Some Effects of Empathic Understanding on Negative Student Behaviors

Research

“…Childers (1973) found that student teachers who received systematic training elicited more student involvement, used lower levels of criticism and received more student-to-teacher communications. Harbach and Asbury (1976) and Saba (1975) found a significant reduction in acting out behaviors by students of teachers who underwent systematic training. Aspy and Roebuck (1977) reported a positive change in studentteacher interactions, and Robinson (1979) reported more effective parent-teacher conferences for teachers who received inservice training.…”

Effects of Perceived Levels of Concreteness on Cognitive Growth

“…Berenson (1971) found that student teacherswhowere trained in a program designed for the acquisition of human-relations development skills centered around the core conditions were regarded by classroom and college supervisors as possessing greater competency, a better understanding of the teaching process, and more skills in classroom management than control-group student teachers. Harbach and Asbury (1976) indicated that teachers involved in human-relations development skills programs could significantly reduce the number of unwanted behaviors on the part of disruptive studer.ts by seeking out those students and offering responses that conveyed high levels of functioning with regard to the core conditions. Similar findings were reported by Saba (1977) in a study of 33 teachers whose job settings ranged from kindergarten to postsecondary classrooms.…”

Teacher empathy and fairness: elementary school children's perceptions

“…Rogers, however, has clearly stated that the conditions postulated by him as being facilitative of psychological growth were conditions for which ample empirical evidence exists. Aspy (1969), Aspy and Hadlock (1967), Barrett-Lennard (1962), Harbach and Asbury (1976), Stoffer (1970), and Truax and latum (1966) The scales themselves present many limitations, most obviously a high degree of subjectivity on the part of the raters or judges. This subjectivity could not be avoided, even if it were desirable.…”

“…Studies over the years on the subject of empathy, genuineness, positive regard, unconditional positive regard, and congruency have shown many beneficial results for both teachers and students. Empathy on the part of the teacher for students has been related to higher student cognitive gains , achievement and behavior (Davidson and Lang, 1960;Harbach and Asbury, 1976;Stoffer, 1970;White, 1968), teacher effectiveness (Perkins, 1971), and teacher job satisfaction (Close, 1971).…”

“…In the Harbach and Asbury (1976) study, a skill training program was undertaken to train teachers in human relations.…”