Design Principles for Promoting Intergroup Empathy in Online Environments

Abstract

This study examined a professional development program designed to support Civics teachers in their efforts to promote empathy among Israeli Jewish students towards Israeli Arabs. The design rationale for the program is that teachers should experience empathic processes themselves before supporting their students in such an endeavor and that meaningful empathic processes can occur online if activities are properly designed. All phases of the program were designed to support teachers to participate as part of an online community of practice. Sixty Jewish teachers participated in two iterations of the design study. Refinements were made in the second iteration to provide teachers with explicit definitions of empathy and specific instructions for reflection. Findings indicate that these changes were reflected in higher degrees of empathic responses among teachers. Teachers also indicated that being a part of an online learning community contributed to the learning process they experienced during the program. We interpret this as a first step in enabling teachers to assist their students to develop a more empathetic approach toward the minority group and conclude with a discussion of recommended design principles for promoting such an approach.

Online joint professional development: a novel approach to multicultural education

“…Culturally responsive teachers who are socio-culturally conscious (Lucas and Villegas, 2013) can serve as agents of change in the field of multicultural education and as role models for good citizenship behavior. They hold the power to change stereotypes and promote the understanding of other groups' point of view and narratives (Shapira et al, 2016(Shapira et al, , 2020Amzalag and Shapira, 2021;Steinberg and Bar-On, 2009).…”

“…To truly celebrate diversity teachers must engage in a careful examination of their own cultural biases and assumptions and be willing to consider differences not as deficiencies but as potential sources of strength (Devarakonda, 2012). Furthermore, to cultivate a multicultural approach in the classroom, teachers need to undergo a stage of personal experience and develop their own social and emotional competencies (Dolev, 2017;Jennings et al, 2017;Shapira et al, 2016Shapira et al, , 2020Zins et al, 2004).…”

Online Collaboration between Arab and Jewish Students: Fear and Anxiety

“…This progression is seen by Hill (2007) in a number of stages, starting from a monocultural perspective, then moving to tolerance of cultural difference. Today, research shows the importance of developing social and emotional learning skills, pointing to the importance of empathy (Shapira et al, 2016). Our knowledge from the new disciplinary area of cultural neuroscience leads us to an understanding of how we can adapt and teach the area of multiculturalism dynamically where context leads to change, enabling the students to develop a multicultural mind (Nguyen-Phuong-Mai, 2017).…”

“…Educational research suggests that cross group friendships with outgroup members, that is, with those from a different racial, ethnic, or religious social identity group, can reduce intergroup anxiety (Stephan & Stephan, 1985;Shapira et al, 2016). The apprehension felt before participating and engaging with the outgroup has the potential to poison intergroup encounters.…”

“…First, our questionnaire did not specifically test for anxiety. This is something that should be considered for further research (Shapira et al, 2016;Žeželj et al, 2017). Second, not all of the students filled in the questionnaire because this was an optional element in the course.…”