ABSTRACT
The concept of empathy has a long history in a range of fields including evolutionary biology, counseling, and social neuroscience. Much of what is known about empathy is conflicting as scholars debate the precursors and properties that best accommodate its expression. Substantive discussion of empathy in the field of education that moves beyond anecdotal mentions of the construct seems to be similarly diffuse. Still, Bouton (2016) suggests that empathy is central to one’s preparation to teach despite persistent challenges to measuring and ensuring a candidate’s readiness to utilize empathy as a tool necessary to guide their professional decision making. There is no shortage of recent interest in the construct of empathy’s relevance to ensuring a high-quality education experience for all students, and especially those young people who experience some degree of marginalization along the lines of race, class, and/or ability (Jaber, Southerland, & Dake, 2018; Meyers, Rowell, Wells, & Smith, 2019; Peck, Maude & Brotherson, 2015; Parchomiuk, 2019). The precise meaning or significance of empathy for teaching and teacher education, its utility and application in the professional teaching context is at once confounding, and at the same time essential to producing favorable schooling outcomes.
