Exploring Compassion, Empathy, and Social Justice in Preservice Teachers: A Moderated Mediation Approach

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: From Empathy to Action: Emotional, Restorative, and Creative Pathways in Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Empathic and compassionate dispositions have been linked to the development of social justice-oriented values in teacher education. In the present study, we used a moderated mediation model to examine the relationships among compassion, empathy, and social justice beliefs in preservice teachers and test the degree to which these relationships varied based on course level. Results indicated that empathy mediated the relationship between compassion and social justice beliefs among preservice educators. Additionally, compassion directly predicted social justice dispositions, but only for students enrolled in more advanced course levels. These findings suggest that teacher education programs should more intentionally support the development of empathic and compassionate dispositions to foster a stronger commitment to social justice among future educators.

Authors

• Megan Hut, West Virginia University

• D. Jake Follmer, West Virginia University