In Focus: Empathy and Education

Classroom Lessons Found to Boost Empathy in a recent study

A study backed by the University of Cambridge suggests that just one term of empathy-focused lessons in schools could lead to improvements in student behaviour. Around 900 students, aged five to 18, across six different countries took part in a video-based course and participated in follow-up discussions.

Empathy—the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings—is generally believed to develop through childhood and life experiences. Teachers assessed students on empathy, behaviour, and other traits using a 1-to-10 scale before the programme started, then again five and ten weeks later. During that time, the average empathy score increased from 5.55 to 7.

More information about this study

Helen Demetriou - Empathy, Emotion and Education (book)

Study Finds Drop in Empathy Among College Students Over Time

According to a study from the University of Michigan, today’s college students show less empathy compared to those who attended college in the 1980s and ’90s.

The research, which was presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Boston, examined empathy levels in nearly 14,000 college students over a 30-year period.

Read more about this study here

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang

How emotions, self-awareness, and social interactions shape learning and development

Is a Professor of education and psychology at the University of Southern California and serves as director of the Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education. Her groundbreaking research explores how emotions, self-awareness, and social interactions shape learning and development across the lifespan. In her work, Immordino-Yang highlights the value of emotional intelligence in enhancing learning for both children and adults. She also advocates for educational reform that embraces innovative inquiry methods and inclusive teaching practices tailored to diverse learning styles.

Selected publications

Transcendent thinking counteracts longitudinal effects of mid-adolescent exposure to community violence in the anterior cingulate cortex.