Teacher Empathy Research Articles

The promise and process of adaptive teacher empathy to support equity in diverse classrooms

Multiple empirical studies suggest teacher empathy supports improved educational outcomes for all students, particularly in diverse settings; however, recent research shows such results to be inconsistent. These mixed findings have been explained as the result of inconsistent measurement practices as well as overly generalized conceptualizations of teacher empathy. Moreover, some educational researchers have cautioned against misapplications of empathy that may harm historically minoritized students. In this manuscript, we offer the conceptual framework of adaptive teacher empathy in response to these concerns. Adaptive teacher empathy is situated in the classroom context and centers the students’ perspective. We identify its three core phases: prioritizing cognitive empathic processes, cultivating beliefs and emotions that support teacher motivation to empathize, and implementing behaviors that support improved educational outcomes for students. Additionally, we articulate our understanding of equitable teaching practices and illustrate how adaptive teacher empathy can support equitable instruction, particularly in diverse classrooms. Further, adaptive teacher empathy is compared to similar classroom constructs and examples of each phase are applied to promote equitable teaching. We close with implications for research and teaching.

The moderating role of emotional self-efficacy and gender in teacher empathy and inclusive education

The role of teacher empathy is recognized as a key factor in improving teacher–student interaction, motivation and academic performance. Despite the importance of teacher empathy, its role in promoting inclusive education is still largely unknown. High levels of empathy are not necessarily associated with greater ability to implement inclusive education, as they can lead to excessive emotional engagement and stress, which negatively affect teachers' abilities. Therefore, the present study explored whether the relationship between high empathy and perceived ability to implement inclusive education could be moderated by other variables, such as emotional self-efficacy and gender. A large sample of Italian support teachers (N = 739; Mage = 37.7; females = 86.9%) was recruited for this study. We found that higher levels of empathy were related to higher levels of self-efficacy in inclusive education, especially when levels of emotional self-efficacy were higher. This relationship was only found for female teachers. The results contribute to knowledge about the role of teachers' empathy for inclusion as well as the moderating role of the ability to regulate negative emotions. The study has implications for pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher training.

Upaya Penumbuhan Empati pada Guru IPS dalam Meningkatkan Sikap Peduli Sosial Siswa Kelas VII di MTs Binaya Ilmi Wongsorejo Banyuwangi

The attitude of social care is important for every student to have with the existence of students' concern for their environment will make students a good person. Social care attitude is a person's attitude to help each other and help others who are in trouble. This study aims to (1) Describe the Efforts to Cultivate Empathy in Social Studies Teachers in Improving the Social Care Attitudes of Class VII Students at MTs Binaya Ilmi Wongsorejo Banyuwangi Academic Year 2023/2024, (2) Describe the Supporting and Inhibiting Factors of Social Studies Teachers in Improving Social Care Attitudes of Class VII Students at MTs Binaya Ilmi Wongsorejo Banyuwangi Academic Year 2023/2024 (3) Describe the Impact of Efforts to Cultivate Empathy in Social Studies Teachers in Improving Social Care Attitudes of Class VII Students at MTs Binaya Ilmi Wongsorejo Banyuwangi Academic Year 2023/2024. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study research type. Data collection techniques in this study include observation, interviews, and documentation. The data analysis technique uses an inductive method which is divided into 4 steps: (1) Data Collection, (2) Data Condensation, (3) Data Presentation, (4) Conclusion. From the results of the study found that (1) Efforts to cultivate empathy in social studies teachers in improving the social care attitude of seventh grade students by providing exemplary, habituation and socialization. (2) Supporting factors in improving the social care attitude of students with the existence of socialization activities during morning apples, community service, fundraising and charity activities. While the inhibiting factors are students playing excessive gadgets, the existence of customs that have thickened in students and social change. (3) The impact of empathy cultivation efforts on social studies teachers in improving the social care attitude of seventh grade students is that students become enthusiastic when the teacher tells them to wipe the blackboard, students are able to be kind to other students and students have a good helping attitude.

