Journeys Toward Empathy: The Impact of a Social Empathy Focused Intervention on Preservice Teachers

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Eight
  In Roundtable Session: Consequential Research: The Impact of Teacher Diversity, Recruitment, and Social Emotional Competencies (Table 6)

Abstract

During the fall of 2021, we collaborated with instructors to implement an intervention in an education course on identity and difference for preservice teachers (PSTs). The interactive booklets were based in human-centered design with the objective of aiding preservice teachers in their understanding of course content and community placement experiences. We then analyzed students’ artifacts in an effort to gauge their uptake of course concepts and goals and development of social empathy. Focal participants showed evidence of growth in socio-cultural awareness, though they tended to adopt damage framing in their writing. Findings indicate that time for reflection and synthesis of socio-cultural concepts is necessary to gauge long-term and in-depth development of social empathy skills in PSTs.

Authors

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

• Jadyn Laixely, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author

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