Being a Child in Antiquity: Understanding Childhood Through Historical Empathy

This study aimed to identify and enhance the historical empathy levels of 7th-grade students through activities focused on the psychology of children in antiquity during Social Studies lessons. Students were presented with historical evidence regarding the education and social lives of children in ancient times and engaged in historical empathy activities based on this information. The participants consisted of 20 seventh-grade students enrolled in a middle school in the city center of Kayseri during the 2021–2022 academic year. The study was designed as a case study within the framework of qualitative research methods. During the data collection process, activity sheets containing primary and secondary historical sources were used, and students’ levels of historical empathy learning were analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. The findings indicate that well-structured empathy-based activities enable students to better understand the lives, emotions, and perspectives of children living in antiquity. Such practices not only deepen students’ historical thinking skills but also enhance their ability to relate past human experiences to contemporary issues. Moreover, the study contributes to the design of more meaningful and student-centered learning experiences by offering concrete strategies for fostering historical empathy at the middle school level, thereby providing valuable guidance for teachers and curriculum developers.