The Transformative Power of Empathy for Education

Reflection and Realisation for Teaching and Learning

  • Mon 12th May 2025
  • 19:30-21:00
  • Wolfson Lecture Theatre, Churchill College, Storey's Way, Cambridge, CB3 0DS

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You can book for in-person attendance at Bookwhen, where you will also find the link for Zoom viewing.

Empathy is a facilitator of social, emotional, and cognitive wellbeing and achievement that can actualise teaching, learning and the self. Dr Helen Demetriou will present some of her research in empathy over the last three decades from the Institute of Psychiatry King’s College London to the Faculty of Education University of Cambridge, including early childhood empathy, pupil voice, teacher-pupil engagement, creativity in the classroom, and the most recent work using empathy interventions in schools that has shown an increase in empathic awareness, wellbeing and school engagement.

Dr Helen Demetriou, Associate Professor of Psychology and Education, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education

Dr Helen Demetriou is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at the Faculty of Education. Her research here and also at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, University of London, where she obtained her PhD in developmental psychology in 1998, has investigated areas in psychology and education. She has conducted research for OFSTED, Ofqual and DfE and published widely on topics including children's friendships, pupil consultation, teachers’ professional learning, empathy, and most recently, ways of developing creativity and empathy in the classroom. Helen is on the editorial advisory board for journals including Improving Schools, Social Development and Educational Studies; is advisor to external organisations including the Houses of Parliament, Empathy Studios and EmpathyLab; and her book, Empathy, Emotion and Education (2018) was published by Palgrave Macmillan Press. Helen is Undergraduate Tutor, Director of Studies and Fellow at Homerton College.

Attending lectures