“The most important part of empathy is…being able to help”: Empathy definitions and teaching practices in middle school

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the relationship between EL Education and Comparison school students’ definitions of empathy and educators’ teaching practices. We interviewed 23 5th and 6th grade students and 18 educators from nine middle schools across the United States. Students were asked to define empathy and educators described empathy teaching practices. Three themes appeared in student definitions: empathy, prosocial behavior, and empathy-motivated prosocial responding. Empathy-motivated prosocial responding was a stronger theme amongst EL Education students. Their responses indicated belief that empathy is tied to prosocial action. Six themes appeared in educator’s practices: modeling, coaching, restorative practices, opportunities to practice, curriculum integration, and community spaces. EL Education educators described practices that promoted both empathy and empathy-motivated prosocial responding. Together, these findings highlight EL Education as a promising model and add to a toolkit of prosocial teaching practices. Recommendations for using the myriad of empathy teaching practices described by educators are discussed.