Effects of a Virtual Mindful Self-Compassion Training on Mindfulness, Self-compassion, Empathy, Well-being, and Stress in Uruguayan Primary School Teachers During COVID-19 Times

Effects of a Virtual Mindful Self-Compassion Training on Mindfulness, Self-compassion, Empathy, Well-being, and Stress in Uruguayan Primary School Teachers During COVID-19 Times

Teacher Empathy in an engineering classroom: Exploring the growth in perception of Teacher Empathy through the journey of three engineering faculty members

AbstractBackgroundIn higher education, Teacher Empathy is a term that refers to the empathetic skills of teachers. Researchers in other disciplines have shown that Teacher Empathy reduces teacher burnout and improves teacher satisfaction and student performance. There is little research on Teacher Empathy within engineering education.PurposeIn our current study, we explored the potential changes in perception of Teacher Empathy among three engineering faculty members as they utilized empathetic actions while teaching second‐year engineering courses. Understanding the experiences of faculty members will help us to implement and further explore Teacher Empathy in engineering education.MethodTeacher Action Research methodology helped us provide agency to our three participants and research with them instead of on them. We used a combination of values coding and simultaneous coding for data analysis.FindingsImproved confidence in their empathetic skills was observed for two participants as they showed positive evolution of their perception about Teacher Empathy. The other participant increased the number of empathetic approaches he used in his classroom.ConclusionReduced teacher burnout, improved teacher satisfaction, and better student performance were some of the major benefits of Teacher Empathy that emerged. The difference in the evolution of each participant's perception about Teacher Empathy indicated that the personality of a faculty member has an influence on implementation and success of Teacher Empathy.

Linking teacher empathy to multicultural teaching competence: The mediating role of multicultural beliefs

Linking teacher empathy to multicultural teaching competence: The mediating role of multicultural beliefs

The effect of project-based cooperative learning on disability empathy in pre-service early childhood teachers

This study investigated the effect of project-based cooperative learning in an introductory special education class on disability empathy. Disability empathy is an important competency for pre-service teachers who teach children with disabilities. The subjects of this study were 49 university students who were completing a qualification course for pre-service teachers who teach children with disabilities. First, through theoretical learning, interest and understanding of disabled infants and toddlers were raised, and educational program production activities were carried out to increase understanding of disabilities. Project-based cooperative learning was conducted for a total of 30 hours over 15 weeks. As a result of the study, it was found that the disability empathy of pre-service early childhood teachers significantly increased after the implementation of project-based cooperative learning, and the active interaction item score was the highest in the class satisfaction area. As a result, it was found that project-based cooperative learning has a significant effect on pre-service early childhood teachers' disability empathy and promotes active interaction. The significance of this study is that it empirically verified the effect of project-based cooperative learning on preservice teachers’ disability empathy. It is hoped that the results of this study will be used as teacher education materials to improve pre-service teachers’ disability empathy.

Experimental study of empathy and emotional intelligence in teachers

This article presents the results of a theoretical-experimental study carried out to investigate the level of manifestation of empathy and the degree of development of emotional intelligence among teachers. 100 subjects selected taking into account two basic variables participated in the ascertainment research: age (50 teachers aged 20/30 years and 50 aged 30/40 years) and gender (50 male and 50 female genders). It has been experimentally demonstrated (including through the statistical processing of quantitative results) that there are statistically significant differences in the degree of manifestation of empathy and the level of development of emotional intelligence according to age (20/30 and 30/40 years) and gender (men/women) .

Unleashing digital superheroes: Unravelling the empathy factor in digital competence and online teacher autonomy support

