Reducing educational gaps in Israel? Examining the ability to learn and experience sensations of Jewish and Arab participants in Feldenkrais lessons

ABSTRACT

In the early years of the State of Israel (since 1948), education in the Arab sector suffered from discrimination and neglect, and it is only recently (since 2015) that programs have begun reducing these gaps. The aim of the present study was to examine the existence or non-existence of gaps in ability to learn and an in sensations after performing Feldenkrais method exercises. The Feldenkrais method seeks to improve individual ability, through movement. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the responses of 21 students from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and 18 students from Kaye Academic College of Education, who practiced the method in 14 Feldenkrais lessons, showed no gaps in learning ability, and small gaps in sensations.

KEYWORDS:

• Israeli Arabs
• Israeli Jews
• education
• Feldenkrais method
• learning process
• sensations

In the 2010s, the Israeli government embarked on a sustained effort to improve the socioeconomic lot of the country’s Arab minority, manifested in a string of ambitious multiyear programmes. These culminated in Government Decision 922 of December 2015, which authorised a NIS15 billion (US$3.84 billion) 5-year development plan in the fields of education and higher education; public infrastructure and transportation; commerce and industry; employment; health; public security; sports and culture; construction and housing; and municipal, social, welfare, and community services.¹

While the programme’s success in narrowing educational gaps between the Jewish and Arab sectors (e.g. in infrastructure, median years of schooling, student achievement, etc.) has been thoroughly studied, this research focused on core subjects within the education system.² As a result, the significant gaps (and/or their reduction) between the two communities in terms of physical education, different types of movement, and the effects of movement on different aspects of life, have remained largely understudied (Table 1).

Table 1. Differences in habits associated with physical activity (preadolescents aged 7–11).

Parameter	Arab sector Frequency	Jewish sector Frequency
No physical activity as a risk factor for hazardous drinking	Low	High (2.1 times higher)
No physical activity as a risk factor for drug abuse	Low	High (1.7 times higher)
Report on frequency of playgrounds and parks close to home	Low	High
No physical activity following non-physically active father	High	Low

Source: Harel-Fisch et al, Physical Activity and Sport.

This article seeks to fill this lacuna by exploring the existence or non-existence of gaps in between the two population groups in perceptions of body movement, its importance and implications. It does so by sampling 39 higher-education students – 21 from the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and 18 from Kaye Academic College of Education – who practiced the Feldenkrais method – a particularly gentle and intellectual physical activity. Discerning the existence of gaps in physical education and movement can help learn how to contend with them, whereas discovering the narrowing of gaps in this realm will constitute an additional tier in the decade-long effort to reduce Arab-Jewish socioeconomic gaps.

The Feldenkrais method

Dr Moshé Feldenkrais (1904–84) developed a unique method comprising treatment, movement exercises, and a unique theory on human ability to learn.³ Practice of the method usually consists of movements and ‘exercises’ one performed in infancy, and considerable repetition of each movement. Feldenkrais claimed that ‘in every movement we make and in our waking state, four components take place simultaneously: movement, thought, feeling, and sensation, which influence and feed each other’.⁴

The Feldenkrais method views the body as a whole, but with an understanding that the back is an ‘intersection’ that has lost its natural ability to move freely. As a result, one exerts considerable muscle and movement effort on one’s lumbar and nape areas. Performing Feldenkrais exercises can restore the necessary balance between the different parts of the back, and the proprioceptive, vestibular, and visual systems.⁵

Studies on the method’s efficacy in physical/health, emotional, and mental aspects, have found it to be highly effective.⁶ Some of the articles engaged with healthy populations,⁷ others with aspects of elderly health,⁸ some with multiple sclerosis patients,⁹ a few with institutionalised elderly residents,¹⁰ and some addressed eating disorders,¹¹ and myocardial infarction.¹²

All in all these studies show that Feldenkrais exercises improve balance, prevent falls, improve the body’s mobility, relax, and stimulate awareness, which helps to reduce strain and pain. According to them, performing Feldenkrais exercises triggers a personal learning and self-improvement process. In this respect, Gil examined whether performing Feldenkrais exercises improves the learning ability of 120 Israeli students (Jews and Arabs). She found that students assimilated the theoretical content taught during the lessons, and most of them experienced improved ability for theoretical learning of their professional content for 24 hours after the lesson.¹³

