Countering with Compassion: A Guide to Compassionate Leadership in and Beyond School Communities

by Alexandra Sewell (Editor)

Overview

Countering with Compassion provides educators with the tools needed to weave compassionate practice into their classrooms, schools, and wider communities. Bringing together diverse contributions, the book explores how the development of compassion across policy and practice offers a transformative pathway for both children and school staff.

A range of pertinent topics are covered, from developing a compassionate mind and compassion in children, to compassion fatigue for educators and compassionate leadership. Each chapter includes a range of exercises and activities, such as ‘considering the real world’ sub-sections, adding context to the topic, and ‘utilising compassion’ to reflect and allow the reader to apply the content to their own life and work.

By applying the Theory of Change model across chapters, the book puts theory into practice and encourages the reader to become a change maker in their school. It will be valuable reading for both primary and secondary teachers and school leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040747674
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/02/2026
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176

About the Author

Alexandra Sewell (she/her) is a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered educational psychologist and senior lecturer in special educational needs, disability, and inclusion at the University of Worcester. Her research has been published in numerous international journals and explores the concepts of voice and inclusion in education, with a particular interest in student voice in higher education. She is also co-editor of the International Journal of Birth and Parent Education.

Table of Contents

Part One: Framing and Foundations of Compassionate Leadership, 1. Introduction: Re-encountering Compassion as Tradition, Praxis, and Resistance, Alexandra Sewell, Kirsty Evans, Kathryn Lynch, 2. Enhancing Reflective Practice through Compassionate Leadership in Senior Leaders, Jo Taylor, 3. Building Compassionate School Cultures through Compassion Focused Therapy and Mind Training, Charlie Heriot-Maitland and Jo Taylor, Part Two: Compassion as a Global, Multi-Cultural Professional Endeavour, 4. Critical Compassion in Teacher Preparation: Pedagogical Conocimientos in Action, Jesus Jaime-Diaz, Josie Méndez-Negrete, Mary Carol Combs, 5. Leading with Compassion or Control? Coaching Lessons from a Confucian Perspective, Hongguo Wei, Shaobing Li, Amer Mohammad, 6. Compassionate Leadership through Self-Cognition: Insights from Moral Education in Kazakhstan, Aigerim Mynbayeva, Anzhelika Karabutova, Gainiya Tazhina, Part Three: Contextualising Compassionate Leadership in Practice, 7. Nurturing Compassion in the Early Years: Foundations for Professional Practice, Angela Hodgkins, 8. Rethinking Relational Leadership: Compassion With and Beyond the Human, Kay Sidebottom, 9. Leading with Heart in Times of Crisis: Cultivating Teacher Resilience, Well-being, and Performance, Richard Marcel, Index