Empathy, Occupational Alienation Among Educational Counselors In Erbil City.

Abstract

The aim of the research is to investigate the levels of empathy and occupational alienation in sample study, to investigate differences in empathy and occupational alienation based on gender variable (male and female), and to investigate the correlation between empathy and occupational alienation among educational counselors in Erbil City. To achieve aims of the study, the researchers used Jolliffe and Farrington scale (2006) to measure empathy, and the Ben Zahi scale (2007) to measure occupational alienation, and they applied scales after confirming the psychometric characteristics such as validity and reliability. The research population include all educational counselors in public and private schools inside Erbil city, and the study sample consisted of (233) counselors of both genders, selected through accidental sampling. The research found the following results: There is a high level of empathy and a low level of occupational alienation among educational counselors in Erbil city. There are statistically significant differences in the level of empathy according to gender variable in females, while there are statistically significant differences in the level of occupational alienation in males. There is a statistically significant negative correlation between empathy and occupational alienation among sample study.