Method and materials

The study

As noted above, over the past decade there has been a marked reduction in educational gaps between the Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Jewish communities in various areas. The Feldenkrais method, which has been extensively studied and researched, and has been proved to improve various human functions, has received less research attention in the context of improving the ability to learn. It is interesting to examine and compare how the method affects the learning ability and sensations of Israeli students, Arabs and Jews alike, and whether there are no significant gaps between the two populations in the effects of body movement on their sensations and learning ability.

Research questions

• What where the participants’ sensations following participation in Feldenkrais exercises?

• Will differences be found between the sensations expressed by the Arab participants and those expressed by the Jewish participants?

Research hypotheses

• In both groups, Jews and Arabs, learning of the theoretical content explained during the lesson concurrently with practical exercises will occur, and no significant differences in learning between the two groups will be found.

• Participants in both groups will experience improvement in their learning ability for 24 hours after performing Feldenkrais exercises, and no differences in learning will be found between the two groups.

Research population and tools

The study employed combined tools, qualitative and quantitative. The data was collected by means of semi-structured qualitative questionnaires and consisted of questions (in Hebrew) about participants’ feelings, sensations, and learning after participating in the lessons. The questions regarding learning ability were aimed at the participants’ understanding of the theoretical content conveyed during the lessons, concurrently with the practical exercises, and questions attesting to their ability to learn up to 24 hours after the lesson. The data obtained from participants’ responses to questions about their sensations were qualitatively processed and employed a grounded theory approach. The data pertaining to learning ability was quantified (reliability .778) into numbers ranging from 1 to 10, with 1 indicating responses attesting to no contribution of the exercises to learning, and 10 indicating contribution of the exercises to learning ability.

The study’s sample included 18 Arab and 21 Jewish students. Of the Arab students, eight were from the Technion, and 10 from Kaye College: 13 women, and 5 men. Of the Jewish students, two were from Kaye College, and 19 from the Technion: 16 women, and 5 men (Tables 2 and 3).

Table 2. Gender data.

		Frequency	Percent	Valid percent	Cumulative percent
Valid	Male	19	46.3	46.3	46.3
	Female	22	53.7	53.7	100.0
	Total	41	100.0	100.0

Table 3. Sector data.

		Frequency	Percent	Valid percent	Cumulative percent
Valid	Arab	18	43.9	43.9	43.9
	Jewish	23	56.1	56.1	100.0
	Total	41	100.0	100.0

The Technion students (average age 25) were studying for their BA in engineering. They displayed high intellectual curiosity and politeness and were somewhat open to experiential learning. This participant profile contributed to the relative ease in collecting the data. This data was taken from that collected in Gil’s previous study.

The students from Kaye College (average age 33) attended retraining programmes (from BA in various subjects to teaching physical education). They were married with families, lived a relatively long distance from the college, and worked for a living. This participant profile made it relatively difficult to collect the data.

The study employed convenience sampling, since the participants were members of the researcher’s study groups. The participants were not compelled or instructed to write, absorb, and memorise the theoretical content studied during the lesson and exercises, or guided to feel particular sensations. However, the researcher did occasionally list (verbally and in general terms) possible sensations (e.g. differences between the right and left sides of the body after performing the exercises, or a sense of different body length).

Research procedure

The study was conducted in 2018 at the Technion: four Feldenkrais method semester courses were held, each course attended by 30 students. Questionnaires were sent to students at the end of each lesson. Of all the responses received, the data of 21 students (of a total of 120) were used for the purpose of analysis, following five of the 14 lessons in each semester. Thus, 104 questionnaires were used, 28 completed by Arab participants, and 76 by Jewish participants.

At Kaye College, one Feldenkrais method course was held (14 lessons), which was attended by 17 students. Here, too, the questionnaires were sent to the students at the end of each lesson, and from all the responses received, 90 questionnaires representing five lessons were used for the analysis: 60 questionnaires completed by Arab participants, eight by Jewish participants. Three questionnaires were disqualified since the answers were copied from the internet and did not enable any kind of analysis (Table 4).

