PROMOTING TEACHER EMPATHY: FROM ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS
Main Article Content
Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has brought in its wake a growing concern over teacher well-being. It is evidenced that prioritizing teacher well-being is closely intertwined with nurturing a culture of teacher empathy, as teachers with high empathy levels are better equipped to navigate negative emotions while promoting positive ones (Tarrasch et al., 2020). Several studies have been conducted in the field to investigate the levels of teacher empathy and its impacts on teaching and learning; however, very few examined the underlying reasons behind such observed levels. Moreover, there has been little research investigating empathy among Vietnamese teachers, especially the pre-service ones. This qualitative research was conducted to delve into the role of teacher empathy and the nuanced factors contributing to its development, as perceived by pre-service teachers at a university in Vietnam. Through analysis of data from semi-structured interviews, the findings revealed that the majority of participants were aware of the importance of empathy in their teaching profession. Besides, five main factors were identified as contributors to their empathy development, namely personal beliefs and values, personal skills, mindful lifestyle, professional practice, and past educational experience. These findings are anticipated to offer implications for both teachers and trainers working in teacher education.
Keywords
teacher empathy, EFL pre-service teachers, teacher well-being, teacher education
Article Details
References
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Baron‐Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The Empathy Quotient: An Investigation of Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and Normal Sex Differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00
Benn, R., Akiva, T., Arel, S., & Roeser, R. W. (2012). Mindfulness training effects for parents and educators of children with special needs. Developmental Psychology, 48(5), 1476–1487. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027537
Bouton, B. (2016). Empathy Research and Teacher Preparation: Benefits and Obstacles. SRATE Journal, 25(2), 16–25. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1113829.pdf
Cameron, C. D., Hutcherson, C. A., Ferguson, A. M., Scheffer, J. A., Hadjiandreou, E., & Inzlicht, M. (2019). Empathy is hard work: People choose to avoid empathy because of its cognitive costs. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(6), 962–976. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000595
Castillo, R., Salguero, J. M., Fernández‐Berrocal, P., & Balluerka, N. (2013). Effects of an emotional intelligence intervention on aggression and empathy among adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 36(5), 883–892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.07.001
Chang, M. (2013). Toward a theoretical model to understand teacher emotions and teacher burnout in the context of student misbehavior: Appraisal, regulation and coping. Motivation and Emotion, 37(4), 799–817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-012-9335-0
Cherniss, C. (2010). Emotional intelligence: toward clarification of a concept. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3(2), 110–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2010.01231.x
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2013). 2013 CASEL guide: Effective social and emotional learning programs—Preschool and elementary (school ed.). Chicago, IL: Author.
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2020). CASEL'S SEL FRAMEWORK: What Are the Core Competence Areas and Where Are They Promoted? https://casel.org/casel-sel-framework-11-2020/?view=true
Cooper, B. (2010). In search of profound empathy in learning relationships: understanding the mathematics of moral learning environments. Journal of Moral Education, 39(1), 79–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240903528717
Davis, M. H. (1996). Empathy: A Social Psychological Approach. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429493898
Delors, J. (1996). Learning: The Treasure Within, Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. UNESCO Publishing. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000109590
Dinh, T. H. (2020). Teacher Characteristics: What Do EFL Pre-service Teachers Expect?. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 35(6). https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4479
Do, T. D., & Zsolnai, A. (2021). Teachers' social and emotional competence: A new approach of teacher education in Vietnam. Hungarian Educational Research Journal, 12(2), 131–144. https://doi.org/10.1556/063.2021.00050
Feshbach, N. D., & Feshbach, S. (2009). Empathy and education. In J. Decety & W. Ickes (Eds.), The Social Neuroscience of Empathy (pp. 85–98). Cambridge, MA: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262012973.003.0008
Ge, Y., Li, W., Chen, F., Kayani, S., & Qin, G. (2021). The Theories of the Development of Students: a factor to shape teacher empathy from the perspective of motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.736656
Goleman, D. (2001). An EI-based theory of performance. In C. Cherniss & D. Goleman (Eds.), The emotionally intelligent workplace: How to select for, measure, and improve emotional intelligence in individuals, groups, and organizations (pp. 27-44). San Francisco, JosseyBass. https://www.eiconsortium.org/pdf/an_ei_based_theory_of_performance.pdf
Huang, H., Liang, Y., & Chen, Y. (2018). Preservice preschool teachers' responses to bullying scenarios: the roles of years of study and empathy. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00175
Hwang, Y., Noh, J., Medvedev, O. N., & Singh, N. N. (2019). Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Program for Teachers on Teacher Wellbeing and Person-Centered Teaching Practices. Mindfulness, 10(11), 2385–2402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01236-1
Kim, L., Jörg, V., & Klassen, R. M. (2019). A Meta-Analysis of the effects of teacher personality on teacher effectiveness and burnout. Educational Psychology Review, 31(1), 163–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9458-2
Kohler, W. (1929). Gestalt psychology. Liveright.
