Can empathy be taught?

I have just finished reading this short article and have been trying to make sense of it. The article talks about how the Danish teach their children to be empathetic and it claims that the emphasis on empathy is one of the reasons why Denmark is rated as the world’s happiest nation.

Can empathy really be taught? Unless there is a social norm in place that is followed by adults, all the teaching is not going to do much good.

As far as empathy making Danes happier, there are other factors to consider, like the decrease in class differences due to the country’s socialist government.

Are there any jellies here from Denmark or who know people from there?