Table 4. Topic and content of the relevant lessons for the study.

Lesson No.	Topic	Content
1	Movement development stages	Raising the head, leaning on elbows, leaning on hands, rolling from the stomach to the side, rolling from the stomach to the back
2	Relationship between the head, neck, and shoulders	Head and shoulder movements in the same direction, head and shoulder movements in opposite directions, separating and combining sides (left and right)
3	Movements in the sagittal plane	Flexion and extension movements of the back and leg joints, lying down and in a sitting position
4	Incorporating posture muscles	Learning to roll the pelvis backwards in various variations, incorporating breathing, and gradually increasing the movement by involving different limbs
5	Rotations	Spinal mobility on the horizontal plane, separate use of arms and legs, and combined use of limbs in different lying positions

Data analysis

The study employed a combined approach. The qualitative analysis consisted of several stages: a full reading of the data, removing non-relevant information, coding relevant information by reducing the data and organising them into ‘categories’, and organising the category data into smaller units (‘subcategories’). This division stemmed from the research questions and facilitated a broadening of the data by restructuring them, and verification of the findings with the research questions and the literature review. Some of the qualitative data was quantified, and the quantitative analysis was conducted in accordance with t-tests for independent groups, and carried out by means of SPSS software.

Results

The qualitative findings pertaining to participants’ sensations after performing Feldenkrais exercises were organised into two categories, and their content responds to the research questions. The quantitative findings regarding participants’ learning were organised in accordance with the two research hypotheses.

Sensations of the Jewish and Arab participants following participation in Feldenkrais exercises

Category 1: effects of the lessons on general physical sensations

When participants in Feldenkrais exercises express what they feel at the end of a Feldenkrais lesson, they mainly speak about their physical sensations:

• Sensations expressed by Arab participants: At the end of the lesson on development when lying on the stomach, E said, ‘At the end of the lesson I felt it was a bit difficult to perform, it required effort. At the same time, a sense of healing’. M added, ‘At the end of the lesson, healing like in the past’. After the lesson on flexion and extension of the posterior side of the body when sitting in a chair, E wrote that she felt ‘reduced tension, and improvement’, while A wrote about a sense of tiredness, ‘After the exercises we do we feel more comfortable and good, and some of the tiredness in the body is already gone’. Referring to another lesson, V wrote that the day after the lesson, ‘I felt that a lot of things in my body were released, so I felt comfortable’. It is evident that the participants experienced improvement in their general physical sensations.

• Sensations expressed by the Jewish participants: After a particular lesson, N wrote that she felt ‘Heaviness in her shoulder blades that increased during the exercises on the left-hand side’, and after several lessons, she wrote, ‘Until now, I come out of the lesson feeling calmer, but also more tired’. Following the exercises in the first lesson, M wrote, ‘A feeling that the range of movement increased with every repetition of the exercise, and a feeling that the body is more “spread out” in rest, as if the surface of the body touching the mat increased’. Following the last lesson she wrote, ‘I felt some stretching that was different from previous lessons and a bit more energetic’. Following the lesson in which the lesson’s techniques were explained, U wrote, ‘During the lesson I felt greater flexibility in my upper body, shoulders and ribs, compared to the beginning of the lesson and compared to the previous lesson’. It is evident that most, but not all, the Jewish participants also experienced improvement in general physical sensations.

To summarise this category, the participants generally experienced positive sensations after performing Feldenkrais exercises. However, whereas this trend is absolute among the Arab participants, among the Jewish participants the trend is partial.

Category 2: effects of the lessons on sensations in the back

The back is the mainstay of our body, due to both its physical location in the centre of the body and its complexity and multiple effects on our movement and posture, and indeed, several participants referred to it separately from the rest of their body:

• Back sensations expressed by Arab participants following the lessons included: ‘At the end of the lesson I felt that everything had loosened up, especially around the neck and spine’. Following the back flexion and extension exercises, E wrote, ‘After the exercises I immediately felt relief in my back’. Following the spinal rotation exercises, M wrote, ‘In the last lesson I felt improvement in my back’, and following a lesson on posture muscles, he wrote, ‘The lesson helped me to loosen my stomach muscles and my lower back’.

