Date

12-19-2023

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Jichan Jay Kim

Keywords

forgiveness, forgiveness education, teacher experience, virtue education, social emotional learning (SEL)

Disciplines

Educational Psychology | Psychology

Abstract

Forgiveness is as powerful as it is complex. Evaluating how teachers understand and practice forgiveness has potential applications within broader forgiveness theory as well as more practically in discussions of both teacher health related to practicing forgiveness and student learning of forgiveness. The present study sought to gather qualitative insights related to teacher understanding of forgiveness, teacher practice of forgiveness within their jobs, and teacher opinions on forgiveness education. A total of six semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with groups of two to four public school teachers. Results indicated that there is variety in understanding amongst teachers of what forgiveness is or what it looks like in practice. Also, that teachers recognize that they practice forgiveness regularly in their jobs, with students, administrators, parents of students, and coworkers in a variety of situations. Finally, that teachers feel forgiveness education would be beneficial for students, but that another organized curriculum could be overload for most teachers. Recommendations for how forgiveness education could be more effectively enacted were offered and are summarized in the results and discussion. Implications for these results include applications to future forgiveness education pursuits, further contributions to forgiveness theory, and encouragement for teacher training in forgiveness, both for their own health and for consequential student learning.

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