What happened
OECD Education and Skills Today reported that its recent webinar on empathy in education brought together researchers and practitioners from Colombia, Finland, India and the United Kingdom. The article says panelists described empathy as teachable and supported by education systems, not a fixed trait, and noted that PISA 2022 found about 20% of students reported being bullied at least a few times a month.
Why it matters
For educators and learning designers, the practical message is that anti-bullying work may need more than rules, sanctions and awareness campaigns. The OECD article highlights conditions that support empathy: students feeling safe, teachers modelling it, leaders making space for it, and students having concrete strategies to intervene. It also cites KiVa, developed at the University of Turku, as a bystander-focused anti-bullying program.
What to do next
Review school climate policies for opportunities to practice empathy in routines, staff interactions and learner activities, rather than adding a stand-alone lesson. Pair empathy-building with clear intervention strategies. Treat the evidence as still developing: OECD says its Survey on Social and Emotional Skills will directly assess empathy across more than 20 education systems, with results expected in 2027.
About this briefing
Reviewed by TutorFlow Editorial. We link the primary source, preserve its publication date, and distinguish reported claims from TutorFlow analysis. Our commentary focuses on practical decisions for educators and training teams.
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