Heroes and Princesses: How Imagination Can Alleviate Poverty
Date
2019-12-04
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Abstract
Researchers have found that children who are raised in poverty are more likely to be impoverished later in life as a result of educational limits, health implications, or lowered self-esteem. The latter cause could be alleviated by encouraging imagination, a means by which children create hope in visualizing themselves in a life different than their own and believing that their perseverance in life has the power to bring them to a new place, one where they feel safe and capable of great deeds. This research will explore how imagination can facilitate the growth of children’s confidence in their abilities, and findings will discuss avenues of imagination, which include close relationships with strong role models in the community, as well as parents and educators, who can encourage children to pursue activities such as participating in imaginative play or reading fictional stories. If general attitudes toward children living in poverty are transformed to believe that imaginative efforts can alleviate the intergenerational poverty cycle, then outcomes will be improved for children who perceive poverty as impossible to overcome.
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Imagination, Intergenerational, Poverty, Creativity, Children, Education, 2019 Sophomore Research Conference, Imagination