The relation of social and emotional learning to empathy and critical thinking development in middle school students

Abstract

The study involved an intervention with 18 seventh-grade students (ages 12-13) intended to increase critical thinking and empathy skills. Researchers met with students three mornings each week (for a total of about two hours each week) for seven weeks to conduct interactive psychology-based activities. Students completed pretest and posttests on empathy and critical thinking. Results indicated there was not an increase in empathy. The only critical-thinking scale that demonstrated a significant change was scholarly rigor. There were no significant correlations between the change in empathy and the change in critical thinking on any of the five subscales. Despite the small sample size and lack of control group, this study points to a possible connection between a school intervention in psychology-based activities in social and emotional learning (SEL) and a couple of aspects of critical thinking indicating value in exploring this further.