The lost art: teachers’ perceptions of the connections between the arts and social-emotional learning

Abstract

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become one of the fastest growing movements in education. However, while many teachers acknowledge the value of SEL, research shows that comparatively few educators feel prepared to incorporate it into their classrooms, and that current school culture emphasizes academics over SEL. This qualitative study examined the perceptions and lived experiences of K-16 visual art, theater, and music teachers in the arts classroom. We describe three art constructs aligned with SEL that emerged from our interview data with educators: identity, interactions, and independence. Our findings provide illustrative examples of teaching practices that support these connections and illuminate a need to expand the role of SEL in educational policy through the use of the arts.

Keywords:

• Social and emotional learning
• arts education
• teaching
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Ed.D. students who helped conduct the initial data collection for this article. Special thanks also go to the arts educators who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to declare.

Notes

1 All participants were given pseudonyms to maintain confidentiality.