Teachers Foster Intergroup Empathy

Authors

  • Noa Shapira Department of Learning, Instruction, and Teacher Education Faculty of Education, University of Haifa
  • Yael Kali Department of Learning, Instruction, and Teacher Education Faculty of Education, University of Haifa
  • Haggai Kupermintz Department of Learning, Instruction, and Teacher Education Faculty of Education, University of Haifa
  • Niva Dolev Department of Education and Community Kinneret Academic College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v22i3.2225

Keywords:

television sitcom, indirect contact, intergroup empathy, inclusive teaching, multicultural education

Abstract

This study examined a professional development program aimed at supporting Jewish civics teachers in their efforts to promote empathy among their students toward Israeli Arabs. Previous results indicated an increase in outgroup empathy among teachers who watched and reflected upon clips from a television sitcom. This article focuses on skills teachers developed and strategies they designed and implemented following their experience with empathy processes. Our findings underscore the educative potential of indirect mediated contact in segregated societies, and the importance of developing empathic processes among teachers before they embark on the challenge of supporting their students in such endeavors.

Author Biography

Noa Shapira, Department of Learning, Instruction, and Teacher Education Faculty of Education, University of Haifa

Noa Shapira completed her B.A. in social science, her M.A. in Democracy Studies at the Open University in Israel, and her Ph.D. in the Faculty of Education at the University of Haifa. Her thesis was entitled: Multiculturalism, Democracy, and Violence at Israeli Schools.
Her Ph.D. Dissertation was entitled: Fostering intergroup empathy in an online learning environment.
Noa was a member of the Learning in a Networked Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE). She received a research grant from Rachel and Eliezer Silver Scholarship Foundation. In addition, she participated in several conferences, such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (2016). The subject of lecturer: Teacher Professional Growth: Fostering Empathy Through E-Learning (FEEL) and at the 35th AIS Annual Conference at Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee, Israel (2019). The subject of lecturer: Teachers foster intergroup empathy through planned mediated contact.
She is now a lecturer at the Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee Department of Education and Community.

Downloads

Published

2020-12-31

How to Cite

Shapira, N., Kali, Y., Kupermintz, H., & Dolev, N. (2020). Teachers Foster Intergroup Empathy. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 22(3), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v22i3.2225

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 3 (2020): Open Theme Issue

Section

Articles (Peer-reviewed)