Preparing Empathetic Teacher Candidates’: A Cultural Simulation of Japanese Internment in Hawaiʻi

In this phenomenological study, learning about empathy through the Japanese Internment in Hawaiʻi was explored by analyzing the experiences of seventeen undergraduate teacher candidates after visiting the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Data gleaned from surveys, self-reflection, peer reflections, and photovoice assignments were analyzed using clustering and themes. Findings reveal the depth of candidates’ empathetic lens from historical, cultural, and social empathetic lenses. The research offers implications for teacher preparation programs on the use of cultural simulations for developing teacher candidates' empathy for understanding others and working with culturally and linguistically diverse students.