Abstract
Teaching about poverty and family policy is a challenge for family educators, both inside the classroom and in local communities. After a review of public misconceptions of poverty and a critique of conventional pedagogy, it is argued that experiential activities, particularly simulations, are appropriate for promoting critical thinking about and increasing empathy for families in poverty. Two simulations designed to allow learners to rethink their policy assumptions and reflect on their values and attitudes about poverty and social inequality are presented. The poverty simulation is a role-playing workshop including limited resource families and agency representatives. Weber Towers is an on-line computer simulation representing social inequality in an apartment building, acquainting students with families of different social classes. Multimethod evaluation strategies, including a retrospective pretest method and qualitative data analysis, are utilized. Participants in the poverty simulations exhibit empathetic engagement and demonstrate a change in attitudes on several measures. The use of simulations for a wide array of learners, ranging from adolescent students to upper level administrators is advocated.