Kunyk, D., & Olson, J. (2001). Clarification of conceptualizations of empathy. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35(3), 317–325. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01848.x
Laura, R. S., & Hannam, F. D. (2017). The Technologisation of Education and the Pathway to Depersonalisation and Dehumanisation. Asian Journal of Social Sciences Studies/Asian Journal Social Science Studies, 2(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.20849/ajsss.v2i2.155
Le, T. L. (2013). Teachers as moral guides: A case study of Vietnamese pre-service teachers of English in contemporary Vietnam. [Doctoral dissertation, Monash University, Australia]. https://doi.org/10.4225/03/58b604b4ba294
Le, T. T., Phuong, H. Y., Nguyen, T. A., Pham, T. T., Huynh, T. A. T., & Nguyen, H. T. (2023). Illuminating the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching odyssey: unveiling the professional identities of pre-service teachers. F1000Research, 12, 1086. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.139547.1
Meyers, S., Rowell, K., Wells, M., & Smith, B. C. (2019). Teacher Empathy: A Model of Empathy for Teaching for Student Success. College Teaching, 67(3), 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2019.1579699
Milatz, A., Lüftenegger, M., & Schober, B. (2015). Teachers' Relationship Closeness with Students as a Resource for Teacher Wellbeing: A Response Surface Analytical Approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01949
Murphy, H., Tubritt, J., & Norman, J. O. (2018). The role of empathy in preparing teachers to tackle bullying. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 7(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2018.1.261
Narinasamy, I., & Mamat, W. H. W. (2013). Caring teacher in developing empathy in moral education. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 1(1), 1–19. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1086232.pdf
Nguyen, T. L. H., & Luong, T. H. (2023). Changes in Emotional Intelligence of Students Enrolled in the Emotional Intelligence and Social Communication Course. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 39(3), 34-47. https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5055
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x02000018
Rieckhoff, B. S., Ockerman, M., Proweller, A., & Wolfinger, J. (2020). Building teacher empathy and culturally responsive practice through professional development and self-reflection. Journal of Vincentian Social Action, 5(2), 48–64. https://scholar.stjohns.edu/jovsa/vol5/iss2/8
Rogers, C., Lyon, H., & Tausch, R. (2013). On becoming an effective teacher: Person-centered teaching, psychology, philosophy, and dialogues with Carl R. Rogers and Harold Lyon. Routledge.
Samavi, S. A., Hajializadeh, K., Javdan, M., & Farshad, M. R. (2022). Psychometric validation of teacher empathy scale: Measurement invariance in gender. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1042993
Stojiljković, S., Djigić, G., & Zlatković, B. (2012). Empathy and teachers' roles. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 960–966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.12.021
Stotland, E. (1969). Exploratory investigations of empathy. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 271–314). New York: Academic Press.
Stipp, B. (2019). A big part of education also: A mixed-methods evaluation of a social and emotional learning (SEL) course for pre-service teachers. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 24(2), 204–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2019.1597569
Swan, P., & Riley, P. (2015). Social connection: empathy and mentalization for teachers. Pastoral Care in Education, 33(4), 220–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2015.1094120
Tarrasch, R., Berger, R., & Grossman, D. (2020). Mindfulness and Compassion as Key Factors in Improving Teacher's Well Being. Mindfulness, 11(4), 1049–1061. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01304-x
Tettegah, S., & Anderson, C. J. (2007). Pre-service teachers' empathy and cognitions: Statistical analysis of text data by graphical models. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32(1), 48–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.10.010
Valli, L., & Buese, D. (2007). The Changing Roles of Teachers in an Era of High-Stakes Accountability. American Educational Research Journal, 44(3), 519–558. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831207306859
Wang, X., Zhang, L., Peng, Y., Lu, J., Huang, Y., & Chen, W. (2022). Development and validation of the empathy scale for teachers (EST). Studies in Educational Evaluation, 72, 101112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101112
Weisz, E., Ong, D. C., Carlson, R. W., & Zaki, J. (2021). Building empathy through motivation-based interventions. Emotion, 21(5), 990–999. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000929
Whitford, D. K., & Emerson, A. M. (2018). Empathy intervention to reduce implicit bias in Pre-Service Teachers. Psychological Reports, 122(2), 670–688. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118767435
Yoshida, K. (2024). Has the significance of Target 4.7 of the SDGs changed? A commentary focusing on the critical role of socio-emotional learning. International Journal of Educational Development, 104, 102944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102944
