Teaching children empathy can have a positive impact on their behaviour, emotional awareness, and tolerance and understanding of other cultures, a study has found (Webb et al, 2024).
The research, involving 900 students in six countries, found that a short programme of empathy lessons led to measurable and positive changes in how children related to others, improved their conduct, and increased their emotional literacy within a 10-week period.
The findings come from an evaluation of the ‘Empathy Programme’: a term-long course developed by the UK-based company, Empathy Studios, which was conducted in conjunction with support from academics at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education.
The evaluation of the programme is timely and comes as recent Department for Education (2024) figures show that 11 619 children were suspended for racist behaviour during the 2022-2023 school year – up from 9 452 the year before.
Campaigners have blamed the normalisation of the language of racism and bigotry in the UK, with children hearing it in the home and in their communities.
The same data set also showed a substantial spike in suspensions for verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against both other pupils and adults (in the latter suspensions rose from 112 615 to 148 831).
In the research, teachers rated pupils' empathy, behaviour and other characteristics on a scale of one to 10 before the programme began, and then 5 and 10 weeks later. The average empathy score rose from 5.55 to 7, while average behaviour scores increased from 6.52 to 7.89 (University of Cambridge, 2024; Webb et al, 2024).
In follow-up interviews, one primary school teacher told researchers: ‘I've definitely been able to resolve more issues within the classroom and not have parents called in.’ Meanwhile, a student noted: ‘I think that everyone in the class has become kinder.’
Ed Kirwan, a former science teacher and founder of Empathy Studios said: ‘The programme's success lies in teaching students to celebrate difference, which changes their wellbeing and behaviour.
‘There's never an excuse for poor behaviour, but often a reason, which greater mutual understanding can potentially address.
Mr Kirwan said that the civil unrest and riots that had occurred in England during the summer illustrated how badly this kind of teaching was needed.
‘We need more empathy across society’, he said. ‘It won't solve everything, but it is the foundation for solutions, and it starts with education. If the new government is serious about curriculum reforms that prepare young people for life and work, we must ensure that school equips them to understand, be curious about, and listen to each other, even in moments of disagreement.’
The evaluation was carried out by Dr Helen Demetriou the University of Cambridge, a specialist in empathy education, who designed the research, and collected, quality assured and interpreted the data.
‘The findings show that a fairly simple, film-based programme can raise pupils' empathy levels, enhancing their understanding of themselves, others, and global issues,’ Dr Demetriou said. ‘That supports a more complete learning experience, developing social and emotional skills that we know contribute to improved behaviour and more engaged learning.’
Other evidence already confirms that empathy can be taught, though many experts had previously believed it to be innate. A 2021 study co-authored by Dr Demetriou successfully trialled teaching empathy during design and technology lessons (Demetriou and Nicholl, 2022). More recently, researchers at the University of Virginia (Stern et al, 2024) found that empathy between parents and children is ‘paid forward’ by the children to friends and, later, when they become parents.
The new research builds on a 2022 pilot study with the University of Cambridge, which suggested that the programme makes students more responsive to the feelings of others and improves self-esteem.
The teacher surveys indicated that behaviour had improved by up to 10% in some schools, especially those new to empathy lessons. The average improvement in behaviour recorded by UK teachers corresponded to the overall trend, rising from 6.3/10 pre-programme to 7.7/10 post-programme. Empathy and behaviour also appeared to be closely linked: all schools reporting an overall improvement in student empathy also saw improvements in behaviour after 5 weeks, which was sustained in 80% of cases after 10 weeks.
Furthermore, the evaluation recorded small improvements in students' overall emotional literacy and their ‘affective empathy’ – the ability to share the feelings of others.
Many students said they had learned valuable lessons from the programme. Their comments included: ‘Everyone struggles… I'm not the only one who finds it hard’, and ‘Although we are all different, we all have so much in common’.
‘Empathy is the number one human skill we need to develop for the future,’ Dr Kirwan added. ‘It should not just be an add-on; it should be considered foundational.’