Fitting Into Our Students' Shoes: An Exploration of Empathy in Early Childhood Teacher Education

• In Event: 30.080 - Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: 30.080-14 - Researching Empathy and Relations in an Era of Neoliberalism

Abstract

We, three early childhood teacher educators from different institutions, engage in a collaborative self-study to explore the role of empathy in preservice teacher professional development. The two-fold purpose of the study is to 1) develop and refine our practices to build teacher candidates’ empathy in their interactions with children, families, and colleagues and 2) to reclaim accountability in teacher education by examining our practices in complex ways. We postulate that high-stakes testing, technology, and neoliberal education reforms influence our teacher candidates’ abilities and willingness to apply empathy in the classroom. A deeper understanding of how teacher candidates understand and apply empathy provides avenues for teacher educators to navigate the tensions in school reform impacted contexts.

Authors

• Leah Schoenberg Muccio, University of Hawaii at Manoa

• Lea Ann Christenson, Towson University

• Kevin McGowan, Bridgewater State University