activities.
Participants completed assessments before and after the 10-week period. The main outcomes were self-regulation, emotional intelligence, academic motivation, and perceived stress. Academic achievement was also assessed as a secondary educational outcome.
The study tested the hypothesis that adolescents assigned to the WAY program would show greater improvement in social-emotional functioning than adolescents assigned to the waitlist condition.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
This was a two-arm, parallel-group, assessor-blinded, waitlist-controlled randomized trial conducted with two developmentally distinct educational cohorts in Türkiye. Middle-school and high-school participants were randomized separately within cohort in a 1:1 ratio to either the WAY intervention or a waitlist control condition.
WAY was a manualized, digitally supported social and emotional learning intervention delivered over 10 consecutive weeks. Each weekly module included an individual synchronous online session supplemented by structured asynchronous activities. The program addressed self-awareness, emotional understanding and regulation, academic motivation, goal setting, planning, self-monitoring, stress management, adaptive coping, empathy, communication, and maintenance of acquired skills.
Participants in the waitlist condition continued their usual education during the evaluation period and were offered access to the WAY program after completion of post-intervention assessments.
Baseline assessments were completed before randomization, and post-intervention assessments were administered within one week after completion of the intervention period. The four prespecified primary outcome domains were self-regulation, trait emotional intelligence, academic motivation, and perceived stress. Academic achievement was prespecified as a secondary educational outcome. Outcomes were evaluated separately within the middle-school and high-school cohorts.
The trial was completed before registration on ClinicalTrials.gov and is therefore being registered retrospectively.