Over the last decade, educational interventions based on Digital Storytelling have been used across various educational levels and contexts, from preschool to higher education. Digital Storytelling appears to be a very effective strategy towards enhancing students’ outcomes and achievements, in terms of developing a wide range of skills and competencies; namely, literacy skills, social interaction and interpersonal skills, self-expression, imagination and creativity, memory and attention skills, critical reflection, and higher order thinking skills.

However, the effect of Digital Storytelling on students' social-emotional development has not yet been a subject of thorough exploration. In this paper, we will present the results of a systematic review of 33 peer-reviewed journal articles, published between 2012 and 2022, regarding the impact of Digital Storytelling on students’ social and emotional development. The review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) method. To implement the search process, Scopus database was used, since it provides an integrated search tool to identify relevant papers in primary sources published by Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, ACM, IEEE, and ERIC, among others.

The analysis of findings revealed five research categories concerning students' outcomes and development:
a) emotional development (recognizing and identifying emotions, emotional expression, emotional engagement and regulation);
b) social-emotional development (social awareness, social skills);
c) emotional development and learning skills (learning and 21st century skills).

Overall, this systematic review offered insightful information about how Digital Storytelling may improve students’ learning outcomes and create effective learning environments that promote students’ social and emotional development. Possible orientations for future research will also be suggested.

Keywords: Digital Storytelling, social and emotional development, students, systematic review.