• Strengthening interpersonal relationships: Compassionate pedagogy fosters co-operation, empathy and mutual understanding between students and teachers, creating a positive climate conducive to constructive interactions and fruitful collaboration. Yale University has developed initiatives such as the Center for Emotional Intelligence, founded by Marc Brackett, which integrates emotional skills into education. • Development of social and emotional skills: With a focus on compassion, teaching encourages the development of skills such as empathic communication, problem-solving, emotional management and teamwork, all of which are essential in professional life. • Promoting academic success: A caring and empathetic environment can encourage students’ intrinsic motivation, leading them to become more engaged in their learning, something that is likely to have a positive impact on their academic results. In this context, the Pygmalion effect is also very likely to unfold. The original work on this kind of effect was carried out by psychologists Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson in the
sometimes hinder students’ ability to face academic challenges and achieve high standards of excellence. Furthermore, in society, individuals are often faced with challenges, failures and conflicts. Compassionate pedagogy may not always adequately prepare learners to deal with these difficult situations, particularly if it is not accompanied by preparation for resilience and problem‑solving. The challenge of assessment is another issue: because compassion is subjective and difficult to measure, evaluating it properly can be complex. A significant body of work has also highlighted the challenges of implementing compassionate programmes since they require additional time and resources for teachers and schools. This can prove difficult in an age where performance demands are high and teachers have an increasingly large workload. Inadequate calibration of objectives and methods can cause problems too. Compassionate teaching practices need to be carefully balanced with the needs of teaching staff as a whole and – to some extent – the requirements of students too. Covering a wide range of methods, they can be
counter‑productive if they are not sufficiently adapted to the demands of the individual school. Poorly contextualised, this approach can be perceived as top-down preaching or a diluted form of pupil control – something for which mindfulness meditation has sometimes been criticised. The Mindful Self-Compassion
1960s. Their experiment involved teachers who were told that some of their pupils had been selected as having high intellectual potential, when in fact these pupils had been chosen at random. The results showed that the pupils designated as having high potential significantly improved their academic performance, supporting the idea that teachers’ expectations can influence pupils’ results.
“A caring and empathetic environment can encourage students’ intrinsic motivation, leading them to become more engaged in their learning”
for Teens programme developed by Karen Bluth has been the subject of a number of encouraging studies in the US, but it also has its inherent limitations. In particular, it is important to highlight the need to preserve the group dynamic, as well as offering teenagers a wide variety of exercises. It is also essential to strike a balance between compassion and academic rigour so as not to compromise educational goals in favour of a caring environment. Integrating this method into further education To effectively integrate the teaching of compassion into higher education, academic institutions can adopt several approaches that can be combined. Firstly, it is imperative to train teachers in compassion, empathetic communication and emotional management. Continuous education programmes should be established to enable teachers to develop a deep understanding of their own emotions, as well as those of their students. This might include workshops on emotional intelligence and positive psychology. This kind of training aims to equip teachers with essential skills to foster an empathetic and caring learning environment.
In the long term, the impact of such an approach seems particularly valid in an age when the mental health of young people is rapidly becoming a cause for concern. In 2022, the number of emergency room visits for attempted suicides rose by 27 per cent in France alone; in a report published by the World Health Organisation the previous year, a significant rise in anxiety among young people was also identified. Calls for the introduction of methods based on compassion can also be found in leadership scenarios, where for years managers have been concerned about a form of dehumanisation in professional relationships. While some see compassion-based methods as yet another incantation of wellbeing, others report real changes in their experience and in their relationships. By being aware of these methods, future professionals will find it easier to revisit management methods that reinforce the loss of meaning. The need to be aware of the strategy’s limitations Faculty need to be aware that compassionate pedagogy also carries with it various limitations, such as for instance overprotection, whereby an excessive focus on compassion can
28 | Ambition | NOVEMBER 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online