Social Empathy as a Framework for Teaching Social Justice

2017/02/06 by Elizabeth A. Segal, M. Alex Wagaman · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Academic Freedom and Politics #Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences #Social Work Education and Practice

paper · doi:10.1080/10437797.2016.1266980

openalex publication_date 2017/02/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

Social work education stresses training students to understand oppressive structural barriers and promote social and economic justice. Social empathy, which is rooted in a deep understanding of those who are different from us through contextual understanding and macro perspective-taking, offers a framework for teaching social justice that addresses critiques of the profession, such as a partisan political perspective. To explore this potential, the study examined relationships between interpersonal empathy, social empathy, political affiliation, and policy positions on issues related to social and economic justice with a sample of social work students. Findings support the teaching of social empathy as a way to promote students’ understanding and advancement of social and economic justice.

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