Evaluating the Effects of a Well-being Curriculum on Student Success

An alarming one in four children and adolescents in India grapple with mental health disorders, which perpetuate educational inequities and entrench cycles of poverty. Yet evidence-based mental health interventions are scarce.

Within Reach, through its partner Labhya, is working in public schools in partnership with three state governments in India to pioneer a social-emotional learning (SEL) program.

In Tripura, this program is called Saharsh, which means joy in Bengali, integrates mindfulness practices and interactive storytelling sessions into daily 30-minute classes, aiming to equip primary school children with crucial coping skills and emotional resilience.

Labhya is rigorously testing its curriculum with a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) in the state of Tripura, where the government has expressed interest in using this evidence to adapt and scale student mental health programming.

With support from Development Innovation Ventures (DIV), Labhya will collect follow-up data for the RCT and monitor processes to measure teachers adherence to the curriculum.

This evaluation is supported by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Weiss Fund, and the Fund for Innovation in Development.

The results will inform government support and scale-up efforts, possibly benefiting millions of children across India and beyond