AbstractConsiderable research has been dedicated to studying teachers' digital competence, yet limited insights have been gained regarding its impact on online teacher autonomy support. Based on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, this study utilized a multiple regression analysis model to explore how teachers' digital competence affects online teacher autonomy support. Drawing on data from 652 Chinese primary school teachers, the study revealed that teachers' digital competence positively influenced online teacher autonomy support via teachers' cognitive empathy. Teachers' emotional empathy strengthened the direct effect of cognitive empathy on online teacher autonomy support, and its indirect effect on teachers' digital competence on online teacher autonomy support. The findings inform TPACK framework development and practical considerations in online teaching, deepening understanding of the impact of digital competence on online teacher autonomy support.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Previous research has recognized the importance of teachers' digital competence in supporting learners' autonomy and enhancing their online learning experiences. Existing studies have explored different dimensions of teachers' digital competence, including technological proficiency, pedagogical knowledge and content expertise. Studies have also examined the role of empathy in online teaching and learning, emphasizing its importance in fostering positive teacher–student relationships and promoting student engagement and motivation. What this paper adds This study introduces digital competence as a novel and comprehensive assessment of technology integration in teaching, bridging an existing gap in the literature. This study recognizes the importance of socio‐emotional skills in online teaching by including teachers' empathic traits within the expanded TPACK framework. Teachers' cognitive empathy acts as a mediator and emotional empathy functions as a moderator in the relationship between digital competence and online teacher autonomy support, offering new insights into the underlying mechanisms. Implications for practice and/or policy Teacher educators should find ways to support teachers' digital competence in facilitating learners' autonomy in online learning environments effectively. Teacher educators should incorporate teacher empathy development into teachers' professional development programmes for online teaching, offering tailored interventions to differentiate and enhance both cognitive and emotional empathy.

Взаимосвязь самооценки языковых способностей учащихся российских школ и заведений среднего профессионального образования и оценки эмпатии учителей иностранного языка

As pedagogical practice shows, the key to the successful work of foreign language teachers is the emotional involvement of the teacher in the pedagogical process and the developed skills of empathy in their work. The present work is devoted to the study of this relationship observed in the pedagogical process. The purpose is to study the relationship between the self-assessment of the language abilities of students of Russian schools and institutions of secondary vocational education and the assessment of empathy of foreign language teachers. The study used: the author's 15-point “Questionnaire of language abilities”, an abbreviated 8-point modified method measuring the level of empathy - the questionnaire “Scale of empathy of teachers” (Ks. Wang) adapted by A. V. Chagina and E. V. Zabelina. 246 people took part in the online survey, mainly high school students and vocational education students (from 14 to 18 years old) living in Kostroma (41,1 %) and in other regions of the Russian Federation (58,9 %). The results of the survey showed that the higher one's own abilities and interest in the English language are assessed, the stronger a teenager feels teacher empathy, more acutely perceives the joy or sadness of a teacher, and reacts more subtly to his direct attitude to the audience as a whole and to himself individually. The extracorporeal factor analysis showed the division of the structure into 3 factors: “beyond the school textbook”, “linguistic excitement”, “linguistic flair”. The direct significant relationship between the self-assessment of language abilities of high school students and the perception of empathy of teachers, confirmed as a result of this study, convinces of the importance of developing empathy as a professional quality of foreign language teachers.

Active mentoring and empathy of Russian teachers

Active mentoring and empathy of Russian teachers

영유아교사의 놀이성과 공감능력이 놀이지원역량에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between playability, empathy ability, and play support competency of early childhood teachers, and the effect of playability and empathy ability of early childhood teachers on play support competency. For this study, a questionnaire was conducted for infants and toddlers in daycare centers and kindergartens nationwide, and data of 348 people were collected. For the results of the study, correlation
 analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted using the SPSS 28.0 statistical program. The results of this study are as follows. First, for the level of playability, empathy, and play support competency of early childhood teachers, the level of playability was high, and the level of empathy and play support competency of early childhood teachers was also high. Second, there was a significant positive correlation between the play performance and play support competency of early childhood teachers, and a significant positive correlation between the empathy and play support competency of early childhood teachers. Third, the effect of play and empathy of early childhood teachers on play support competency was found to have a significant positive effect. These findings demonstrate that early childhood teachers' ability to support play is an important factor in childcare sites that are implementing play-based curriculum, and various studies that can be used in childcare sites should be activated to improve the playability and empathy of early childhood teachers.

