Socio-Emotional Skills and the Future of Education

Over the past two decades, economic research has shown that socio-emotional skills, such as self-esteem, growth mindset, self-control, trust, and cooperation, generate a triple dividend for individuals and society. First, socio-emotional interventions demonstrate that these skills greatly enhance academic achievement and success at school. Second, those skills have a large impact on the professional integration and success of individuals on the job market. Third, they enhance the lifelong well-being of individuals in terms of better health, lower anxiety, lower depression, and reduced crime. There is also suggestive evidence that socio-emotional skills translate into higher economic and social performance at the country level. Given the very high cost-benefit ratio of such interventions, the evidence strongly suggest that redesigning the future of educational systems by integrating socio-emotional skills in the core curriculum of teacher training and in everyday pedagogical methods could be highly beneficial to realize individual potentialities and build resilient economies, societies, and democracies.