• Back sensations expressed by the Jewish participants following the lessons included: ‘During the day I felt less pressure on my back’. L added, ‘I felt I could hold my back a bit more upright without thinking/straining too much’. D also referred to his back, and wrote, ‘Today’s lesson contributed to positive sensations and stability in my back (I suffer from scoliosis)’.

It appears, therefore, that many of the participants chose to refer to positive sensations in the back, though they were not specifically asked to do so. Additionally, there is no apparent difference between Jewish and Arab participants in positive sensations and the importance ascribed to them.

Improved learning ability of Jewish and Arab students after performing Feldenkrais exercises

Learning during the lessons

According to the first hypothesis, in both groups there would be learning of the theoretical content explained during the lesson concurrently with performing practical exercises, and no significant differences in learning would be found between the two groups. A t-test for independent groups was used to examine this hypothesis.

Tables 5 and 6 show the results of Levene’s test that examines whether the standard deviations in the two groups are equal or different. In learning during the lessons, the Sig. value is greater than 0.05 (0.455), confirming the assumed equal variances. It is also evident that the Sig. values, which indicate the significance level of the mean differences in learning during the lessons as sector-dependent are greater than 0.05 (0.325), indicating no significance in the means of learning during the lessons as sector-dependent. These findings show that the hypothesis was fully supported, and no significant differences were found between the Arab and Jewish participants in their reports on learning during the Feldenkrais lessons.

• Learning after the lessons. According to the second hypothesis, students in both groups would experience improved learning ability for up to 24 hours after performing Feldenkrais exercises, and no difference in learning would be found between the two groups. To examine this hypothesis, a t-test for independent groups was carried out.

Table 5. Learning during the lessons.

	Sector	N	Mean	Standard deviation	Mean standard error
Learning during lessons	Arab	18	6.639	2.0991	.4948
	Jewish	21	7.429	2.8297	.6175

Table 6: Independent sample test – learning during the lessons

		Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances		T-Test for Equality of Means
		F	Sig.	t	df	Sig. (2-tailed)	Mean difference	Standard error difference	95% confidence interval of the difference
									Lower	Upper
Learning during lessons	Equal variances assumed	.571	.455	–.975	37	.336	–.7897	.8096	–2.4301	.8507
	Equal variances not assumed			–.998	36.314	.325	–.7897	.7912	–2.3939	.8146

Tables 7 and 8 show the results of the Levene’s test that examines whether the standard deviations in the two groups are equal or different. In learning after the lessons, the Sig. value is greater than 0.05 (0.092), confirming the assumed equal variance. It is also evident that the Sig. values, which indicate the significance level of the mean differences in learning after the lessons as sector-dependent are greater than 0.05 (0.656), indicating no significance in the means of learning after the lessons as sector-dependent. These findings show that the hypothesis was fully supported, and no significant differences were found between Arab and Jewish participants in their reports on learning after the Feldenkrais lessons.

Table 7. Learning after the lessons.

	Sector	N	Mean	Standard deviation	Mean standard error
Learning after lessons	Arab	14	6.714	2.2422	.5993
	Jewish	20	7.150	3.4070	.7618

Table 8: Independent sample test – learning after the lessons

		Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances		T-Test for Equality of Means
		F	Sig.	t	df	Sig. (2-tailed)	Mean difference	Standard error difference	95% confidence interval of the difference
									Lower	Upper
Learning after lessons	Equal variances assumed	3.011	.092	–.418	32	.679	–.4357	1.0416	–2.5574	1.6859
	Equal variances not assumed			–.450	31.924	.656	–.4357	.9693	–2.4103	1.5388

Discussion and conclusions

Students’ sensations

With reference to the research question on performing Feldenkrais method exercises, the qualitative findings show that most participants reported experiencing relief from pain and pleasant and beneficial sensations. This finding is consistent with various findings in the research literature.¹⁴ This can be explained with the words of Feldenkrais, that when we intensify one of the four components – movement, thought, feeling, sensation – we intensify the others as well. In the lessons, we intensify movement, and this in turn also heightens and improves sensations.

