The effects of middle school art class with an empathy-based learning model

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to apply an empathy-based learning model developed by Lee et al. (2014) to a middle school art class and document its effects on students’ empathy, self-esteem, and class participation. The participants were 37 ninth-grade students from two middle school classes in Korea (19 in the experimental group and 18 in the control group). The experimental group was placed in an art class using the empathy-based learning model, while the control group was placed in a different art class taught in a traditional, lecture-oriented way. Quantitative data measuring students’ empathy, self-esteem, and class participation were analyzed using independent sample t-tests and MANOVA. A female teacher (age = 34) and 19 students (age range = 14–16, mean age = 14.60) from the experimental group also participated in written interviews to provide more in-depth perspectives about the empathy-based learning model. The results showed that the empathy-based instruction (received by the experimental group) had stronger positive effects on students’ empathy and class participation than the traditional lecture-oriented instruction, but these positive effects were not seen on the students’ self-esteem. Interviews with members of the experimental group indicated that both the teacher and students were satisfied with the empathy-based art class and recognized the importance of empathy in their lives. These results suggest the positive influence of the empathy-based learning model on middle school students. The implications and future directions are discussed.