ACTIVITIES AND METHODS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMPATHY IN FIVE- TO SIX-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN IN A PRE-SCHOOL INSTITUTION

Abstract

Empathy is the ability to emotionally respond to the experiences of others and the capacity for compassion. Empathy is not innate; like other moral qualities, empathy has to be developed. The pre-school institution and the educator have an important role to play in the emotional and social development of five- to six-year-old children and in the development of empathy. By following the principles of behaviour and action, empathy and action, the teacher is able to understand the emotional state of the pupils, maintain harmonious relationships; these factors lead to the well-being of each child in the educational institution, where the child can feel part of the community, accepted, safe, respected, and where the conditions for the development of empathy are created. By organising the educational process, selecting and planning the content of education, planning the educational strategy and tasks, combining educational methods and tools, the educator plays a decisive role in the development of the creativity of the pupils, which reveals and shapes the characteristics of the personality of the child and the thinking abilities that are necessary to empathise with the emotional state of another person.

Most Lithuanian and foreign researchers (Malinauskaitė (2011), Jautakytė (2014), Liubertienė, Kunickienė, Kupriūnienė (2015), Hille, Evanschitzky, and Bauer (2015)) reveal the role of the preschool educator in developing empathy in five- to six-year-old children. However, there is a lack of research on the specific activities and methods used by educators to develop empathy in five- to six-year-old children.

Research problem. What are the effective activities and methods used by teachers to develop empathy in five- to six-year-old children in a pre-school institution?

The object of the research – empathy expression of five- to six-year-old children.

The goal of the research – to examine activities and methods for developing empathy in five- to six-year-old children in a pre-school educational institution.

Research objectives:

1. To theoretically analyse the activities and methods used in the development of empathy in five- to six-year-old children in a pre-school educational institution.
2. To empirically evaluate the activities and methods used by educators to develop empathy in five- to six-year-old children in a pre-school educational institution.

Methods: scientific literature review, document analysis, structured interview, qualitative data analysis.

The results of the qualitative research show that the informants use different activities or forms of activities to develop empathy in children aged five to six years old. Effective activities include group, social, drama, music and project-based activities, which encourage children to think and make decisions, develop the ability to focus and listen, develop the ability to recognise feelings and express emotions, and enable the development of empathy.

In a pre-school institution, empathy is developed in five- to six-year-old children through role-play, physical play, theatre and music activities. Listening to and discussing fiction and fairy tales, expressing the feelings and emotions they experience, has a positive effect on empathy. The content of animation, chosen by the teacher purposefully, allows children to develop moral values.  Shared social activities between children and adults play an important role in the development of empathy. During group work and projects, the interaction between children fosters tolerance and a sense of community, while the analysis of various discussions, situations and programmes teaches children to recognise, understand and regulate feelings and emotions, and to develop empathy.

Structured interviews revealed that the structured organisation of educational activities by pre-school teachers, including artistic, exploratory-investigative and mobile play activities, has a positive impact on the emotional and social development of the child, and creates conditions for the development of empathy. Educators refer to different methods for the development of empathy in five- to six-year-old children: projects, conversations-discussions, didactic games, active-team games, group work, drama, fiction and animation, music, and social cooperation between children and adults. However, teachers rarely use the preventive programme “Zippy's Friends”, which focuses on the development of social-emotional competence. In addition, they do not use the following effective activities and methods to develop the empathy of children: child-initiated role-playing games and the Kimochi emotional intelligence programme.