Improving Socioemotional Learning and Classroom Climate in Chilean Schools: Evidence from the Trabün-ASE Program

The Programa de Aprendizaje Socioemocional (PASE) of Fundación Trabün is a universal, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention implemented in Chilean primary and secondary schools. Although the program is designed for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, the randomized controlled trial focuses on students in grades 4 through 8. The program aims to strengthen students’ socioemotional competencies and improve overall classroom and school climate and is designed to be implemented over two consecutive academic years.

The intervention consists of three components. First, SEL lessons (Clases de ASE) comprise a structured, weekly SEL curriculum delivered during a dedicated instructional period within the regular school schedule by schools’ own classroom teachers. Second, School Climate (Clima y Convivencia Escolar) includes a set of transversal strategies that reinforce socioemotional skills through authentic opportunities for practice across the school community (e.g., the Mood Meter / Medidor Emocional). Third, Families (Familias) is a family engagement component designed to promote continuity of learning at home.

All components are supported by a digital platform and standardized student and teacher materials. In both treatment arms, schools receive the same core intervention, including access to the online platform, standardized implementation materials, and teacher training delivered prior to implementation and between the first and second years of the intervention. The two treatment modalities differ only in the intensity of ongoing implementation support provided by Fundación Trabün during program delivery, referred to as Intensivo (high-support) and Semi-intensivo (moderate-support).

The program builds upon the CASEL framework and targets five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Its theory of change posits that explicit SEL instruction and consistent reinforcement through classroom practice improve students’ emotional awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and sense of belonging, thereby fostering more positive, safe, and inclusive school environments.

2025-03-05

2027-12-31

The primary outcome variables are students’ socioemotional abilities and students’ perceptions of school climate. Specifically, the primary outcomes are:

Student socioemotional abilities measured at the individual ability level, including growth mindset, emotional self-awareness, self-concept, emotional regulation, behavioral self-management, empathy, gratitude, assertive communication, conflict resolution, kindness and generosity, ethical responsibility, and participation; and

Students’ perceptions of school climate, measured through indices capturing a respectful environment and a safe environment.

The primary outcomes are students’ socioemotional abilities and students’ perceptions of school climate, measured at baseline, midline, and endline during in-person classroom visits.

Students’ socioemotional abilities are measured using Trabün’s Socioemotional Skills Instrument, developed and validated between 2021 and 2024. The instrument includes a set of distinct socioemotional abilities that map conceptually to the five higher-order competencies defined by the CASEL framework. The abilities measured within each competency are as follows:

Self-awareness: growth mindset; emotional self-awareness; self-concept.
Self-management: emotional regulation; behavioral self-management.
Social awareness: empathy; gratitude.
Relationship skills: assertive communication; conflict resolution; kindness and generosity.
Responsible decision-making: ethical responsibility; participation.

Outcomes are defined and analyzed at the individual ability level.

Each socioemotional ability score is constructed as the average of item responses corresponding to that ability. All items use a four-point Likert scale. To reduce survey length, some abilities are administered only in higher grades; analyses therefore use the maximum available sample for each outcome.

Students’ perceptions of school climate are also measured within the socioemotional skills instrument. School climate is analyzed along two dimensions:

Respectful environment: capturing perceptions of respectful treatment, valuation of diversity, absence of discrimination, and care for the school environment.
Safe environment: capturing perceptions of physical and psychological safety, exposure to violence, and the presence of prevention and response mechanisms.

For analysis, socioemotional ability scores and school climate measures are standardized using the control group distribution within cohort and survey wave.

Student academic achievement, measured using scores from Chile’s national standardized assessment, SIMCE, in language and mathematics, where available for the relevant grades and cohorts;

Student personal and social development, measured using SIMCE Indicadores de Desarrollo Personal y Social (IDPS), where available for the relevant grades and cohorts;

Student attendance, measured using end-of-year official attendance rates from administrative records;

Student academic performance, measured using end-of-year official school grades; and

School coexistence outcomes, measured using official reports of coexistence incidents submitted to the Superintendence of Education.

The impact evaluation follows a cluster randomized controlled trial design with randomization at the school level. The final study sample consists of 120 primary schools distributed across two cohorts: Cohort 1 (2025–2026), comprising 42 schools, and Cohort 2 (2026–2027), comprising 78 schools.

Participating schools include both public and private-voucher institutions serving vulnerable student populations across multiple regions of Chile. Cohort 1 includes schools from the Metropolitan Region, O’Higgins, and Biobío regions. Cohort 2 includes schools from the Metropolitan Region, O’Higgins, Ñuble, and Biobío regions. For the purposes of randomization and analysis, schools in Ñuble are grouped together with those in the Biobío region.

Each cohort is followed for two consecutive academic years. In the first year, the evaluation includes students in grades 4 through 7; in the second year, the same schools are re-assessed, with the original student cohorts now in grades 5 through 8. Due to the staggered cohort structure, the second year of Cohort 1 overlaps calendar-wise with the first year of Cohort 2.

Schools are assigned to one of three groups: a high-support treatment arm (Intensivo), a moderate-support treatment arm (Semi-intensivo), or a control group. Both treatment arms receive the same core intervention, including standardized program materials, access to a digital platform, and common teacher training delivered prior to the first year of implementation and again between the first and second years. The two treatment modalities differ only in the intensity of ongoing implementation support provided during program delivery. Control schools continue with business-as-usual practices.

Randomization was conducted prior to baseline data collection using stratified random assignment, implemented separately by cohort. For Cohort 1, randomization was stratified by region, school dependency (public versus private voucher), and school enrollment size (above or below the mean enrollment within the Cohort 1 sample). For Cohort 2, randomization was stratified by region and school dependency only.

Not available

Randomization done in office by a computer

School

Yes

120 schools

Approximately 22,621 students across all treatment arms. This total comprises 9,560 student observations from Cohort 1, based on realized administrative enrollment records for students in grades 4–7 in 2025, and approximately 13,271 student observations from Cohort 2, projected using administrative enrollment records for the same schools from grades 3–6 in 2025 to approximate the corresponding student cohorts in 2026. The realized number of student observations in each survey wave may differ from projected enrollment due to student attendance on survey days and student mobility over time.

High-support treatment (Intensivo): 41 schools
Moderate-support treatment (Semi-intensivo): 38 schools
Control: 41 schools

PAP for ASE-Trabün RCT