INFLUENCIA DEL PROGRAMA “PATEANDO ALTO” SOBRE LA EMPATÍA EN NIÑOS DE 4TO Y 5TO GRADO

The present study aims to identify the influence of the Taekwondo program "Pateando Alto" on empathy in fourth and fifth grade children in a private school in San Miguel. The program consisted of eight sessions of one hour and 30 minutes duration. The sample was made up of 53 fourth and fifth grade students (M = 9.60 years, DE = .566). Empathy was measured with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI, Carrazco et al., 2011), before and after the application of the program. The participants were divided into an experimental group and two control groups, according to their availability. The results showed no statistically significant differences between the empathy scores of the experimental group before and after the application of the program, however, the effect size fluctuated between low and medium, evidencing an effect on empathy. The implication of this research is that it can be used as a basis for later programs that can work on the factors that make up empathy in greater depth and with the joint participation of parents and teachers..