ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. Peace and Democracy
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpos.2025.1626285
This article is part of the Research TopicLearning for DemocracyView all 9 articles
The Roaming Course: Fostering Intergroup Relationships Among Arab and Jewish Students in Physical Education Teacher Education
Provisionally accepted
- The Levinsky-Wingate Academic Center, Wingate Campus, Netanya, Israel
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Purpose: This study examined a structured intervention designed to enhance intercultural competence and intergroup relations among Arab and Jewish students in a physical education teacher education (PETE) program in Israel. Method: The 12-week 'Roaming Course' included 41 students (14 Arab, 27 Jewish), four study tours in mixed Arab-Jewish cities, and four on-campus sessions. Co-taught by an Arab and a Jewish instructor, the course integrated theoretical instruction, intercultural dialogue, and sport-based activities, drawing on the Contact Hypothesis, the Multi-Dimensional Model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC), and the Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) framework. Qualitative data were collected from students' reflective journals. Results: Findings showed that structured intergroup contact in the PETE framework fostered trust, reduced prejudice, and enhanced intercultural awareness, empathy, and professional identity. Discussion and Conclusion: The study highlights sport's role in bridging divides and presents a pedagogical model for higher education institutions promoting intercultural competence in diverse societies.
Keywords: Contact Hypothesis, Intercultural communicative competence (ICC), sports for development and peace (SDP), Jewish and Arab relations, Physical education teacher education (PETE)
Received: 10 May 2025; Accepted: 10 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hellerstein and Sindiani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Devora Hellerstein, The Levinsky-Wingate Academic Center, Wingate Campus, Netanya, Israel
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