Course supported by Cillian Murphy teaches young people empathy and 'builds solidarity'

The Activating Social Empathy programme teaches post-primary children the value of connecting emotionally to the experience of others. Supported by actor Cillian Murphy, research shows the 12-week course leads to significant awareness among the young participants

Tue, 07 Mar, 2023 - 17:57

Helen O’Callaghan

Seoirse Norris started secondary school last September and already he knows that stepping into other people’s shoes means you see things from their point of view.

“If you don’t do that, you might only see from your own point of view — or you could act on a stereotype and assume things about the person,” says Seoirse, a first year at Douglas Community School, Cork.

His classmate, Ethan O’Leary, agrees that it’s helpful to hear how others are feeling.

Another classmate, Odhrán Brennan, talks about empathetic listening as “the difference between having a conversation — and truly having a conversation, where you understand what the person’s really saying”.

All three boys are 13 years old and are doing the Activating Social Empathy (ASE) programme at their school. A 12-week empathy training programme, ASE aims to promote personal and social development in young people. It’s a response to a growing need to help nurture empathy among adolescents.

The programme has been in development for four years by researchers at Unesco Child & Family Research Centre, University of Galway, in partnership with Pennsylvania State University and Foróige. It teaches core empathy skills, helping young people foster a connection between empathy, social responsibility and civic action.

Actor Cillian Murphy is a big champion of empathy education. The Cork man is patron of the Unesco Child & Family Research Centre and he also co-edited recently published Ionbhá, The Empathy Book for Ireland (all royalties go towards delivering the ASE programme in Irish schools/youth work organisations).

In the book, the dad of two teen boys writes: “I believe kids are naturally empathetic, they mightn’t yet know what that word means, but they have access to it more instinctually than… adults. I see this in my own children.”

And the Peaky Blinders star believes young people want to do good. “But it’s teaching them how to act on [that], or giving the confidence to act on it, that is key to the [ASE] programme.”

Pupils of Douglas Community School, Cork who are taking part in the Activating Social Empathy programme (supported by Cillian Murphy) . Included are teachers, Claire Moylan and Niamh Craig with first year students Ethan O'Leary, Odhrán Brennan and Seoirse Norris. Picture Dan Linehan

Emotional connection

Unesco chair in children, youth and civic engagement at University of Galway, Professor Pat Dolan, defines empathy as the capacity to understand and to connect emotionally with the situation of another who’s in difficulty. He sees empathy education as vital for young people.

“By demonstrating empathy, young people benefit themselves — academically, intellectually, and emotionally. They’re using parts of the brain that enable them to learn better. And by demonstrating empathy to others, they benefit their own wellbeing and self-esteem.”

Empathy education also reduces undesirable attitudes. “By demonstrating empathy, young people reduce hate speech, bullying, and aggressive behaviour, all things we don’t want,” says Dolan.

The value of empathy education is underpinned by research, he says, pointing to the report, Activating Social Empathy: Findings from the 2021 School Evaluation, which references a host of studies illustrating the benefits of empathy — and of developing it. Research shows, for example, that empathy plays “a key role in cultivating healthy physical and psychological functioning” and it’s also associated with “greater emotional resilience”.

Empathy is “significantly associated with improved cognitive performance” — many studies indicate a connection between greater academic learning and higher test scores.

And empathy has been shown to be a key driver of prosocial action and altruistic behaviour.

However, studies also suggest that “empathy-related responding” may be declining, particularly among younger generations. US analysis found a 48% decrease in affective empathy and a 34% decrease in perspective-taking among college students since 1979.

Other research also sees evidence of a generational value shift, with adolescents seeming to have moved away from intrinsic values (eg community) and more towards extrinsic concerns (for example, money, fame, image).

Dolan believes people are generally born with empathy. “It’s very natural in the human and animal world.” He sees adolescence as an especially important time for empathy development.

“We know from neuroscience that the brain is still in development in adolescence. One of the things that’s growing is our capacity to learn empathy. We can learn it at any age, but the teens are a particularly opportune time because of the rate of growth young people are developing.”

First year pupils of Douglas Community School, Cork who are taking part in the Activating Social Empathy programme (supported by Cillian Murphy) . Included are teachers, Claire Moylan and Niamh Craig. Picture Dan Linehan

Empathy in action

The ASE programme has been trialled and used in 120 secondary schools nationwide, predominantly in junior cycle and in transition year, though it can also be used with older students. Participants learn about what empathy is and why it’s important. They spend some weeks practising and strengthening their empathy skills. And they discuss the barriers to empathy — and brainstorm how they can overcome these. The programme culminates in the teenagers putting empathy into practice by participating in a social action project of their choice.

Research is already showing the programme’s positive impact. A randomised control trial to evaluate its effectiveness — conducted among 1,689 students from 25 post-primary schools across Ireland — found students who participated in ASE showed significantly higher emotional empathy, and significantly greater perspective-taking skills, than students who didn’t take part in the programme.

And students’ empathy growth was associated with increases in their social responsibility values, emotional self-confidence, prosocial helping and defending behaviours.

At Mercy College, Sligo, 16-year-old Beth Candon says the big ASE learning for her was the difference between sympathy — “like at a funeral saying ‘sorry for your loss’ but it’s not something you want to put yourself in” — and empathy — “like walking in the other’s shoes”.

Beth says the practical aspect of the programme, where she was partnered with girls not in her usual group, was an eye-opener. “It opened my eyes to how people around me felt, how they experienced scenarios differently from me, and how not everybody reacts to a situation as I do.”

Her classmate, Gráinne Rooney, 18, says she finds it easier to listen now. “I can understand what someone else is going through a bit better. I think everybody gets on together better now — we’re nicer to each other.”

School guidance counsellor and SPHE teacher Elaine Fox introduced the programme because she wanted to create connections for the students among each other — and for her to create connections with them too. Lessons like SPHE call for sensitivity, she explains. “You need to have an open forum for discussions, where students and teacher feel safe.”

She believes ASE has built self-awareness in all participants.

The Leaving Certs at Mercy College, Sligo, with teacher Elaine Fox

The teachers’ point of view

Michelle O’Halloran, teacher and former wellbeing coordinator at Ballincollig Community School, says the school plans to implement the ASE programme among junior cycle students. “Empathy plays a key role in helping young people build and maintain healthy relationships with themselves and with others. Empathy provides a sense of social connectedness.”

A big believer in education that responds to young people’s needs, she cites empathy education as an example of a great response “in the aftermath of covid, when young people were more isolated than ever before”.

A mum of three children — one a teen — she sees adolescents influenced by populist and ill-informed role models on social media. “I think the empathy programme would challenge them in the right way.”

Meanwhile, at Douglas Community School, Niamh Craig and Claire Moylan both teach wellbeing. They introduced the ASE programme to first and second-year students. “Particularly at this stage of development, when the amygdala (part of the brain) hasn’t quite developed, we felt empathy education was something the boys could really benefit from — the naming and understanding of empathy and then consciously using it,” says Ms Craig.

“It’s really good for students to be able to name feelings and to be able to identify body language too, to have the ability to understand how other people’s behaviour can portray their feelings,” says Ms Moylan.

Ms Craig says at the beginning they drew up a class contract with rules — no interrupting anyone speaking, no inappropriate laughing, no taking out of the class anything that might be sensitive. “We’re very proud of the lads. They really do respect these rules. And, as a bonding exercise in first year, with them all coming from different schools and backgrounds — ASE has built solidarity.”

Ionbhá, The Empathy Book for Ireland, Mercier Press, €24.99.