| Abstract [eng] |
Primary school teachers' experience in developing children's empathy . Deimantė Čečienė, Vilnius, Vilnius University, 2025, p.66 This master’s thesis analyzes the experience of primary school teachers in development children’s empathy. The aim of the study is to describe how primary school teachers support the development of empathy in children by applying the social-emotional learning program Second Step, based on interviews with the teachers themselves. The study involved seven primary school teachers aged 50 to 62. A qualitative research strategy was chosen, and the teachers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview method. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed five main themes: the teacher’s relationship with empathy; the beginning of empathy development – respectful attention to children’s psychological needs through everyday educational practices; the experience of empathy expands and enriches the child’s inner world; strengthening interpersonal relationships in the educational environment; and challenges in empathy development, the choice to speak more about the child than about oneself. The study helped to understand how teachers define the significance of empathy, what educational choices they make, and how empathy development affects children, interpersonal relationships, and the teachers themselves. Keywords: empathy, social-emotional learning, teacher experience, Second Step. |
