Longitudinal study of empathy among future preschool teachers

Karakteristike odgajatelja su iznimno važne odrednice uspješnosti i kvalitete rada s djecom predškolske dobi i njihovim roditeljima. Jednom od tih karakteristika ističe se i empatija – sposobnost uživljavanja u tuđe stanje i suosjećanje s drugom osobom. Jedna od vrlo čestih uputa budućim odgajateljima: „Pokušajte promatrati svijet dječjim očima i tako ćete najbolje razumjeti predškolsko dijete“, upravo naglašava važnost empatije u radu s djecom. Prethodna je studija pokazala da s većom studijskom godinom pada razina mašte kod budućih odgajatelja-studenata sve tri studijske godine. Budući su to pokazale različite grupe ispitanika, u ovom istraživanju je provedeno longitudinalno mjerenje empatije iste generacije budućih odgajatelja tijekom tri godine njihova studija, kako bi se utvrdilo postoje li iste promjene doista. Sudjelovalo je 37 studentica prosječne dobi 18,65 godina, koje su se samoprocjenjivale na Davisovom upitniku empatije (empatička briga, osobna uznemirenost, mašta i preuzimanje perspektive) u tri točke mjerenja (na prvoj, drugoj i trećoj godini studija). Utvrđeno je da, općenito, ne postoje značajne razlike u četiri dimenzije empatije tijekom studija. Jedina statistički značajna razlika koja je utvrđena, odnosi se na značajno povišenu osobnu uznemirenost s prve na drugu godinu, o čemu se raspravljalo u okvirima samog procesa i tijeka studiranja, te postojećeg studijskog programa.Personal traits of preschool teachers are extremely important influencers on efficiency and quality of work with preschool children and their parents. One of the most important traits is empathy – the ability to understand another person and share their feelings. One of the most common instructions given to future preschool teachers is; “Try to view the world through children’s eyes and you will understand a pre-schooler.” This puts special emphasis on the importance of empathy when working with children. A previous study showed that throughout the three years of studying to become a preschool teacher there is a decline in levels of imagination in each year. Since this was shown in different test groups, in this research a longitudinal measure of empathy was conducted within the same generation of students in each year of their university studies to determine if these changes were evident. 37 students with mean age of 18,65 participated through self- assessed Davis’ Interpersonal Reactivity Index (perspective taking, fantasy, empathic concern and personal distress). The students completed the questionnaire in each of their three years at university. The study showed that there were generally no significant differences within the four dimensions of empathy amongst the students as they progressed throughout The professional Preschool Education course. The only statistically relevant difference is the considerably elevated personal distress between the first and second year in the course, which was discussed within the process and progression of the course and the existing study programme