ERIC Number: EJ1275397
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2470-6426
EISSN: N/A
The Poverty Simulation: Increasing Teacher Sensitivity for Students Living in Poverty
Rice, Aviva Goelman; McCall, Linda Ann; Ogden, Jacqueline E.
National Youth-At-Risk Journal, v2 n2 Article 8 p107-127 Spr 2017
Studies of children growing up in poverty describe increasingly devastating effects on many areas of development (e.g., cognitive, linguistic, socio-emotional, affective, psychomotor). Teachers need to be aware of these findings; they also need to develop empathy for their students living in poverty. One way to do this is to experience a poverty simulation wherein participants (i.e., teachers) learn what it is like to "walk in their students' shoes." This report describes the history of a poverty simulation in southeast Georgia. Analysis of quantitative data, collected via surveys administered before and after recent poverty simulations, revealed the following findings: increased teacher understanding of poverty, increased teacher recognition of their own biases toward their students and their families who live in poverty, and increased teacher empathy toward their students and their families who live in poverty. Findings also showed that teachers plan to apply their new understandings regarding poverty in their classrooms. Implications for practice, especially for teachers working in urban settings with poor children, are offered.
Descriptors: Poverty, Simulation, Professional Development, Sensitivity Training, Consciousness Raising, Empathy, Teacher Student Relationship, At Risk Students, Low Income Students, Family Income, Public Schools, Urban Areas, Disadvantaged Youth, Cognitive Development, Social Development, Emotional Development, Program Effectiveness
College of Education at Georgia Southern University. Digital Commons Office, Zach S. Henderson Library, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30458. e-mail: nyarjournal@georgiasouthern.edu; Web site: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Georgia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A