Civic Play and Civic Gaps: Can Life Simulation Games Advance Educational Equity?

ABSTRACT

Digital games and simulations (DG&S) could help mitigate inequities in civic education and participation, which are found in many contemporary democracies. Yet incorporating DG&S into the curriculum may reinforce or introduce inequities for students who are less engaged by game-based learning. A quasi-experimental study of 301 U.S. high school students in social studies classes examined whether prior academic performance, civic engagement, civic game play experience and gender affected how (and which) students benefit from playing a life simulation game. Dependent variables included several civic dispositions: justice-oriented citizenship norms and interest in politics, news, and global issues. The simulation game especially enhanced political interest among lower performing students and those with fewer informational resources. Although prior civic activity and civic gaming experience provided advantages for some outcomes, for the most part, gender did not. We conclude that life simulation games have the potential to advance both equity and excellence in civic education, engaging males and females, and advantaged and disadvantaged students, and we theorize about the reasons why.

KEYWORDS:

• Civic education
• civic engagement
• equality
• games
• gender
• quasi-experiment
• simulations

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christine M. Bachen

Christine Bachen is Director of Assessment and an associate professor of communication at Santa Clara University. Her research focuses on the use and impact of games on youth civic engagement, ethics, and social justice learning outcomes.

Pedro F. Hernández-Ramos

Pedro F. Hernández-Ramos is an associate professor of education at Santa Clara University. His research interests include teachers’ technology integration and pedagogical applications of games and simulations.

Chad Raphael

Chad Raphael is a professor of communication at Santa Clara University. His research interests include games for civic learning and engagement, public deliberation, and environmental communication.

Amanda Waldron

Amanda Waldron is a communications associate at the Council for a Livable World. Her research interest is in political communication.