Introducing Social Emotional Learning to Music Education Professional Development

There are more knowledge bases, skills, and dispositions that teachers need to have than can be covered in undergraduate music teacher education. One knowledge base that music teachers could benefit from, which is rarely covered in preservice teacher education, is social emotional learning (SEL) and techniques to implement it in their classrooms. Professional development (PD) can help provide career-long growth. The purpose of this article is to review literature on PD in relation to SEL techniques for music educators. Following an explanation of SEL, literature will be discussed in the areas of: (a) PD for teaching SEL techniques; (b) PD in general education, divided into subtopics of evaluation and effectiveness, reflective teaching as a PD experience, and collaboration as a PD experience; and (c) PD in music education. Implications and suggestions for SEL PD for music educators conclude this article.