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What role does Education play in supporting the global movement for compassion?

Cultivating compassion in educational settings, and creating the kind of culture where it is a norm of student and staff behavior, may seem at first a noble ideal: a nice-to-have, something to be undertaken only when all other priorities are met. Yet we now have the evidence to show that a school’s ability to foster real learning, indeed to fulfill its fundamental purpose, depends on its ability to do just that.

More and more schools and educational organizations/groups are acting on this evidence and creating compassion-filled learning environments. Students and adults alike thrive when their social and emotional needs are met, when they feel a sense of belonging, when they feel their voices are welcomed and heard. Choosing to uphold the principles of compassion is central to a school’s ability to create a caring and inclusive culture and climate, to nurture a strong moral identity among those who walk through its doors, and to invite deep participation and learning.

What’s more, compassionate action is foundational to effective collaboration, and to advancing the common good—attributes that, in today’s increasingly connected world—are central to success. A compassionate school begins with the adults on campus walking their talk and modeling compassion to all.

Explore this section of the Charter for Compassion website with its many offerings. If you are an educational organization, join us a compassionate school, college or university. If you are part of an educational organization be one of hundreds of partners that are committed to making a difference in the realm of education. Explore articles through our Compassion Reader, use our Annotated Bibliographies and check out our Resources section. Make these pages of the Education Sector your own. Join us for up and coming classes. Spread the word!