Building Empathy in Children Through Community Connections : A Guide for Early Years Educators

Taking a unique approach, which highlights lived experience and engagement with community, this book guides the reader on how to create learning environments in which children are encouraged to develop relationships, build meaningful connections and take action which contributes to the wellbeing of their own communities.

Through evaluations and feedback from participating professionals, as well as children’s learning in the form of artworks and photos, Building Empathy in Children through Community Connections: A Guide for Early Years Educators highlights how community partnership programs between children and community groups builds empathy and wellbeing in early childhood. Drawing on extensive research and professional experience in psychology and early childhood, it provides details of various community connections programs and considers the ways in which early learning settings can engage with their communities as they meet the requirements and objectives of the curriculum. Each chapter provides practical advice on implementation as well as take-home messages intended to encourage and enable community engagement.

Demonstrating how young children can develop empathy through building community connections, this book is a vital resource for early childhood educators as well as parents and those working in community programs and early childhood settings.

Erica Frydenberg is Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow (Honorary) in psychology in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Janice Deans is Associate Director Early Childhood Education, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Rachel Liang is Honorary Research Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia