Ethos y empatía en la formación docente: Fortaleciendo las bases de relaciones pedagógicas de calidad

Abstract

This essay examines the link between empathy, professional teaching ethos, and the quality of pedagogical relationships from a humanistic approach to education. Drawing on the Western philosophical tradition —particularly the contributions of Kant and Lévinas on ethics and the recognition of the other— and on the human rights framework, it argues that empathy is an essential component of professional pedagogical practice and that its strengthening in teacher education is a necessary condition for quality pedagogical relationships. The essay reflects on the results of a qualitative, cross-cultural empirical study conducted between 2015 and 2018 with pre-service teachers at the University of Osnabrück (Germany) and the University of Costa Rica. Findings show that while most students possess basic empathic abilities, the emotional contextualization of situations —a higher form of empathy according to Hoffman— is achieved by only about half of both samples. Significant cultural differences are also identified: Costa Rican students excel at social contextualization of emotions, while German students are more precise in identifying individual feelings. The essay concludes that empathy cannot be assumed as a natural disposition in those who choose teaching, but must be developed as a professional competency, and proposes guidelines for its curricular integration in teacher education, including values education and academically supervised practical pedagogical experiences.