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Youth Empathy and Civic Engagement: Activating Social Empathy

 

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The Activating Social Empathy Education (ASE) programme was developed by UNCFRC researchers in collaboration with Foróige and the UNESCO Chair in Community, Leadership, and Youth Development at Pennsylvania State University. The ASE Programme has two versions: A Schools Programme, which is designed for teachers working with secondary school students, and a Community Programme, intended as a resource for youth workers working with youth in non-formal education settings. A key objective of the ASE team is to mainstream social empathy education in schools, teacher education, and youth work.

The Activating Social Empathy programme is comprised of 12 individual sessions, with one session designed to be delivered over the course of one class. Teachers are guided to facilitate the programme through the use of a Teacher’s Manual, which provides all details and resources needed to run the programme with students. The programme draws on activities and educational resources used in other Social and Emotional Learning and youth lead initiatives, including the Youth As Researchers Programme.

For more information regarding this project, click here.

Our Aim

The aim of the ASE programme is to improve empathy skills and foster positive peer relations among secondary school students. The ASE programme is designed to form part of the Junior Cycle Wellbeing Programme and, in line with these guidelines, sets out to help students “build life skills and develop a strong sense of connectedness to their school and to their community”. This short unit of learning aims to achieve these objectives by centring students’ learning and skill building around four key principles: Understanding Empathy, Practicing Empathy, Overcoming Barriers to Empathy, and Putting Empathy into Action.

PI & Team

  • Bernadine Brady
  • Emer Davitt
  • Pat Dolan
  • Niamh Flynn
  • Cliona Murray
  • Charlotte Silke
  • Aileen Shaw

Collaborators

UNESCO Child & Family Research Centre and School of Education, University of Galway

Outputs

  • Silke, C., Brady, B., Dolan, P. & Boylan, C., (2024), Empathy Rules, Maps and Paths: A Qualitative Exploration of the Factors that Facilitate or Inhibit Empathy and Prosocial responding among Youth. American Journal of Community Psychology.
  • Silke, C., Davitt, E., Flynn, N., Shaw, A., Brady, B., Murray, C. & Dolan, P., (2023), Activating Social Empathy: An Evaluation of a School-Based Social and Emotional Learning Programme, Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice and Policy.
  • Murphy, C., Dolan, P., Browne, G. & Brennan, M., (2022), Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland, Kildare: Mercier Press.
  • Silke, C., Brady, B., Dolan, P & Boylan, C., (2020), Empathy, Social Responsibility, and Civic Behaviour among Irish Adolescents: A Socio-Contextual Approach, Journal Of Early Adolescence.
  • Silke, C., Brady, B., Dolan, P. & Boylan, C., (2020), Social Values and Civic Behaviour among Youth in Ireland: The Influence of Social Contexts, Irish Journal of Sociology.  28(1).
  • Silke, C., Brady, B., Boylan, C. & Dolan, P., (2018), Factors influencing the Development of Empathy and Pro-Social Behaviour among Adolescents: A Systematic Review, Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 421-436.

Impacts

ASE is a Junior Cycle SPHE resource that has been approved by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. It aims to support teachers in addressing learning outcomes relating to listening, respecting and communicating with others, understanding the importance of empathy, and demonstrating empathy skills. In ASE, teachers guide students through a series of interactive activities (e.g., Diamond Nine, walking debate, group discussions), which challenge students to reflect on the importance of empathy and practise their empathy skills.