From what isn't empathy to empathic learning process

This study was designed to describe and understand empathy, an important skill for individuals to possess in an educational environment and to alleviate conceptual confusion caused by the improper substitution of certain terms for empathy. The research was conducted using the action research method through activities based on empathetic skills in which 35 students participated for a year. The research results show that the concepts substituted for empathy in fact represent stages of the empathetic learning process. While developing empathy, an individual goes through stages such as acting, meaning, imagination, perspective-taking and feeling. An individual who can experience all of these stages can properly develop empathy. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.