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

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.