Yu, C. C., Tan, L., Le, M. K., Tang, B., Liaw, S. Y., Tierney, T., Ho, Y. Y., Lim, B. E. E., Lim, D., Ng, R., Chia, S. C., & Low, J. A. (2022). The development of empathy in the healthcare setting: a qualitative approach. BMC Medical Education, 22, Article 245. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03312-y
Batson, C. D. (2009). These things called empathy: Eight related but distinct phenomena. In J. Decety & W. J. Ickes (Eds.), Social neuroscience series: The social neuroscience of empathy. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262012973.003.0002
Baron‐Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The Empathy Quotient: An Investigation of Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and Normal Sex Differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00
Benn, R., Akiva, T., Arel, S., & Roeser, R. W. (2012). Mindfulness training effects for parents and educators of children with special needs. Developmental Psychology, 48(5), 1476–1487. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027537
Bouton, B. (2016). Empathy Research and Teacher Preparation: Benefits and Obstacles. SRATE Journal, 25(2), 16–25. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1113829.pdf
Cameron, C. D., Hutcherson, C. A., Ferguson, A. M., Scheffer, J. A., Hadjiandreou, E., & Inzlicht, M. (2019). Empathy is hard work: People choose to avoid empathy because of its cognitive costs. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(6), 962–976. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000595
Castillo, R., Salguero, J. M., Fernández‐Berrocal, P., & Balluerka, N. (2013). Effects of an emotional intelligence intervention on aggression and empathy among adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 36(5), 883–892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.07.001
Chang, M. (2013). Toward a theoretical model to understand teacher emotions and teacher burnout in the context of student misbehavior: Appraisal, regulation and coping. Motivation and Emotion, 37(4), 799–817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-012-9335-0
Cherniss, C. (2010). Emotional intelligence: toward clarification of a concept. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3(2), 110–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2010.01231.x
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2013). 2013 CASEL guide: Effective social and emotional learning programs—Preschool and elementary (school ed.). Chicago, IL: Author.
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2020). CASEL'S SEL FRAMEWORK: What Are the Core Competence Areas and Where Are They Promoted? https://casel.org/casel-sel-framework-11-2020/?view=true
Cooper, B. (2010). In search of profound empathy in learning relationships: understanding the mathematics of moral learning environments. Journal of Moral Education, 39(1), 79–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240903528717
Davis, M. H. (1996). Empathy: A Social Psychological Approach. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429493898
Delors, J. (1996). Learning: The Treasure Within, Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. UNESCO Publishing. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000109590
Dinh, T. H. (2020). Teacher Characteristics: What Do EFL Pre-service Teachers Expect?. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 35(6). https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4479
Do, T. D., & Zsolnai, A. (2021). Teachers' social and emotional competence: A new approach of teacher education in Vietnam. Hungarian Educational Research Journal, 12(2), 131–144. https://doi.org/10.1556/063.2021.00050
Feshbach, N. D., & Feshbach, S. (2009). Empathy and education. In J. Decety & W. Ickes (Eds.), The Social Neuroscience of Empathy (pp. 85–98). Cambridge, MA: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262012973.003.0008
Ge, Y., Li, W., Chen, F., Kayani, S., & Qin, G. (2021). The Theories of the Development of Students: a factor to shape teacher empathy from the perspective of motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.736656
Goleman, D. (2001). An EI-based theory of performance. In C. Cherniss & D. Goleman (Eds.), The emotionally intelligent workplace: How to select for, measure, and improve emotional intelligence in individuals, groups, and organizations (pp. 27-44). San Francisco, JosseyBass. https://www.eiconsortium.org/pdf/an_ei_based_theory_of_performance.pdf
Huang, H., Liang, Y., & Chen, Y. (2018). Preservice preschool teachers' responses to bullying scenarios: the roles of years of study and empathy. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00175
Hwang, Y., Noh, J., Medvedev, O. N., & Singh, N. N. (2019). Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Program for Teachers on Teacher Wellbeing and Person-Centered Teaching Practices. Mindfulness, 10(11), 2385–2402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01236-1
Kim, L., Jörg, V., & Klassen, R. M. (2019). A Meta-Analysis of the effects of teacher personality on teacher effectiveness and burnout. Educational Psychology Review, 31(1), 163–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9458-2
Kohler, W. (1929). Gestalt psychology. Liveright.
