Change starts within
"Empathy at School" strengthens relational competence through its Whole School Approach.
"Empathy at School" strengthens relational competence through its Whole School Approach.
"Children don’t learn what we tell them, they learn what we model for them”, says renowned Danish psychologist Helle Jensen.
Long-term research has shown that the quality of our interpersonal relationships is crucial to our overall wellbeing – and sets the stage for successful learning and development.
At the same time, little attention ist often given to the diversity of relationships in the school environment. In “Empathy at school”, a five-year model project (2020-2025) at three Berlin schools and three control schools, Helle Jensen and her team invite all school staff to explore successful relationships in depth and strengthen their own relationship skills. The project is being evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively by a team of researchers from Heidelberg/Mannheim University; first promising insights were presented at the Danish Embassy in Berlin in November 2025.
Since 2024, the Berlin Senate has also been funding Empathie macht Schule, so that the work could be extended to 21 elementary schools in six Berlin districts by the end of 2025, reaching a wide range of school leaders and staff in the education system. Besides its direct impact within schools we thrive to understand: What does the educational system need to prioritize nurturing relationships?
