Impact of Teaching Simulations on Resilience, Empathy and Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy in Career Technology Teacher Preparation Students

Pre-post paired data gathered from 15 students enrolled in a career and technical education high school course focusing on teacher education were analyzed to measure the impact due to experiences in a simulated teaching environment. The main research focus was to explore the relationship between variables considered to be important for the success of teachers including resilience, empathy and culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy. Results from this pilot study indicated that providing teaching simulation experiences for participants interested in a teaching career can significantly (p < .05) increase resilience and also have a positive impact on culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy as well as empathy. An additional finding from this study is the emergence of a much stronger positive relationship between Resilience and the three empathy measures at posttest following the simulated teaching intervention.