Fiction books offer opportunities for adolescent readers to gain insights into fictional characters’ lives and experiences, and in doing so, have the potential to support their empathy.

In this session, we will share findings from interviews with young people, providing insights into the cognitive and affective ways in which adolescents empathise with fictional characters; how feelings of empathy transfer beyond fiction to real-life others; how feelings of empathy personally enrich readers and support their social relationships, and how book content and writing style can facilitate readers’ empathy.  

Session aims

- hear the findings from current research into how reading impacts empathy

- explore ways in which students can be effectively supported to engage in using reading to understand themselves and others

- discuss how to apply the research to your own school library context

Speaker

Elena Santi is a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh, researching adolescents’ reading experiences, and how fiction books can support their understanding of themselves and others. Elena is working in collaboration with young people, school librarians and teachers to create a guide to support adolescents’ reflective reading practices. She is also interested in how literature may support children and young people’s wellbeing and self-development.  You can learn more about her research here