Empathy Training Program as a Strategy to Improve Empathy in Elementary School Students

This study examined the effectiveness of an empathy training program for elementary school students using a non-randomized quasi-experimental design (untreated control group with pretest-posttest and follow-up measurements). The participants were 39 students from Grade IV and Grade V who were assigned to groups based on existing class membership. The program was developed from Davis's empathy framework (perspective-taking, fantasy, empathic concern, and personal distress), and empathy was measured using an Interpersonal Reactivity Index based scale adapted for elementary students. Data were analyzed using a mixed-design ANOVA. The findings showed a significant time-by-group interaction, and the experimental group demonstrated a significant increase in empathy scores. Follow-up scores two weeks after the intervention indicated that the improvement in the experimental group was maintained. These results indicate that the empathy training program was associated with improved empathy among students in this sample and may be used as a structured school-based social-emotional learning strategy.