Empathy Study
This spring AnnaLise Hoopes, UCLA PhD candidate will be visiting PreK-6 classrooms to learn from teachers about how they foster empathy in the classroom for her dissertation. The goal of the study is to understand how pre-K and primary schools around the world foster empathy in students, particularly empathy towards outgroups and ecological empathy. AnnaLise will be conducting interviews with teachers (outside of class time), doing classroom observations (note-taking only no audio/video recording), and photographing students’ work samples (redacting students’ names for anonymity). All students mentioned in observation notes will be given pseudonyms to protect their anonymity. As this research study is part of the planned curriculum, any parent/students who wish to opt out of the study would still learn and participate in the classroom activities without any data or research being collected. Participation in this study is voluntary and will remain confidential. Any questions about the project can be directed to the principal investigator, AnnaLise Hoopes (ahoopes@ucla.edu).
Learn more about this projectThis project was featured in the 2025-26 UCLA Lab School Research Forum.