Teaching for Social Empathy: Lessons Learned From Instructors in a Social Justice in Education Course

• In Event: Exploring Antiracist and Social Justice Teaching

Abstract

If teacher preparation programs’ aim to foster culturally sustaining teaching practices, then developing preservice teachers’ (PSTs) social empathy is vital. This paper shares the lessons learned from analyzing three instructors’ teaching practices as they taught PSTs in a social justice in education course. This course primed the PSTs to develop social empathy. Our analysis of the three case studies revealed a variety of instructional practices that had the potential to promote or hinder PSTs’ development of social empathy. These practices fell into three broad categories: questioning and discussion strategies, class dynamics, and engagement in activities centered on identity, difference, and perspective taking. These findings add to our understanding of which teaching practices best support PSTs’ development of social empathy.

Authors

• Carrie L. James, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Elijah Nbatierfaa Kumbal, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Saadeddine S. Shehab, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign