Understanding empathy in Norwegian social work education
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Date
2024Metadata
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Abstract
Empathy is pivotal to social work practice when interacting with clients, patients and their families. It is thus also important in social work education. Still, empathy as a skill is usually addressed as one of many components of communication and relational work. This study therefore compares the empathy profiles of undergraduate social work students in Norway to those of teacher education students and experienced social workers. The focus is on how empathy is understood and monitored in educational settings, particularly through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Data were gathered anonymously through an online survey (N = 417) and analyzed to determine significance and whether meaningful interpretations could be made. The findings suggest differences in empathy levels among social work students, their supervisors and teacher education students, with theoretical insights discussed to enhance empathy teaching. This paper argues for the importance of empathy in social work practice and education, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of empathic development in social work students.