Toward a More Just Approach to Poverty Simulations

Abstract

Poverty simulations are a promising approach to engaging college students in learning about poverty because they provide direct experience with this critical social issue. Much of the extant scholarship on simulations describe them as experiential learning; however, it appears that educators do not examine biases, assumptions, and traditions of power inherent in some traditional approaches. This is particularly problematic with poverty simulations because they are tools designed to specifically address systems of inequality and oppression. This case study describes an attempt to implement a poverty simulation and measure its longitudinal effectiveness and uses findings from this study to examine poverty simulations as contexts for experiential learning. It is argued that, when implemented without critical consideration, simulations might actually perpetuate inequality rather than empower students to address poverty through civic action.

Experiencing poverty in an online simulation: Effects on players’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about poverty

“…Questions remain about the long-term effects of face-to-face simulations. For example, while Browne and Roll (2016) found that CAPS promoted short-term changes in attitudes toward poverty, awareness of why people are poor, and interest in civic action, those outcomes did not persist.…”

“…Several studies measure participants' intent to act, and the findings are inconsistent. Some studies find simulations boost participants' intent to volunteer to serve the poor (Patterson & Hulton, 2012;Yang et al, 2014), while others do not (Browne & Roll, 2016;Davidson et al, 2009). Further, one study finds that participants did not act on their stated intentions .…”

The Poverty Simulation: Increasing Teacher Sensitivity for Students Living in Poverty

“…For example, Vandsburger et al (2010) found that a poverty simulation, attended by college students, "created a paradigm shift in the way they related to the poor" (p. 311). Similarly, research conducted on poverty simulations that measured attitudes toward poverty and other outcomes (e.g., empathy, critical thinking, and civic engagement) found that holistic and enduring changes in terms of personal awareness and empathy about poverty occurred for many participants (Browne & Roll, 2016). Because college students come from backgrounds, which often do not include life experiences with poverty, the simulation provides the type of "disorienting dilemma" needed to stimulate transformational learning (Vandsburger et al, 2010).…”

“…In a mixed-methods evaluation of the CAPS poverty simulation used with college students, Todd et al (2011) found that participants experienced a decrease in bias and negative stereotypes about those living in poverty. Browne and Roll (2016) recommend implementing steps prior to and after a poverty simulation that allow participants to voice insights about their participation in a poverty simulation; this reflective voicing of insights stimulates learning as a process, rather than an outcome, of the simulation experience, which results in greater changes of attitude.…”

“…Poverty can be logically seen to exist as the result of unwise individual choices or it can be understood as the result of systemic forces that make it difficult for all people to have equal access to opportunities that create and sustain financial stability. Participants experienced changes in their pre-conceived notions about the causes of poverty and gained an understanding of how difficult it can be to extricate oneself from life in poverty as a result of being exposed to the many obstacles to personal improvement inherent in low-income situations (Browne & Roll, 2016;Steck et al, 2011;Todd et al, 2011).…”