Book Review - Compassion and Education: Cultivating Compassionate Children, Schools and Communities

Authors

  • Raghad Ebied Western University, London, ON, Canada

Keywords:

ethic of care, compassion, character education

Abstract

 

Compassion and Education: Cultivating Compassionate Children, Schools and Communities is a book written by a professor of civic and moral education, outlining the important role of education in cultivating compassion.  Peterson (2017) defines compassion as a moral which demonstrates the ability to “recognize and care about the suffering of others and to take some form of appropriate action in response” (Peterson, 2017, p. 2).  He argues compassion is a necessary individual and collective response in schools.  Peterson emphasizes such a response is necessary as a result of the highest level of suffering we have encountered since World War II due to the incidence of natural disasters, disease and conflict, impacting nearly 60 million people, with half of them being children (United Nations General Assembly, 2016).  Peterson’s central concerns which he seeks to address include defining the concept of compassion and its key characteristics, how to enact compassion toward others, and how it relates to our self-concept.

Author Biography

Raghad Ebied, Western University, London, ON, Canada

Raghad Ebied is a second year PhD Student in the Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies strand in the Faculty of Education at Western University. She is an Ontario Certified Teacher and an education and training consultant with over 10 years of experience in working in the fields of diversity, well-being, leadership and education with schools, government, non profit and community organizations.

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Published

2019-04-07

Issue

No. 188 (2019)

Section

Book Reviews

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