ERIC Number: EJ1376872
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-8756-7555
EISSN: EISSN-1930-8299
Instructor and Student Perceptions of Teacher Empathy in Higher Education
Ross, Jenifer; Hicks-Roof, Kristen; Cosby, Meghan; Arikawa, Andrea
College Teaching, v71 n1 p28-37 2023
Empathy is recognized as the ability to relate emotionally to an experience or another person's emotions. Evidence supports the notion that students learn better and have greater positive perceptions when instructors display empathetic values and seek more meaningful relationships with their students. The purpose of this study was to assess instructor self-reported empathy and students' perceptions of instructor empathy, using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) and a newly developed Instructor Empathy Practices questionnaire (IEP7), among a convenience sample from a public university. This convergent mixed-methods study consisted of a cross-sectional survey sent to both students and instructors and focus groups conducted with students. A total of 168 students and 68 faculty members completed the survey and 19 students participated in the focus groups. Contextual factors such as race (p = 0.036), classification (p = 0.003) and GPA (p = 0.028) played significant roles in student empathy scores. Among instructors, only total student enrollment (p = 0.028) had an association with teacher empathy. Focus groups revealed themes related to recognizing empathy including understanding its definition, instructional techniques, perception in relation to class motivation, and importance. This study was the first to employ a convergent study design to assess and better characterize empathy from both instructors' and students' perspectives.
Descriptors: College Faculty, College Students, Teacher Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Empathy, Teacher Student Relationship, Enrollment, Teacher Characteristics, Public Colleges
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A