Arab American College Students: What Predicts Their Engagement with the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict?

Arab and Jewish U.S. college students are impacted by the Israeli/Palestinian (I/P) conflict and heated interactions among students have erupted across campuses. There is a dearth of research on Arab American student perspectives on this conflict and on their interactions with Jewish students in higher education settings. This study seeks to further our understanding of these topics by reporting on a quantitative survey of Arab American college students (n=66). We examined dependent variables of Arab students seeking education on the I/P conflict, and interest in collaborating with Jewish students for peace. Independent variables were gender, religion, having Jewish friends, learning about Jewish history of oppression, growing up in Arab schools and communities, and parents’ and own views about Palestine. Multiple regression analysis indicates being male, believing Palestine is important, learning about Jewish history of oppression, and having parents with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel attitudes predicted students’ seeking out education about the conflict. Being male, Christian, having friends who are Jewish and wanting opportunities to talk with Jews about the conflict predicted higher interest in Arab students’ wanting to collaborate with Jewish students for peace. Implications for working with these two groups on college campuses given both the tensions in the Middle East and experiences of Arab American college students are discussed and future recommendations are made for educational settings

Educational digital technologies in developing countries challenge third party providers

In this conceptual paper, we consider issues and challenges of third party and governmental organisations in planning and implementing access to and uses of digital technologies for learning and teaching in developing countries. We consider failures and weaknesses in the planning and implementation processes highlighted by research in developed countries (as well as successes supporting implementation). We problematise these issues and challenges, conceptualise them in order to focus on longer-term rather than shorter-term ones, and offer new alternative models and ways of conceiving these practices for future sustainability

Populations digitally excluded from education in a post-pandemic era : issues, factors, contributions and actions for policy, practice and research

This conceptual paper draws on a wide range of research and policy literature, providing a contemporary view of issues, factors and practices that affect education for digitally excluded populations. Concern for how education for digitally excluded populations can be supported is focal to this paper, with different sections offering key related perspectives. From an analysis of issues, factors and practices, actions for policy, practice and research are identified. Given a key finding that power issues can have major effects on plans, implementation processes and outcomes when addressing needs of education for digitally excluded populations, the paper concludes by offering frameworks to support and enable key discussions, to involve representatives from an excluded population as well as those from policy (government and industry), practitioners (teachers and learners) and researchers

Humanising ‘the other’

In the belief that teachers' attitudes toward the other have a 'ripple effect' on society as a whole, the researchers designed a course called ‘Dealing with Diversity’ offered to one class of Arab students and one class of Jewish students studying to become English teachers at two colleges of education in Israel. The course aimed to expose the student to theoretical material relating to diversity and to provide an authentic vehicle for application of the principles discussed in the literature. Students were required to complete joint projects in mixed groups (Arab and Jewish), in two face-to-face and a semester of virtual meetings. Attitudes and reactions towards ‘the other’— their Jewish or Arab peers-- were explored on the basis of journal and forum entries which were part of the course requirements. The students’ writings showed themes of apprehension (negative), expectancy (positive), or indifference (neutral), and evidence of change in attitude was documented. Key words 'the other'; cultural diversity; teacher education; Identity circles; collaborative Learning

Online Collaboration between Arab and Jewish Students: Fear and Anxiety

This study examines students in an online, collaborative, yearlong intercollege course. Arab and Jewish students from five colleges of education in Israel worked in virtual teams. The data includes pre and post questionnaires as well as open ended questions and ongoing reflective journals. The results of the t-test indicated that the perception of other participants  in the group improved significantly among Jewish and Arab participants -4.38. This was backed up by the qualitative data.  Initially, the students expressed apprehension towards working with people from the other culture and fear of leaving their comfort zone

Educational Digital Technologies in Developing Countries Challenge Third Party Providers.

In this conceptual paper, we consider issues and challenges of third party and governmental organisations in planning and implementing access to and uses of digital technologies for learning and teaching in developing countries. We consider failures and weaknesses in the planning and implementation processes highlighted by research in developed countries (as well as successes supporting implementation). We problematise these issues and challenges, conceptualise them in order to focus on longer-term rather than shorter-term ones, and offer new alternative models and ways of conceiving these practices for future sustainability.13 Halama