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How do social and emotional skills impact academics?
Years of studies on so-called “soft skills”, such as collaboration, responsible decision making, and effective communication, draw a clear line between their development and students’ academic achievement. While these skills go by many different names (human skills, life skills, durable skills—among many others), research suggests a positive correlation between their instruction and success in the classroom and beyond.
In 2011 seminal meta-analysis found that programs like Wayfinder are effective at improving academic achievement by an average of 11 percentile points. Additionally, this massive study found that programs that teach human skills increase positive behaviors in the classroom, improve attitudes toward learning, and positively impact standardized test scores.
A 2018 follow-up to that meta-analysis presents additional meta-analyses that further strengthen the link between human skills and academics and suggest teaching these skills in tandem offers long-term benefits. It shows that students who had completed programs like Wayfinder demonstrated greater resilience and problem-solving skills than those who hadn’t. The self-management and regulatory skills they built helped reduce overall anxiety and emotional distress, which in turn yielded a positive impact on postsecondary academic persistence.
Additional research shows even more benefits. Programs teaching students personal development and interpersonal skills also helped students across K-12 with improved memory and long-term retention of new content. In this study, these academic benefits are also associated with improved graduation and lower dropout rates.
These studies are just a few of the many that connect academic performance with the non-academic skills that support academic success. As this connection has become clearer over time, more schools, districts, and US states have begun to mandate these skills be taught in classrooms.
How do schools incorporate life skills into academic classes?
We know that human skills play a role in improving academic outcomes, so the question becomes, where do they fit in the school day? Many educators and administrators are working toward this answer, finding the most effective ways to work these skills into existing curriculum, school structures, and instructional practices to provide maximum benefit to their students and teachers.
Skills like self-awareness and agency can be introduced explicitly for clarity and understanding; however, tying them to regular classroom practices helps students better internalize their impact and function in their daily lives. This means that thoughtful integration is the most effective way to teach students the kinds of inter- and intrapersonal skills that enhance academic success and personal development.
How do schools use MTSS to improve academic success? 
As school districts have rolled out human skill development programs like Wayfinder, many have wrapped their implementation efforts into other frameworks that support student success and well-being.
One of the most popular is MTSS, or multi-tiered systems of support. This three-tiered framework can be tied to academic or behavioral outcomes, with the nature of the tiers being adjusted accordingly. Regardless of the focus, it relies on assessments and data to determine student need and help plan interventions before an issue becomes a crisis.
In academic-focused MTSS:
- Tier 1 = High-quality curriculum and instruction for all students
- Tier 2 = Targeted small group academic intervention, usually focused on a single skill or set of skills
- Tier 3 = One-on-one academic intervention, involving tutoring and/or remediation
In behavior-focused MTSS:
- Tier 1 = Universal support for all students, including positive reinforcement, clearly defined schoolwide expectations, and consistent social and emotional skill-building instruction
- Tier 2 = Small group interventions of check-ins for those needing extra behavioral support
- Tier 3 = Intensive, individualized support for students not responding to small group interventions
Just as academic performance and student behavior impact one another, there can be crossover in the impact of these types of MTSS. Students receiving behavioral support via MTSS may also benefit academically, thanks to institutional practices and interventions that enable them to focus on learning; likewise, students receiving academic support via MTSS may demonstrate more positive behavioral outcomes, as they are less likely to act out when their academic and developmental needs are met.
If these MTSS frameworks look familiar, it might be because MTSS shares a three-tier structure with several other support and intervention frameworks. Academic-focused MTSS has many overlaps with the Response to Intervention (RTI) framework, while behavior-focused MTSS is similar to the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) framework. While each of these frameworks is slightly different in its scope and aim, they all share a similar function of providing baseline support and different levels of intervention to meet students where they’re at.
Read more about the similarities and differences across MTSS, RTI, and PBIS on the Wayfinder blog.
For more research and resources on the links between human skills and academics, download our guide here or speak to a member of the Wayfinder team.
