The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research released a report earlier this year in which they find the arts as a vehicle for addressing Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and skills for students. The report includes implications for school leaders who are looking to achieve SEL milestones in their school settings, a goal of which can be achieved through greater inclusion of the arts.

The report describes how arts experiences can help students further develop core competencies of SEL including self-management and self-discipline, interpersonal and relationship skills, and self-expression. The report also discusses the need for further research into how arts educators can ensure that the experience of students engaging with the arts are positive, as some engagement with artistic expression can sometimes leave students with negative emotions, feeling as if they are not talented or creative: "The relevant question is not if an art practice will affect a social-emotional competency, but how it will happen and what arts educators can do to improve the odds that the impact is positive,” the report writes.