Closing the Ethnical Gap: A Case Study from the Physical Education Realm

Background: Multiculturalism is most commonly defined as the recognition of different cultural groups in an attempt to provide each group with opportunities to maintain and even strengthen its group identity (Alibhai-Brown 2000; Berry 1998; Bodi 1996). In most academic institutions students come from different ethnic and cultural groups and there they experience an inter-cultural meeting. However, the meeting between different cultural groups does not in itself create a significant multicultural reality. In Israel the vast majority of Jewish and Arab students on college campuses had never had any prior social interaction with the other group, since Jews and Arabs learn in separate school systems until the end of high school. A physical education college that includes both academic and physical activity courses has the potential to bring these groups closer together and to develop cultural sensitivity among its students.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a single physical education (PE) activity intervention to increase general cultural competence of third year PE students.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study that used a convenience sample with an experimental group and a control group and pre- and double post-testing. The sample comprised of 99 third-year PE students divided into an intervention group (N = 30) and a control group (N = 69). Students in the intervention group prepared and delivered a four-hour sport activity event at two different Arab high schools in Israel.

Results: Students who participated in the PE intervention group scored significantly lower in the two post-tests than the pre-test and the control group in mistrust, anger, fear and disrespect feelings towards the `other.` Also 59.2% of the experiment group thought that it is important to have a similar activity in the future and that they would like to know more about the other culture.

Discussion: Research shows that frequent contact between different ethnic groups in the positive environment of an academic institution has the potential to bring these groups closer together and develop cultural sensitivity among the students. This is under the condition that the college takes multiculturalism into account and demonstrates cultural sensitivity in its educational content of programs.

Conclusion: In order to create a multicultural experience, the physical education college should consider offering more programs and activities to bridge between Jews and Arab ethnic groups and respectively affect the atmosphere on campus in general.