Art as Transformation: Fostering SEL Through Arts-Based Teacher Development

This qualitative case study explores how a 4-hour arts-based professional development, within a 30-hour workshop at a teacher training workshop in Israel (April–June 2022), enhanced social–emotional learning (SEL) competencies among 25 K–12 educators through art education practices. Using drawing, photography, and collage, the session fostered transformed perspectives (18 participants), emotional awareness (20 participants), and collaborative growth (15 participants), as revealed through thematic analysis of journals, artifacts, reflections, and interviews. Findings underscore art education’s unique capacity to bridge SEL theory and classroom practice, with immediate (22 participants) and sustained (18 of 20) applications. The hybrid model offers scalable insights for art education curricula, advancing teacher well-being and SEL-focused pedagogy.