Att arbeta med empati genom skönlitteratur

Sammanfattning

Abstract This systematic literature review examined how the use of fiction in educational contexts relates to the development of empathy among students. It also explored how teachers’ didactic practices influence this process. The study was grounded in the school’s value-based mission where empathy is regarded as a central component of democratic education and social development. Drawing on previous research within literature didactics, pedagogy and psychology the review explored whether and under what conditions fictional reading can function as a tool for fostering students affective and cognitive empathy. The study was conducted as a systematic literature review including peer-reviewed articles and doctoral dissertations. Literature searches were carried out in the databases ERIC (EBSCO) as well as Swepub and were complemented by a manual search. The selected studies were compared and analyzed with a focus on their methods, definitions of empathy, and main findings. From this analysis, three main findings emerged. The results indicate that fiction can provide good opportunities for students to develop empathy, but that this development does not occur automatically. Furthermore, the results show that the teacher's work has a significant impact on whether reading fiction leads to deeper understanding, reflection, and empathy. Finally, the studies show that the research differs in terms of both methods, how empathy is defined, and which factors are considered to influence the development of empathy. In addition, text difficulty was identified as an important factor as texts that are too complex may reduce students' emotional involvement and perspective taking.