Sustaining teacher social-emotional competence: a systematic review of implementation and retention strategies

Social-emotional competence (SEC) refers to educators’ capacity to regulate emotions, sustain psychological resilience, and cultivate constructive relationships with students, colleagues, and school leadership. Elevated levels of SEC among teachers are strongly associated with enhanced well-being, emotionally supportive classrooms, and improved student engagement and achievement. Despite growing attention to SEC development initiatives, critical gaps remain regarding demographic variability in outcomes, optimal implementation strategies, and enduring institutional barriers. This systematic review, conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, screened 1519 studies published between 2012 and 2024, yielding 16 peer-reviewed articles that met the inclusion criteria. Findings demonstrate that SEC interventions reliably enhance educators’ emotional regulation, mindfulness, and overall psychological well-being, irrespective of gender, professional experience, or cultural context. However, the long-term sustainability of these benefits is contingent upon enabling school environments, strong leadership, continuous professional development, and adequate resource allocation. Implementation challenges — including time constraints, inconsistent program fidelity, and varying levels of teacher readiness — underscore the need for adaptive, context-sensitive models. This review provides evidence-based recommendations for the effective design, integration, and sustained impact of SEC programs across diverse educational settings.