Poverty Simulation With Teacher Candidates to Increase Awareness About Poverty

Background: Research suggests that many educators hold inaccurate or incomplete perceptions of poverty leading to stereotyping of students living in poverty. It is important for future teachers to understand more about the complexities of poverty so they can bridge gaps between misconceptions and understanding for their students, families, and school communities. Purpose: This study examined teacher candidates’ preconceived thoughts and changes in perceptions toward poverty based on participation in an experiential learning activity (i.e., a poverty simulation). Methodology/Approach: The participants ( n = 94) were in their final term of a 2-year teacher education program in Ontario, Canada. This mixed-method study used a Community Action Poverty Simulation combined with the quantitative presurvey Undergraduate Perception of Poverty Tracking Survey and qualitative postgroup discussions. Findings/Conclusions: Results indicated that the poverty simulation was an effective tool for disrupting poverty perceptions and myths among teacher candidates and provided insight into further areas to increase understanding. Implications: Based on the findings, poverty simulations are a promising experiential learning process for teacher education programs as a cost-effective, consciousness-raising exercise that can prompt deeper levels of learning for teacher candidates and better prepare them to teach students living in poverty.