Teachers’ social-emotional competence has received increasing attention in educational psychology for about a decade and has been suggested to be an important prerequisite for the quality of teacher-student interactions and student outcomes. In this review, we will summarize the current state of knowledge about the association between one central component of teachers’ social-emotional competence—their empathy—with these indicators of teaching effectiveness. After all, empathy appears to be a particularly promising determinant for explaining high-quality teacher-student interactions, especially emotional support for students and, in turn, positive student development from a theoretical perspective. A systematic literature research yielded 41 records relevant for our article. Results indicated that teachers reporting more empathy with victims of bullying in hypothetical scenarios indicated a greater likelihood to intervene. However, there was neither consistent evidence for a relationship between teachers’ empathy and the degree to which they supported students emotionally in general, nor with classroom management, instructional support, or student outcomes. Notably, most studies asked teachers for a self-evaluation of their empathy, whereas assessments based on objective criteria were underrepresented. We discuss how these methodological decisions limit the conclusions we can draw from prior studies and outline perspective for future research in teachers’ empathy.

Background: Difficult social interactions with students are reported to be among the main stressors of beginning teachers, and although social competence has been suggested to represent a vital resource for their transition into practice and early‐career adaptation, this assumption has rarely been empirically studied. Aim: We conducted two studies to investigate the predictive validity and development of prospective and beginning teachers’ social competence. In Study 1, we examined, whether social competence predicts beginning teachers’ emotional exhaustion. Study 2 investigated whether university teacher training contributes to social competence development among prospective teachers. Sample: The samples of both studies are based on large‐scale assessments. Participants in Study 1 were 1,758 beginning teachers who had been tracked since their entry into university teacher training. Study 2 included 831 prospective teachers who were surveyed over a total period of two years. Methods: Data were analysed utilizing a structural equation modelling approach (Study 1) and latent change score modelling (Study 2). Results: The results of Study 1 revealed that social competence negatively predicts emotional exhaustion. Further, beginning teachers’ reports of classroom management functioned as a mediator within that relationship. According to the findings in Study 2, prospective teachers showed no significant enhancements of social competence within one year of university teacher training. However, there was a significant change considering the two‐year interval. Conclusions: Social competence, as a predictor of occupational well‐being, may constitute one important resource for the early‐career adaptation of beginning teachers. However, efforts to promote social competence within university teacher training should be increased.

Zusammenfassung. Der Lehrerberuf ist gekennzeichnet durch stetige soziale Interaktionen, deren erfolgreiche Bewältigung hohe Anforderungen an die sozial-emotionalen Fähigkeiten der Lehrkräfte stellt. Insbesondere zum Berufseinstieg werden Unterrichtsstörungen und soziale Konflikte als häufigste Stressoren erlebt. Die vorliegende Studie stellt ein theoretisch fundiertes Training sozial-emotionaler Kompetenz für Lehramtsstudierende vor, das auf die sozialen Herausforderungen des Berufs vorbereiten soll. Es umfasst die Vermittlung theoretischen Wissens und die Durchführung praktischer Übungen in den Bereichen Wissen über Emotionen, Regulation von Emotionen sowie soziale Fähigkeiten. Die Evaluation des 13 Sitzungen umfassenden Trainings wurde über ein quasi-experimentelles Prä-Post Design mit insgesamt N = 137 Studierenden in Trainings- ( N = 99) und Vergleichsgruppe ( N = 38) realisiert. Effekte des Trainings konnten in allen Bereichen nachgewiesen werden, wobei insbesondere die emotionale Selbstaufmerksamkeit (Wissen über Emotionen) und die Anwendung kognitiver Umbewertung (Regulation von Emotionen) zu nennen sind. Im Bereich soziale Fähigkeiten zeigte sich das Training lediglich für das Konfliktmanagement wirksam. Gemeinsam mit der großen Akzeptanz bei den Studierenden sprechen die Ergebnisse für den Nutzen der Implementierung solcher Programme in die universitäre Ausbildung von Lehrkräften.