Improving learning by promoting mental health and socioemotional skills in adolescence with a school-based intervention

This project aims to evaluate a two-tiered school-based socio-emotional learning and mental health program: (i) a universal curriculum component led by the classroom teacher, focusing on socio-emotional competencies; (ii) for students with mild mental distress, a low-intensity, one-on-one counseling problem-solving program. We will implement and evaluate this program at scale in Barranquilla, Colombia, with 172 public secondary schools enrolling ~87,000 students. The RCT will measure impacts on (i) mental health, (ii) learning outcomes, and (iii) long-run economic outcomes, including earnings, using administrative data.