The Impact of Role-playing Games on Developing Empathy of Future Preschool Inclusive Teachers

Inclusive education should be based on the effective involvement of people with disabilities in the educational process to obtain positive results. The work aims to determine the impact of role-playing games on developing empathy of future inclusive teachers. The aim was achieved using the Likert scale, observation, value function calculations, the rank coefficient of the level of effectiveness, and the Cramér criterion. The results of the study showed that it is necessary to ensure that students’ experiences during communication are considered first and foremost for the effectiveness of learning in an inclusive class and the development of empathy (0.93). Therefore, this criterion was primarily considered during the development of learning mechanisms. Training mechanisms for future teachers were intended to ensure the formation of an adaptive function, a communicative function, an understanding of a new approach, and the formation of an educational function. The game-based approach became the foundation of the educational process. A high level of empathy was achieved among 89% of students, which is associated with the development of tolerance. A high level of empathy was reflected in the development of communication (28%), creative activity (27%), and a greater level of restraint (23%). An individual approach in the process of teaching preschoolers influences their achievement of a high level of knowledge. The importance of the work is determining approaches to the development of a high level of empathy among future inclusive teachers using role-playing games, which is important for children’s development. Research prospects are related to the possibilities of developing empathy for future teachers by using the role-playing approach in education and digital technologies.

공동체의식과 공감능력 향상을 위한 스토리텔링기반 공감교육 프로그램 개발: 예비교사를 중심으로

This study develops a storytelling-based empathy education program to improve community spirit and empathy and examines its effectiveness by applying it to prospective teachers. The collected data included questionnaires, reflection diaries, interview data, literature and case analysis were conducted to develop the program. In addition, a paired-sample t-test was conducted to confirm pre- and post-differences in sense of community and empathy. As a result of the study, first, a storytelling-based empathy education program was developed to improve community spirit and empathy ability. Second, the sense of community and empathy of prospective teachers showed a significant difference in the pre- and post-test, showing a positive effects. Therefore, this study suggests that a storytelling-based empathy education program to improve prospective teachers' sense of community and empathy can be effectively used in universities. Therefore, it was proposed to operate a storytelling-based empathy education program not only in the teaching subjects of university teacher training courses, but also in various academic areas such as various major subjects, non-curriculum subjects, and liberal arts education.

Вдосконалення комунікативного забезпечення діяльності викладача як фактор підвищення якості освіти

The article is devoted to the study and analysis of effective strategies for improving the communication skills of teachers in the higher education system. The authors consider the importance of interaction between teachers and students as a key aspect of a successful teaching-learning process and highlight the impact of quality communication on the overall level of the educational process. It is important to note that modern means of communication open up new opportunities for the implementation of the process of education. The article provides a detailed description and characteristics of the concept of communicative support in higher education institutions. The analysis of the scientific literature on the outlined topic has been carried out. The main types of communication support in institutions of higher education have been considered and their impact on improving the quality of education has been analyzed. The necessity to introduce new forms and methods of learning that contribute to the development of communicative competence of higher education students has been substantiated. The article analyzes modern approaches to improving the communicative interaction of teachers and students, considering pedagogical, technological and psychological aspects. Methods of increasing the effectiveness of teachers' communication with students are taken into account, including the use of interactive methods, the use of modern means of communication and the development of teacher empathy. Statistical data are provided that give an estimate of the popularity of certain forms of communication between teachers and students. Statistical analysis is carried out in the article. The main trends in the development of communicative support of the educational process are outlined. The article notes that increasing the level of communicative competence of teachers is a key factor in improving the quality of education. The recommendations and practical advice given in the article can serve as a basis for the development of the programs and trainings to improve the communication skills of teachers in higher education institutions.

유아교사의 공감능력 및 교사-유아 상호작용과 유아 또래놀이 상호작용 간의 구조적 관계 분석

Objectives To set the empathic ability of early childhood teachers, which affects young children's peer play interactions, as an independent variable and teacher-child interaction as a mediating variable, and to analyze the structural relationship between the variables.
 Methods A survey was conducted targeting 91 early childhood teachers and 343 5-year-old children located in S City, G Province, K City, and J Province to confirm the structural relationship between variables related to children's peer play interaction, and the collected data conducted path analysis using structural equations with PASW 24.0 and AMOS 18.0.
 Results As a result of confirming the structural relationship according to the research question, first, there is a positive correlation between the independent variable, the early childhood teacher's empathy ability, and the mediating variable, teacher-child interaction, and the independent variable, the early childhood teacher's empathy ability, the mediating variable, teacher-child interaction. Among children's peer play interactions, there was a positive correlation with the dependent variable ‘play interaction’, a negative correlation with ‘play disruption’, and no correlation with ‘play interruption’. Secondly, The influence of this dependent variable on children's peer play interaction was confirmed to have a larger indirect effect than a direct effect when mediated by teacher-infant interaction. In addition, it was confirmed that the early childhood teacher's empathy ability showed only a direct effect on teacher-child interaction, and that the mediating variable, teacher-child interaction, also had a direct effect on the dependent variable, children's peer play interaction.
 Conclusions Although the early childhood teacher's empathy ability is significant as a variable that affects children's peer play interactions, it can be predicted that teacher-child interaction is a variable that has a more meaningful impact. This suggests that re-education of teacher-infant interaction that can be practically used in the field is necessary to improve the quality of children's peer play interactions.

