A systematic review of intervention research examining effective student wellbeing in schools and their academic outcomes

Impact Map Evidence Gap Map

Impact Map

This Impact Map presents the estimated effects of interventions on student academic and wellbeing outcomes, moderated by contextual and program characteristics. Each circle reflects the level of impact according to the statistical effect size, Hedge’s g, from the meta-analyses of 75 studies (see Main Report). To aid interpretation of the academic results in an educational context, effect sizes are interpreted in terms of months additional learning, ahead of students in non-intervention control groups, based on the conversion metric used by Evidence for Learning and the Education Endowment Fund.

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Intervention type
Academic overall
Numeracy
Literacy
GPA/ Other
Wellbeing overall
Social-emotional
Behavioural
Cognitive
Internalising
wellbeing imageImproving mental wellbeing: Belonging & engagement
wellbeing imageImproving mental wellbeing: Mentoring
wellbeing imageImproving mental wellbeing: Social-emotional skills
wellbeing imageImproving mental wellbeing: Cognitive skills
wellbeing imageImproving mental wellbeing: Behavioral skills
wellbeing imageEncouraging physical activity: Exercise & relaxation
wellbeing imagePreventing harm from tobacco, alcohol & drugs
School setting
Academic overall
Numeracy
Literacy
GPA/ Other
Wellbeing overall
Social-emotional
Behavioural
Cognitive
Internalising
Primary
Middle
Secondary
Combined K-12
Other
Intervention mode
Academic overall
Numeracy
Literacy
GPA/ Other
Wellbeing overall
Social-emotional
Behavioural
Cognitive
Internalising
Direct
Indirect
Program duration
Academic overall
Numeracy
Literacy
GPA/ Other
Wellbeing overall
Social-emotional
Behavioural
Cognitive
Internalising
Short (< 3 months)
Moderate (< year)
Long (> year)
Grouping size
Academic overall
Numeracy
Literacy
GPA/ Other
Wellbeing overall
Social-emotional
Behavioural
Cognitive
Internalising
One-on-one
Classroom
Small (<11)
Medium (11-20)
Large (>20)
Intervention approach
Academic overall
Numeracy
Literacy
GPA/ Other
Wellbeing overall
Social-emotional
Behavioural
Cognitive
Internalising
Targeted: Academic risk
Targeted: Disadvantaged
Targeted: Special needs
Universal