Opportunities for Socioemotional Learning in Music Classrooms

Abstract

The elementary music class is an ideal setting for building socioemotional skills in children. These skills can assist children in their early music learning through brain development, and they become increasingly important as students reach higher levels of musicianship. Socioemotional learning programs are currently being used to reduce at-risk behaviors in schools. Strategies for building social skills include identifying specific behaviors, modeling behaviors we want students to learn, and devising positive reinforcement systems to reward students for showing positive social behavior.