The purpose of the current study was to raise a question toward the lack of studies of expressionistic empathy in programs for elementary school students by developing a new program and to apply the program in the real school setting so that the chil...
The purpose of the current study was to raise a question toward the lack of studies of expressionistic empathy in programs for elementary school students by developing a new program and to apply the program in the real school setting so that the children of today can improve their empathy through musical experiences.
The program for the study was designed following the past model that focused on cognitive, emotional, communicative improvement(Barrett&Lennard et al., 1981). Each session incorporated the three elements in addition to entertaining aspects to accommodate children’s need. The total of 15 sessions were administered with specific purpose. These were the names of each session in chronological order: ‘Creating a Sense of Fellowship through Theater Games”, ‘Importance of Listening, Reading and Presenting the Reactions’, ‘Recognizing Different Emotions in Plays’, ‘Expressing Emotions in the Play and Making Songs and Dance for the Play’, ‘Audition and Role Playing’, ‘Analyzing the Play’, ‘Acting a Role’, ‘Presenting Emotions through Lines and Songs’, ‘Feeling the Empathetic Situation through Songs and Dances’, ‘Getting into the Emotional Core and Focusing’, ‘Understanding Reaction and Expressing Self’, ‘Directing the Play’, ‘Organizing Feedback and Reaction’, ‘Journal Writing on Feedback and Acting Experience’.
The results of the musical program study on 4th and 6th grade students showed positive improvements in their empathetic ability. The experimental group presented significant improvement in cognitive, emotional and expressionistic empathy compared to the control group. The interview administered after each session also showed positive influence of the program on the subjects and therefore the study supported the original hypothesis.
The elementary school student subjects in the study learned what it means to understand others feelings, the importance of empathy and how to build a healthy relationship with others around them.