Fostering empathy through critical literacy in early childhood education in Colombia

ABSTRACT

In Colombia, some educational settings, particularly territories with high levels of educational inequality, uphold conventional teaching strategies where emotional education and critical thinking receive little attention. This study is rooted in our intention to contribute to peace education in early childhood educational environments by fostering critical thinking and empathy, a predictor of prosocial behavior in children. The aim of this study is, first, that young children develop empathy by recognizing situations of oppression and injustice in children’s literature using critical literacy practices; and second, to contribute to young children’s development of critical thinking. Utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis, we suggest that critical literacy practices enhance empathy and critical thinking in young children through three strategies: reading selected children’s literature aloud, responding through multimodal texts, and having an open dialogue about critical issues that affect children in local communities. This article contributes to the literature about literacy, empathy development, and peace education with young children.

KEYWORDS:

• Empathy
• critical literacy
• peace education
• critical thinking
• early childhood
• Children‘s literature
• critical pedagogy

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lina Trigos-Carrillo

Lina Trigos-Carrillo is an associate professor in the Department of Spanish at the Universidad del Norte. She earned a PhD in Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum with an Emphasis on Reading and Literacy and a minor in Qualitative Research at the University of Missouri. She has conducted research across the Americas with immigrant families, first-generation college students, teachers, and local communities. She received funding from the Spencer Foundation and the United Nations Multi-Trust Fund for Sustaining Peace in Colombia as the PI of the project “Strengthening education in a rural community of former guerrilla members and their families: A participatory action research approach towards peacebuilding in Colombia” in Caquetá. Currently, she the PI of the research project titled Paz a la Página, on peace education through children’s literature and critical literacy.

Aura Inés Urrea-Hernández

Aura Ines Urrea-Hernandez holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from La Universidad de La Sabana and a Bachelor’s degree in Child Pedagogy from La Fundación Universitaria Los Libertadores, both in Colombia. Her research and pedagogical practice focus on preventive interventions with families and children within the framework of education for peace. She currently works as a Family Educator in Toronto, ON, supporting immigrant families in addressing structural challenges while promoting empathy and healthy development.