Examining contact and identity: Arab teachers in Jewish Schools compared with future applicants.

The article examines the impact of the Orientation Programme for Retraining Arab Teachers in Jewish Schools in Israel, which includes a year of teaching in Jewish schools, on teachers' attitudes towards shared living and intercultural contact. Comparing graduates of the programme with applicants, the study found that while graduates showed more positive attitudes towards shared living, they also reported higher perceived hostility from Jewish counterparts, indicating limited impact of boundary-crossing teaching under unequal societal conditions. Applicants without prior experience in Jewish schools exhibited lower attitudes towards shared living, supporting the contact hypothesis, but differences in other variables were unclear. The research highlights the complex identity negotiations of Arab teachers working in Jewish schools and calls for adapted theoretical frameworks and enhanced support mechanisms to address the challenges of intercultural contact in segregated educational settings.