Using a contemplative conflict resolution intervention to promote teachers’ and youth’s beneficial engagement in controversial discussions and intergroup encounters

Enabling respectful discussion between rival social viewpoints is currently one of humanity’s most important challenges. Powerful socio-psychological barriers, including negative intergroup perceptions, emotions, beliefs and biases, are known to play a crucial role in fueling social conflicts, by increasing intolerance and blame toward the outgroup. A mindfulness-based compassionate conflict engagement intervention, which combines mindfulness, empathy, communication skills and conflict resolution tools, will be tested in the context of volatile conversations and intergroup encounters. The intervention will be taught to Jewish and Arab teachers in 12 schools, prior to their students meeting each other. We hypothesize that both within the school context and during the encounters, the teachers that have participated in the intervention, and their students that have received from them those skills, will show more empathy and understanding toward the outgroup, will be better able to hold productive dialogue on volatile issues and will exhibit more support for intergroup relations.