‘Those moments are ineffable’. How creativity experienced through the Arts promotes empathy and compassion

ABSTRACT

How do teachers prepare their students for living in an increasingly fractured and inward-looking world? With the rise of populism and authoritarianism, one might argue that the ability to consider others’ needs and feel into their experiences might be more necessary now than ever. This article explores how empathy and compassion as moral attributes are experienced and developed through the creative and performing Arts. Rich examples provided by Australian educators of preservice teachers detail how the Arts promote embodied engagement with empathy and compassion which assist them to develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and capabilities to make informed moral judgments. In this way, the Arts provide social, emotional, physical, and aesthetic connections that may counteract a decline in pro-social behaviour and play a significant role in shaping how the next generation responds to challenges both personal and global.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher education
• moral education
• creativity
• empathy
• compassion
• the Arts

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Melissa Cain

Melissa Cain is a Senior Lecturer and National Head of Secondary Education in the National School of Education at Australian Catholic University. Melissa’s research areas are creative Arts education and inclusive education. Melissa’s current research centres on facilitating full access to the Australian Curriculum (academic, social, emotional, and physical) for students with disability, and supporting students with blindness and low vision in mainstream schools.