Pedagogy, empathy and praxis: using theatrical traditions to teach

Empathy is an attribute many aspire to possess in large quantities. We use the word often, usually in a positive way and assume others know and understand just what we mean. We take for granted that we have similar understandings of what ‘empathy’ is. But do we? Alison Grove O’Grady challenges us to deeply interrogate assumptions about empathy in her monograph Pedagogy, Empathy and Praxis. Using Theatrical Traditions to Teach. She offers a range of ways empathy has been defined and theorised, why it must be problematised and why it is particularly pertinent in an age of increasingly reductive curricula, surveillance and technical compliance. In six chapters the book includes an analysis of the many definitions of empathy. a literature review, the critical reasons why empathy can and should be taught; a rationale for a pedagogy of empathy using theatre traditions and discussions about praxis. Indeed, although the monograph was written prior to COVID-19, it is even more pertinent in the current global pandemic. Initially Grove O’Grady considers a range of definitions of empathy and highlights how multidimensional and complex the concept is. At its heart, empathy requires a shift from focusing on self to a deep understanding of ‘the other’. Both the positive and negative aspects of actioning this are discussed. In fact, as O’Grady asserts, empathy represents ‘a constellation of concepts’ that need to be activated in different ways for different purposes, be they strategic, global, historical, critical, professional or metaxic. Grove O’Grady’s quest in this monograph is clear: she explores whether empathy can be taught in professional contexts and her particular focus is pre-service teacher education. She considers how pre-service teacher education might be transformed and early career teachers better equipped to face the multiple challenges of teaching today through explicit attention to pedagogic empathy. She hypothesises from both a scholarly review of literature and her own research and experience that drama-rich strategies and experiences may foster the development of more socially just and inclusive relationships and a better understanding of identity and perspective in the diversity that comprises our worlds. The protection provided by taking on a fictional role enables participants to bring their own understandings and experiences to a particular case story, with permission to explore new possibilities using a range of strategies adapted from theatre. It is Grove O’Grady’s belief, embodied in and confirmed by her own research and practice, that rich stories and retelling, coupled with theatrical traditions and strategies reveal tensions beneath the surface, provoke deep questions about traditional knowledges, stereotypes and practices and enable pre-service and early career teachers to develop confidence and agency in asking ‘what if’ and ‘does it need to be this way’? Grove O’Grady provides several examples of her use of this approach including a professional learning workshop for history educators and a research huddle that closely interrogated the meaning of empathy.