Evaluation of Emotion and Empathy in Relation to Emotional Support for Children:

A Survey of University Students in Teacher Training Programs

Abstract

[Problem and Purpose]

  In recent years, attempts to cultivate social-emotional competence in children have attracted attention in educational settings. The present study focused on individual differences in the emotional characteristics of educators who nurture children’s social-emotional competence, such as their evaluation of emotions, empathy level, and perceived emotional support and examined the relationship between these differences.

[Methods]

  A questionnaire survey was administered to undergraduate students in teacher training colleges (133 valid responses: 42 males and 91 females) to measure three factors: evaluation of emotions, multidimensional empathy, and perception of emotional support.

[Results]

  An analysis of variance was conducted using cluster analysis, with the evaluation of emotions and empathy as independent variables and the perception of emotional support as the dependent variable. The results revealed that the positive emotional evaluation group placed more importance on supporting the child’s independent resolution than the negative emotional evaluation group. Additionally, the group with high overall empathy placed more importance on supporting the child’s independent resolution than the self-oriented group.

[Discussion]

  These results suggest that evaluating emotions as necessary and meaningful rather than negative and having diverse and rich empathic reactions rather than having only self-protective reactions to others’ emotions can lead to emotional support, which values children’s independent resolution. Therefore, it is crucial to learn to understand and positively evaluate the meaning and function of emotions, view empathy in multiple dimensions, and learn the meaning behind various empathic reactions at the teacher training stage.