Exploring Educators\u27 Perspectives on Empathy and Equity through a Role-Play Game Experience

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to investigate potential changes in views of empathy and equity among a sample of educators engaged in a role-play simulation game. The investigation addressed three research questions: 1) Do the participants report a shift in their thinking on issues of empathy and equity after engaging in the role-play simulation? 2) How do the participants describe the nature of the shifts in their views on empathy and equity after engaging in the role-simulation game? 3) What specific features of the game do the participants identify as especially important in generating deeper and more critical consideration of their preexisting attitudes around empathy and equity? Findings indicate that the educators evidenced shifts in thinking on issues of empathy and equity. However, the participants revealed greater shifts in views on empathy and less clear changes in views of equity. The results of the study suggest that role play simulation games are useful instructional tools for approaching difficult topics surrounding empathy and equity in education