Nurturing Ecological Empathy: Pedagogical Approaches from the US, Italy, Germany, and Ecuador

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Saturday 3:45 pm
  In Invited Poster Session: Division D Graduate Student In-Progress Research Poster Session

Abstract

Empathy is a key driver of prosocial behavior, and ecological empathy has been shown to correlate with both environmental attitudes and behavior. How might we nurture more ecological empathy, particularly in young people, as a means of promoting greater stewardship of nature? This paper explores the pedagogy of ecological empathy—drawing upon a cross-cultural qualitative study of 100+ PreK-6 schoolteachers in the USA, Italy, Germany, and Ecuador. It offers a collection of stories, curricular strategies, and insights from teachers around the world about how they foster ecological empathy—including wisdom and practices learned from fieldwork with Indigenous communities in Ecuador.

Author

• AnnaLise Hoopes, University of California - Los Angeles