It's Always Personal: Social Emotional Learning in the Elementary Music Classroom with Student Populations of Varied Needs

Abstract

How do elementary music teachers meet the Social Emotional Learning needs of students from a variety of backgrounds in the general music classroom? I studied this topic because I wondered if some practices of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) might be more beneficial for elementary music students with varied backgrounds. Utilizing qualitative research and phenomenological and narrative data analysis methods, I wanted to gain understanding to help readers and other elementary music educators, who want to embed Social Emotional Learning practices in their classrooms develop specific Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies which may serve to better empower their students.