The impact on adolescent health and wellbeing from adding evidence-based soft skill lessons to the high school curriculum

Grace Lordan and Alistair Mcguire

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Through a cluster randomised field trial, we evaluate the impact of an evidence-based, soft skills curriculum aimed at adolescents, referred to as Healthy Minds, that ran in 35 high schools in England over four years (2013/14 – 2017/18). We find supportive evidence that Healthy Minds positively augments the primary outcome of self-reported physical health in the treated adolescents. Treated pupils have global health attainment that is 0.235 standard deviations higher than children in the control group, resulting in a 10-percentile increase in their measured health status. We also find evidence of positive impacts on behaviour. There is no evidence of impacts on improved emotional wellbeing. We note significant gender differences in the effects found, strongly favouring boys. Overall, we provide strong evidence that a designed, taught life skills curriculum can improve related outcomes during the adolescent years, and that differential learning styles across visible aspects of diversity are worthy of consideration Healthy Minds.

Keywords: health; soft skills; high school curriculum; adolescent education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2026-05-22
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Published in Journal of the Economic Science Association, 22, May, 2026. ISSN: 2199-6784

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