유아교사의 셀프리더십과 행복감의 관계에서 공감능력의 매개효과

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of self-leadership and empathic ability required of early childhood teachers on happiness and what mediating role empathic ability plays in the relationship be-tween self-leadership and happiness of early childhood teachers. Methods A questionnaire survey of 175 early childhood teachers in G city on self-leadership, happiness, and em-pathy of early childhood teachers was conducted and data were subjected to frequency, percentage, correlation analysis and mediated regression analysis. Results It was found that there was a correlation between early childhood teachers' self-leadership, empathy, and happiness, and early childhood teachers' self-leadership had a positive effect on empathy, happiness, and static impact. It was found that early childhood teachers' empathy partially mediated the relationship between self-leadership and happiness. Conclusions For the efficient operation of the currently implemented child and play-oriented nuri-curriculum, it is required to develop and implement various teacher training programs that can enhance infant teachers' self-leadership, empathy, and happiness.

The role of teacher empathy and immediacy in Chinese EFL students' affective learning outcomes: unveiling the associations.

The positive influences of teacher-student interpersonal communication skills on second language (L2) students have been considerably endorsed in the literature. However, the contribution of teacher empathy and immediacy behaviors, as realizations of such skills, to students' affective learning outcomes is unaddressed in L2 research. To fill this gap, three scales were distributed among a sample of 350 Chinese EFL students to see if teachers' empathy and immediacy correlate with and predict students' affective learning outcomes. The results of correlation analysis revealed strong and positive relationships among teacher empathy, teacher immediacy, and learners' affective learning outcomes. Moreover, the results of multiple regression indicated that Chinese EFL teachers' empathy and immediacy could predict about 65 and 60% of changes in the learners' affective learning outcomes, respectively. Implications of the study for EFL teachers' interpersonal communication skills development and emotional literacy are discussed. Future research trends are also presented at the end of the article.

Establishing Teacher-Student Communicative Empathy in a Multimodal Interactive Environment and Skill Enhancement

The multi-modal interactive environment is an important object of research in the field of modern education, and its influence on the communicative empathy of teachers and students gets increasingly obvious these days. However, the complex and dynamic features of communicative empathy of teachers and students are usually overlooked in existing studies, so this paper aims at investigating the teacher-student communicative empathy in a multi-modal interactive environment to fill in the said research gap. At first, the problem of feature fusion of communicative emotions of teachers and students in a multi-modal interactive environment was discussed, and a comprehensive and detailed model was established for measuring the features of these emotions. Then, problems of the recognition of emotional intentions of teachers and students and the establishment of their communicative empathy were studied, and a set of effective measures were proposed for enhancing the said communicative empathy, in the hopes of providing useful theoretical and practical evidences for noticing the importance of teacher-student communicative empathy in teaching and enhancing the ability of the said emotions.

Empathy and Social Support for Special Needs Children at Leleani Special School (SLB) 1

Background: Humans are social creatures who cannot live alone in activities to meet the needs of daily life. Similarly, children with special needs who have physical and mental limitations, of course, their lives are greatly influenced by attention and empathy with support from the surrounding community. Aim: The research would like to analyze empathy and social support for special needs children at Leleani Special School (SLB) 1 in Ambon. Method: This research is a limited survey research conducted on 45 respondents, categorized into 15 parents, teachers/administrators and the community around Leleani 1 Special School (SLB). Respondents were drawn by stratified random sampling and then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Findings: The results showed that empathetic responses and social support between parents, teachers and the surrounding community when compared in general did not have a significant difference. Partially, differences occur in information support and affective components of teacher empathy when compared to the surrounding community.