Teaching and learning social emotional competencias in initial teacher training: Case study in visual arts and mathematics

Abstract

Social emotional competency (hereafter SEC) is key in teacher training, and it is advisable to teach it in an explicit manner along with declarative aspects of the curriculum. Researchers in the field show that there is a deficit of said competencies in study programs, and it is necessary to address them in the curriculum. In the context of a Pedagogical Training Program for secondary education teachers, we asked the following research question: how do educators teach and how do students learn social emotional competencies in the subject Didactics and Practices for Visual Arts and Mathematics? The two macrocategories considered were the social emotional competency and the teaching-learning process. This study aims to reveal the teaching-learning process of SECs in a pedagogical training program for graduates in the area of Didactics and Practices for Visual Arts and Mathematics. It used qualitative methods: ethnographic work in the classroom, in-depth interviews with the professors, and focal groups with the students. The results show that the approach to these competencies was indirect and not necessarily planned. Including SECs in the curriculum in the form of didactic content seems to be essential for initial teacher training. In this context, practical simulations in the classroom appear as an opportunity.