The report “Skills for Social Progress: The Power of Social and Emotional Skills” is a synthesis of 3 years of analytical work conducted under the OECD’s Education and Social Progress (ESP) project. The report:

• presents the evidence on the impact of social and emotional skills on education, labour market and social outcomes;
• describes educational practices that help promote these skills;
• provides an overview of national policies and programmes that pertain to enhancing social and emotional skills, and identifies gaps between the evidence, policies and practices.

This report analyses the effects of skills on a variety of measures of individual well-being and social progress, which covers aspects of our lives that are as diverse as education, labour market outcomes, health, family life, civic engagement and life satisfaction. The report discusses how policy makers, schools and families facilitate the development of socio-emotional skills through intervention programmes, teaching and parenting practices. Not only does it identify promising avenues to foster socio-emotional skills, it also shows that these skills can be measured meaningfully within cultural and linguistic boundaries.

The report has been presented during the launch seminar held in Paris, the 10th March 2015.

At the half-day seminar education policy-makers, practitioners and researchers from OECD and key partner countries discussed “what works” in promoting social and emotional skills for children’s well-being and social progress.