The challenges of living and teaching in the State of Israel, made up of different “tribes”, whom are not free from conflict, emphasize the need for an intercultural professional development program for each and every teacher.

The “Teachers’ Lounge” program seeks to create a continuous deep dialogue between the various sectors in Israel, in order to provide support for the complex educational aspects of Jewish and Arab encounters.

We consider the program a success when the participants feel that participating in it has changed the way they think about the ‘other’ in their local environment, and when teachers feel that they can see human diversity as a source of hope and abundance, as opposed to merely an obstacle.

Continuous evaluation and research have accompanied the program since its inception and examine the teachers’ intercultural experiences, as well as possible options for the development of the program.

Formative evaluation – the program is evaluated through questionnaires filled out by the participants during the academic year, as well as by oral and written reports from the participants’ final papers. According to repeated reports, the direct encounter between the teachers, as part of the ‘Teachers’ Lounge’ program, also affects their classrooms and students in the various communities in which they work and has ever-expanding circles of influence.

Accompanying research – a large-scale qualitative study examines the pedagogy of the program, its challenges and its impact on the participants. We believe that the challenge of living together in a multicultural society characterizes many places in Israel and around the world. With the pedagogical experience and research-based knowledge gained through the program’s activity, we are leading the expansion of the ‘Teachers’ Lounge’ program to additional areas and implementing the program’s model in additional locations with a diverse and multicultural population.

Academic papers by advanced degree students were written about the program and are another important element in the deepening of concepts and in-depth investigation of intercultural professional development processes.