Impacts of a Poverty Simulation Experience on Student Empathy Levels Toward People Living in Poverty

Abstract

Many people hold negative opinions about individuals living in poverty without direct experience with poverty. Educating college students on the realities of life in poverty is critical to prepare them to serve in human-service careers. One way to educate about poverty is through an experiential education tool called a “simulation.” Poverty simulations are powerful tools that give participants embodied role-play experiences to promote social empathy and combat negative or singular perceptions of poverty. We explore the impact of the Missouri Community Action Network poverty simulation (CAPS) on student empathy for people experiencing poverty. We used the Undergraduate Perspectives of Poverty Tracking Survey (UPPTS) implemented as a retrospective pretest. While the impacts of CAPS have been studied, our unique contribution is the focus on empathy and use of the UPPTS. We found that student empathy for people living in poverty increased after the simulation with the greatest change occurring around four UTTPS factors: welfare attitudes, do more, lack of resources, and equal opportunity. Gender and financial status were the two demographics that had statistically significant difference of impact between categories with women and those who were “very financially secure” experiencing a greater change in empathy between pre and post scores.