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Shared academic learning as a basis for multicultural intervention and attitudes toward multicultural kinship among Muslim-Bedouin and Jewish education students in the southern region of Israel

DOI: 10.18535/sshj.v8i04.1015· Pages: 34923-34940· Vol. 8, No. 04, (2024)· Published: April 18, 2024
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Abstract

The cultural and social characteristics of Israeli society in the State of Israel have existed for many years in the shadow of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Various political bodies as well as the general education system and within it the academic institutions in general and the teacher training colleges in particular raise many dilemmas dealing with the issues of multiculturalism and education for intercultural care and education for a common society and a common life. Various challenges intervene in this educational process, such as the dynamic security reality that characterizes the State of Israel and is a major catalyst for the radicalization of intercultural attitudes. Another aspect is the military service which is mandatory for young Jews. Another major challenge that characterizes this process is the simple fact that the main goal of the students from both companies is to acquire an academic degree and not to take part in educational processes of this type that aim to challenge existing positions and create cultural kinship. This research seeks to examine whether joint academic work in mixed groups, in an academic course, will lead to intercultural rapprochement due to the setting of a common achievement goal. 109 undergraduate students in teaching at the Kay Academic College of Education in the city of Beer Sheva in the south of the State of Israel participated in the study. 100 women and 9 men, in the age range between 18-40; 63 Jews and 45 Muslims - Bedouins. Two questionnaires were posted: a cultural affinity questionnaire and a questionnaire to evaluate a program of meetings between Jewish and Arab children that were completed before and after - at the beginning and at the end of the course. The results of the study indicate negative attitudes towards intercultural closeness as a starting point among the Jewish students with a non-significant improvement trend towards some of the indicators in filling out the questionnaire in the second measurement. The intensity of the attitudes towards cultural closeness in both questionnaires among the Bedouin Muslim students is higher in both measurements but indicates a decreasing trend - after learning the courses and completing the joint academic task.                                                                                  

Keywords

Teacher TrainingEducation for MulticulturalismEducation and CulturalismCultural ClosenessMulticultural Campus

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Author details
Dr. Ofer Gat
Lecturer: Kaye Academic College of Education - Be'er Sheva – Israel
✉ Corresponding Author
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