Promoting Empathy and a Sense of

CommunityChapter 8 in Guiding Children’s Social and Emotional Development: A

Reflective Approach. Katz, Janice Englander. 2014.

Nature and Nurture Again!

• Children are born with an innate capacity for empathy and for socialization (sense of community)• Both empathy and sense of community can be nurtured through

parenting practices and high quality childcare• Consider “dandelion and orchid children”. How do our actions and

interactions with young children help children thrive in communities or, perhaps, wither and die as contributing members of communities?

Connections to prior knowledge Nature and Nurture resilience relationship based guidance supportive environments

developmentally appropriate guidance culturally responsive guidance temperament other?

Empathy

• Empathy – a person’s ability to “walk in another’s shoes” by having a sense of what the other person is feeling and appreciating their point of view because of this understanding.• Child development connection and progression – • Babies and toddler generally unconsciously “mirror” others’ emotions• Pre-K children try to help their friends feel better• Older children can plan and carry out activities for the betterment of their

community at large

Sense of Community

• More connections! Remember Maslow?We all want to belong to a group that cares for us and we want to know that our needs will be met within this group.

Elements of “community”

• McMillan and Chavis (1986)1. Membership – belonging2. Influence – reciprocal; individuals have an impact of the well-being of the

group and the group has an impact on the individual3. Fulfillment of needs – shared values4. Shared emotional connection - the importance and strength of the

relationships within the group

Look at how those align with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Impact of Emotional Intelligence• Daniel Goleman (1995) theorized that one’s emotional intelligence is

more important than ones intellectual capacity for future success• Further clarification explains the necessity of one’s use of emotional

intelligence and/or sensitivity for prosocial purposes. • Prosocial behaviors – using one’s behaviors for the benefit of others• Antisocial behaviors – using one’s behaviors for purposes that

disregard and/or violate the rights of others (Katz, 2014)

Natural (Nature) Influences (Biology and Maturity)

• Predisposition to empathize• Temperamental characteristics• Remember the “Still Face Experiment”? – Babies use emotions and

expressions of others to influence their own emotional responses• Toddlers are able to label some emotions• 2 year olds can identify cause for others’ emotions

Natural (Nature) Influences (Biology and Maturity) (cont.)

• 3 involuntary and preverbal empathetic responses1. Motor mimicry – imitation of others’ expressions of distress that result in emotional

distress in the baby1. Mirror neurons – brain connections fire in a baby’s brain at the same rate and in the same areas

as the brain connections of a person actually experiencing the emotion. 2. Classical conditioning – the signals of distress may be transferred to a baby. In the

future, expressions or posture can be the stimulus that results in a child’s empathetic response (distress)

3. Direct association – memories of similar situations may trigger empathetic responses

• 2 higher level responses that require language and symbolic thinking1. Mediated association – another person labels another’s emotions2. Role- or perspective taking – the ability to imagine another’s thoughts, feeling and

needs (Hoffman, 2007)

Sympathetic distress

• Table 8.1 on p. 149 in your text

Empathetic Distress

Experiential Influences

• Secure attachments and bonding relationships• Positive emotional interactions and experiences• ** Note the damaging biological (neurological) impact of stressful

and unhealthy relationships and interactions. • More connections: Remember the CSEFEL Pyramid?• Cultural influences• Individualistic and collectivist perspectives• Family circumstances• Behaviors that promote respect and prosocial interactions

Inductive Guidance

• Making clear the negative consequences of one’s actions towards another• Non-punitive• Emphasizes the feelings of others• Teaches prosocial behaviors• Purpose is to teach children to behave appropriately from a moral and

empathetic perspective rather than fear of power and punishment.

Practices and Strategies that Promote Empathy and

Community• Organic metaphor – classrooms are living organisms that are dynamic and

require nurturing.• Environment (space) –

• inviting and comfortable from a child’s perspective• Integrates the familiar with novelty• Encourages discovery and exploration• Allows children to make choices• Well organized with accessible, interesting materials

• Remember NAEYC Key Element 1c? “Using developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments.”

Practices and Strategies that Promote Empathy and

Community (cont.)• Time

• Time is important, but must include some down time (consider the school philosophy that suggests that every minute should be spent “on task”)

• Project-oriented approach – are children allowed large blocks of time in which they can pose questions and work to create solutions and resolve problems? Is extended time provided for continuation of and completion of interesting, engaging activities?• Note the example on pp. 155 & 156 in your text• Consider the “Looking in the Mirror. . .” on p. 156 in your text. What

temperamental characteristics do you see working well in project oriented classrooms? What might you have to do to help engage a more reserved child?

Practices and Strategies that Promote Empathy and

Community (cont.)• Expectations and group goals –

• Are our expectations and group goals based on our knowledge of child development, the individual needs of each child, and the cultural expectations of the families and community in which we live (DAP)?

• Do we help children practice the skills of empathy and community we want them to demonstrate in their everyday interactions and experiences?

• Do we remind and encourage rather than punish as skills emerge and become more prevalent as the year progresses and the children develop socially and emotionally?

• Do we help children develop and own the classroom expectations? Do they have a clear idea of what the behaviors “look like” and “sound like”?

• Do we model expected behaviors, reinforce emerging skills and provide formal and informal opportunities to practice these skills?

Example

• You are a new teacher in a classroom. A child says, “That is not mine” and rolls her eyes when you ask her a 2nd time to pick up the napkin that fell on the floor. • Let’s go to Discussion Board.

• We will identify the ABCs of the behavior, possible responses, and the best responses that will support empathy and community building (NAEYC Key Element 3c – Understand and practice responsible assessment to promote positive outcomes for each child).

• We will try to identify multiple influences that may impact her choices and your responses (NAEYC Key Element 1b).

• What do we know about this child’s characteristics and needs (NAEYC Key Element 1a)?

Practices and Strategies that Promote Empathy and

Community (cont.)• Everyday strategies• All children need direct guidance• All children will have problems demonstrating empathy and prosocial

behaviors on occasion• Even if child cannot yet comprehend the causal connection between actions

and consequences of their behaviors, we must articulate those connections and continue to remind children of expected behaviors.• Model expected behaviors and label emotions in others• Note the developmentally typical behaviors of the children in the scenario at

the bottom of p. 159 in your text. • More strategies: role playing, role reversal, dramatic play, children’s literature,

reflections, mental modeling

What Do You Do?

• “Looking in the Mirror. . .” on p. 160

• What do you do in your class, home, church, or wherever that promotes community-building with young children?

ResourcesGoleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam.Hoffman, M. L. (2007). The Origins of Empathic Morality in Toddlerhood. In C. Brownwell, & c. Kopp, Socioemotional development in the toddler years: transitions and transformations (pp. 132-149). New York: The Guilford Press.Katz, Janice Englander (2014). Guiding Children’s Social and Emotional Development: A Reflective Approach, Pearson, 142 – 161Learn about the Pyramid Model. (2011). Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention. Retrieved October 24, 2014, from TACSEI: http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/index.htmMcMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14 (1), 6-23.National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2011, July). 2010 NAEYC Standards for Initial & Advanced Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs. Retrieved October 24, 2014, from http://www.naeyc.org/ncate/files/ncate/NAEYC%20Initial%20and%20Advanced%20Standards%2010_2012.pdf