The need for preparing the young generation for an uncertain future becomes more and more a critical aspect in this challenging world, especially for children with disadvantaged backgrounds. Implementing social emotional learning (SEL) in schools is seen as a widespread intervention program to help students cope with challenges in their holistic development. Social emotional learning enables individuals to regulate their emotions, manage stress, and healthily think while facing problems or difficulties through the psychological resilience they have gained from an early age (Kankaraš & Suarez-Alvarez, 2019). Also, understanding the connection between SEL and music and its applications in music education is essential and necessary for music teachers (Edgar, 2017) to holistically enrich and cultivate the music lives of every student from different backgrounds.

In this paper, I want to share some significant findings from a project we conducted with 20 students aged 12 - 16 from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project aimed to enhance student's social-emotional well-being through art education, including creative writing, music, and craft activities. In the music section, I adapted SEL instructions developed by music specialist Professor Scott Edgar (2027) for Turkish middle and high school students. The activities were carried out for eight weeks under five key components: Self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-management and relationship skills. After the implementation, a focus-group interview with children was conducted to obtain data on their social-emotional learning skills and to understand the complex phenomena. Therefore, this research is designed as a holistic case study which uses a holistic approach.

Some preliminary findings will be presented and discussed to understand the needs of socially and emotionally disadvantaged students and the place of SEL-based music activities for their holistic development. Further implications of integrating SEL in the Turkish music curriculum and developing SEL-integrated practices in the music classroom will be highlighted.

Empowerment can be understood as a response to experiences of discrimination (1). Music practices, such as Do-It-Yourself (DIY), are recognized as emancipatory and empowering practices for individuals and groups. Safer Spaces are similarly positioned as empowerment practices. Such protected environments where participants can engage sensitively with one another (2), are suggested to be a panacea for several challenges. However, the concept is still contested in academia. Up to date, German music education has hardly examined empowerment- as well as Safer Space practices empirically – especially not from an intersectional perspective.

To address this gap, this study conducts an ethnographic investigation, using field visits and problem-centered interviews to explore empowerment practices within music workshops targeting specific groups such as FLINTA*+ in Germany. While some workshops self-identify as Safer Spaces, others consciously avoid such labeling. The music workshops, typically organized by institutions, are offered at no cost and offer participants the opportunity to learn music production or to play in a band.

The aim of this work is to investigate established empowerment practices in these music workshops using a Situational Analysis (3) and applying an intersectional focus on power structures and dynamics. Furthermore, the work sheds light on workshop outcomes by reconstructing both mentor and participant experiences. By presenting preliminary results, this study seeks to advance the discourse on inclusivity and contribute to the implementation of Safer Spaces and other empowerment practices in music education.

1: Madubuko, N. (2021). Praxishandbuch Empowerment. Rassismuserfahrungen von Kindern und Jugendlichen begegnen. Beltz.

2: Arao, B. & Clemens, K. (2013). From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces. In L.M. Landreman (Ed.), The Art of Effective Facilitation: Reflections from Social Justice Educators, (p. 135–150). Routledge.

3: Clarke, A.; Friese, C. & Washburn, R. (2018). Situational Analysis. Grounded Theory After the Interpretative Turn. Sage.