Not-so Random Acts of Kindness: A Guide to Intentional Kindness in the Classroom

Abstract

Much has been written about random acts of kindness – acts performed spontaneously and often to strangers. The topic of kindness and the benefits arising from performing kind acts holds both empirical and applied interest in the fields of education and psychology. Encouraging students to reflect upon and perform intentional acts of kindness develops perspective-taking, increased social membership, and a structured way of encouraging kindness within the school context. This paper provides an overview of kindness research and argues for the need to promote intentional acts of kindness by providing a framework for teachers to support students in the performance of intentional kindness.

Keywords

• increased social membership
• kindness
• kindness definitions
• teaching
• social and emotional learning