Simulating the Other Side: Political Simulations and Ideological Positions

• In Event: Innovative Pedagogies for Inclusive Classrooms

Abstract

Political simulations and other active learning techniques promote the retention of course material (Smith and Boyer 1996) and stimulate interest in subject matter (Clark et al. 2016). Might simulations have additional educational and personal effects? This paper examines the ways that participating in simulations might affect participants’ political ideology. Many simulations require students to take on the role of a real-world leader. Students often come into a simulation with different ideological outlooks than the leaders they are asked to play. In the course of the simulation, students must consider and actively advocate for the values their alter egos hold. Such an experience has the potential to influence the ideological convictions of students, as they learn about and possibly develop some empathy for disparate ideological positions. To investigate this possibility, we analyze pre- and post-surveys of student participants in the Mid-Atlantic European Union Simulation, paying particular attention to the self-reported ideological distance between participants and their assigned alter egos. Our findings suggest that simulation participation has a slight influence on students’ left/right ideological positions and a more substantial influence on students’ stances toward the European Union (e.g., students’ levels of europhilism/euroskepticism).

Authors

• Nicholas J. Clark, Susquehanna University

• John A. Scherpereel, James Madison University