Roots of Empathy

Roots of Empathy (ROE) is a bilingual, Canadian, award-winning program, developed by Mary Gordon, that has shown to have a dramatic effect in reducing levels of aggression among school children by raising social/emotional awareness and increasing empathy.

• Roots of Empathy (ROE) is an evidence-based, bilingual, universal classroom based program for students from kindergarten to Grade 8 which focuses on building capacity of the next generation for caring and compassionate citizenship and parenting.

• Certified instructors follow a standardized Canadian curriculum (K, 1-4, 5-6, 7-8) to provide ROE for students in the classroom, 3 times a month for a school year.  The heart of the program is the monthly family visit with a neighbourhood baby (2-4 months old in October) and parent(s).  The emotional bond that develops with the “classroom” baby over the school year increases students’ emotional literacy, resulting in increased prosocial behaviour and decreased aggression and bullying.

• Students receive age appropriate instruction on the crucial role of positive parenting for optimal early childhood development, including neuroscience, safety and injury reduction (Shaken Baby Syndrome, SIDS, FASD), diversity and inclusion, and how to understand and take the perspective of another person.

Roots of Empathy was launched in Manitoba as a pilot project in 2001. Positive outcomes have lead to offering ROE province-wide to interested public, band-operated and private school divisions and communities from 2000 to the present.

From 2002 to 2006 Manitoba conducted a randomized control trial and longitudinal follow-up to determine the real world effectiveness of the ROE program, as delivered under routine conditions of practice in school divisions. The results demonstrated that ROE decreased students’ physical aggression and indirect aggression, and increased students’ pro-social behaviour immediately after program completion. Follow-up results demonstrated that these beneficial effects were maintained or continued to improve up to three years after ROE program completion. Based on these rigorous evaluation results, ROE has continued to expand across the province, with ongoing monitoring of program fidelity and student outcomes.

Read more about the Effectiveness of the Roots of Empathy (ROE) Program in
Preventing Aggression and Promoting Prosocial Behaviour

ROE is provided by certified instructors in Kindergarten to Grade 8 classrooms, as determined by individual schools and school divisions. The RCT evaluation of ROE demonstrated that the program intervention is equally effective in all grade levels; as a result, school divisions and their schools independently determine the classroom and grade level for the program.

In July 2008, the Assembly of First Nations, at their Annual General Assembly, passed Resolution 31 endorsing and supporting ROE and SOE as programs compatible with traditional First Nations teachings.

HCMO provides the training program for ROE instructors from Manitoba. The cost of the training is covered by HCMO with an agreement of a two-year return of service from the instructors. Instructors come from various backgrounds, including school personnel, student special services personnel, public health, RCMP, non-government organizations, elders, and retired school personnel. Ongoing instructor support is provided by ROE certified mentors.

In the 2008-09 school year in Manitoba:

• Approximately 4,500 children in 180 classrooms in 138 schools are participating in the program.
• 166 ROE Instructors are delivering the program.
• Roots of Empathy is delivered to approximately 1500 Aboriginal children in Manitoba.
• Manitoba is delivering 11 French and 7 French Immersion programs across the province.
• The program is offered in rural, urban, suburban and remote communities. It is delivered in both English and French classrooms and hosted in Aboriginal communities.

Since 2001, Roots of Empathy has reached approximately 16,725 students in Manitoba

	01-02	02-03	03-04	04-05	05-06	06-07	07-08	08-09
Children Reached	375	900	1,225	1,375	2,250	2,900	3,200	4,500
Classrooms	15	36	49	55	90	116	128	180

 

Visit the Roots of Empathy website