Resumen de Mindful Empathy in Schools:: A Pilot Program in Secondary Education in the Dominican Republic to promote Empathy and Socio-emotional Skills.

Rodolfo Canela Fajardo, Alberto Amutio Careaga

• The overall objective has been to analyze the impact of a mindfulness-based program, Mind-Empathy in Schools (MEiS) on secondary school teachers and students in the Dominican Republic. Two different samples were used: Sample 1 (n=323 students: 127 participated in the experimental group and 196 in the control group, Mean age=17; 35% males and 65%, females); Sample 2 (n=109 teachers; 69 experimental group and 40 control group, Mean age=37. Male, 32.2% and 67.8%, female). The methodology was a cuasiexperimental design and a method of group comparison, with a control group and an experimental group, with pre-test and post-test measures. The following variables were evaluated through different scales: Empathy, Stress, Socioemotional competences, Classroom climate and Academic Performance. All statistical analyses were performed through SPSS 24.0. The results show a significant improvement in the Experimental Group (Teachers and students). No changes were observed in the control group. Practical implications of the results are discussed.