Teacher empathy for a positive socio-emotional classroom climate in the early years’ classroom : teachers’ perspectives

Abstract

This study explored the use of teacher empathy in the kindergarten classroom and its influence on the socio-emotional classroom climate. A qualitative methodology was employed, making use of semi-structured interviews with seven kindergarten educators who were recruited through purposive and convenience sampling. Reflective thematic analysis of data produced four global themes which indicated that teacher empathy positively influenced the socio-emotional class atmosphere. Results show that: (a) the teachers’ empathic stance supported them to prioritise and focus on their students’ socio-emotional wellbeing and happiness; (b) their empathic attitudes motivated them to create an inclusive classroom climate where no child felt excluded; (c) teachers’ focus on their students’ wellbeing enabled them to prioritise a warm classroom atmosphere where young children could develop positive relationships with one another; and (d) teacher empathy facilitated child-focused teaching which encouraged meaningful engagement with learning, promoting children’s holistic wellbeing and academic success. All of this created a positive and inclusive socio-emotional classroom atmosphere where all children feel secure, motivated to learn, and enabled to succeed to enhance their wellbeing. Teacher empathy was also found to support teacher resilience. The findings lead to suggestions for including empathy training as a regular part of teacher education to increase educators’ sensitivity and responsivity to the holistic and wellbeing needs of students.