Building empathy through a design thinking project: A case study with middle secondary schoolboys
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Adolescents' empathy is an essential socio-emotional concept that helps mediate friendships and family relationships. Year 10 boys, aged 14-15 years, were invited to participate in a five-day experiential education program (Design Week) based on a social equity challenge using a Design Thinking concept. Students worked in small groups, mentored by experts. Student groups developed innovative solutions to support women who experienced domestic and family violence. As a key outcome, students' empathy measured by the Comprehensive State Empathy Scale increased significantly from a baseline of 63% to 75% at post-test, representing a large effect size (d= 1.06). Six empathy subscale factors were also significantly increased (p= <0.05). The program was feasible and was rated by teachers and students as engaging, relevant to learning, and learning about complex social issues. This paper presents a case study of the Design Week program, shown to be worthy of further testing with secondary school adolescents. © 2021, Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. All rights reserved.
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3182990968