Mapping Research With a Systematic Review: The Example of Social and Emotional Learning in Art Education

Abstract

Social and emotional learning (SEL) standards and policies are quickly being adopted across the United States. States and school districts are now requiring demonstrations of SEL in schools and hoping for evidence that school subjects, including art education, can successfully meet those requirements and provide that evidence. This article reports the results of a review of research on the relationship between art education and SEL for three purposes: (1) to illustrate the process of a systematic review of research in a small field, (2) to propose a foundation on which researchers can build, and (3) to map empirical research results about preK–12 SEL in art education for instructional practice. The article contributes to research by offering an instrument to aid systematic reviews in the field. It also summarizes the conclusions of the found empirical research articles on SEL in preK–12 art education contexts.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Carrie Carlson, doctoral student in art and design education at Northern Illinois University, for her help with data collection and analysis.

Notes

1 The Art Education Research Institute (AERI) is an autonomous, nonprofit, virtual institute comprising higher educators actively involved in the production of research and scholarship in visual arts education. AERI supports critical, systematic, empirical, and theoretical research and scholarship, which addresses key intellectual and practical issues in the field of art education (adapted from the AERI website). The authors have observed and participated in regular discussions at AERI symposia about the importance of and expertise in diverse research methods, questions, and purposes to address the wide-ranging issues in the field.

Additional information

Funding

This research project was supported by a grant from the National Art Education Foundation (grant no. 004084-00001) and the College of Arts and Architecture at The Pennsylvania State University.