Kunyk, D., & Olson, J. (2001). Clarification of conceptualizations of empathy. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35(3), 317–325. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01848.x
Laura, R. S., & Hannam, F. D. (2017). The Technologisation of Education and the Pathway to Depersonalisation and Dehumanisation. Asian Journal of Social Sciences Studies/Asian Journal Social Science Studies, 2(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.20849/ajsss.v2i2.155
Le, T. L. (2013). Teachers as moral guides: A case study of Vietnamese pre-service teachers of English in contemporary Vietnam. [Doctoral dissertation, Monash University, Australia]. https://doi.org/10.4225/03/58b604b4ba294
Le, T. T., Phuong, H. Y., Nguyen, T. A., Pham, T. T., Huynh, T. A. T., & Nguyen, H. T. (2023). Illuminating the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching odyssey: unveiling the professional identities of pre-service teachers. F1000Research, 12, 1086. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.139547.1
Meyers, S., Rowell, K., Wells, M., & Smith, B. C. (2019). Teacher Empathy: A Model of Empathy for Teaching for Student Success. College Teaching, 67(3), 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2019.1579699
Milatz, A., Lüftenegger, M., & Schober, B. (2015). Teachers' Relationship Closeness with Students as a Resource for Teacher Wellbeing: A Response Surface Analytical Approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01949
Murphy, H., Tubritt, J., & Norman, J. O. (2018). The role of empathy in preparing teachers to tackle bullying. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 7(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2018.1.261
Narinasamy, I., & Mamat, W. H. W. (2013). Caring teacher in developing empathy in moral education. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 1(1), 1–19. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1086232.pdf
Nguyen, T. L. H., & Luong, T. H. (2023). Changes in Emotional Intelligence of Students Enrolled in the Emotional Intelligence and Social Communication Course. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 39(3), 34-47. https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5055
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x02000018
Rieckhoff, B. S., Ockerman, M., Proweller, A., & Wolfinger, J. (2020). Building teacher empathy and culturally responsive practice through professional development and self-reflection. Journal of Vincentian Social Action, 5(2), 48–64. https://scholar.stjohns.edu/jovsa/vol5/iss2/8
Rogers, C., Lyon, H., & Tausch, R. (2013). On becoming an effective teacher: Person-centered teaching, psychology, philosophy, and dialogues with Carl R. Rogers and Harold Lyon. Routledge.
Samavi, S. A., Hajializadeh, K., Javdan, M., & Farshad, M. R. (2022). Psychometric validation of teacher empathy scale: Measurement invariance in gender. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1042993
Stojiljković, S., Djigić, G., & Zlatković, B. (2012). Empathy and teachers' roles. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 960–966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.12.021
Stotland, E. (1969). Exploratory investigations of empathy. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 271–314). New York: Academic Press.
Stipp, B. (2019). A big part of education also: A mixed-methods evaluation of a social and emotional learning (SEL) course for pre-service teachers. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 24(2), 204–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2019.1597569
Swan, P., & Riley, P. (2015). Social connection: empathy and mentalization for teachers. Pastoral Care in Education, 33(4), 220–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2015.1094120
Tarrasch, R., Berger, R., & Grossman, D. (2020). Mindfulness and Compassion as Key Factors in Improving Teacher's Well Being. Mindfulness, 11(4), 1049–1061. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01304-x
Tettegah, S., & Anderson, C. J. (2007). Pre-service teachers' empathy and cognitions: Statistical analysis of text data by graphical models. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32(1), 48–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.10.010
Valli, L., & Buese, D. (2007). The Changing Roles of Teachers in an Era of High-Stakes Accountability. American Educational Research Journal, 44(3), 519–558. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831207306859
Wang, X., Zhang, L., Peng, Y., Lu, J., Huang, Y., & Chen, W. (2022). Development and validation of the empathy scale for teachers (EST). Studies in Educational Evaluation, 72, 101112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101112
Weisz, E., Ong, D. C., Carlson, R. W., & Zaki, J. (2021). Building empathy through motivation-based interventions. Emotion, 21(5), 990–999. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000929
Whitford, D. K., & Emerson, A. M. (2018). Empathy intervention to reduce implicit bias in Pre-Service Teachers. Psychological Reports, 122(2), 670–688. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118767435
Yoshida, K. (2024). Has the significance of Target 4.7 of the SDGs changed? A commentary focusing on the critical role of socio-emotional learning. International Journal of Educational Development, 104, 102944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102944
Yu, C. C., Tan, L., Le, M. K., Tang, B., Liaw, S. Y., Tierney, T., Ho, Y. Y., Lim, B. E. E., Lim, D., Ng, R., Chia, S. C., & Low, J. A. (2022). The development of empathy in the healthcare setting: a qualitative approach. BMC Medical Education, 22, Article 245. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03312-y