Additionally, the reasons for the overall positive sensations (Category 1) may stem from multiple principles and processes that occurred during the exercises.

At the basis of the method is the notion that the natural movement of babies and infants is the most correct, healthy, and easy movement for humans to perform. During the lessons, the students were instructed to perform a particular movement, and certain variations of that movement, and repeat it multiple times. This repetition enabled each of the participants to choose, and re-choose in accordance with their own habits, the variation most comfortable and suitable for them.

Just as babies acquire a considerable proportion of their movements – rolling from the back to the stomach, or from the stomach to the back, the transition to a hands-and-knees position, various transitions into sitting – without mimicking or guidance, so too in the present study. The teacher did not demonstrate movements, and the students were instructed to move without mimicking others. Rather, they were encouraged to perform the movements at their own pace, from their own understanding and personal choices regarding certain nuances. For instance, when shifting from lying on the side to lying on the back, will one let one’s arms lead, or will one’s legs, or one’s back lead?

As customary in the Feldenkrais method, students also performed most of the exercises and lessons lying on their backs. Neutralising gravity allows the body to move by shifting bodyweight from one area to another, using the natural ranges of movement of the elbows, without using the muscles. Thus, the students could move without contracting muscles or holding muscles in various ways, which enabled them to move differently, more easily.

The lessons were held in a very relaxed atmosphere. The students were not instructed regarding ranges of movement or accurate and specific ways to move, and hardly any personal instructions were given to correct a movement (other than glaring mistakes, such as confusing right and left, or being in the wrong position). The teacher spoke in a pleasant tone of voice and made sure to pause between the various instructions and explanations to avoid overload. This atmosphere enabled students to quietly withdraw into themselves and discover the correct movement for them. It also enabled them to accept their body as it is.

Students were instructed to perform exercises such as rolling the pelvis backward and forward, to the right and left. These exercises loosen stiff joints (lumbar and cervical spine) and cramped muscles, and significantly reduce overloads in these areas.

The exercises the students performed view the body as a whole and, consequently, some involved the whole body, while others involved numerous different areas of the body. This stems from the notion that this way of exercising enables participants to change their habitual movements, disperse overloads in areas that have become accustomed to performing movements that exceed their natural ability, and encourage areas that are unaccustomed to movement – to move.

In general, no essential difference was found between the positive sensations experienced by the Arab and Jewish participants. This finding is logical since there is no reason for differences in sensations. Prior to obtaining the results, there was concern that the Arab participants, for whom Hebrew is not their mother tongue, would have difficulty reporting their sensations in Hebrew. The results showed that while there was a degree of difficulty in writing, following a second and third reading, they managed to express themselves and their sensations, and draw a connection between what they did in the lessons and their sensations afterwards.

Nevertheless, it is important to address an interesting and surprising finding. In contrast to the Arab students, who reported only positive sensations, a small proportion of the Jewish students from the Technion reported that the exercises did not improve their sensations, and a few even reported negative sensations such as pain and tiredness.

These differences possibly stem from the fact that most of the Jewish students were from the Technion, while most of the Arab students were from Kaye College. The group of students who participated in the Feldenkrais lessons at the Technion was very big, and the Feldenkrais course was the only one they studied with the teacher. By contrast, the group of students at Kaye College was small and intimate, and the students studied multiple courses with the teacher. In other words, the Technion students’ lack of personal familiarity with the teacher, in contrast to the familiarity between the teacher and the Kaye College students, created a sense of freedom among the Jewish students at the Technion to express both negative and positive sensations, while the familiarity at Kaye College created a situation of desirability bias among the Arab students.

Students’ ability to learn

• Learning during the lessons. The study’s quantitative findings with reference to Research Hypothesis #1 attested that learning occurred during the lesson, among Jewish and Arab participants alike. Additionally, no differences were found between the two groups in standard of learning.

This finding is consistent with those of a previous study conducted by the author of the present article.¹⁵ The previous study employed only qualitative tools to examine students’ (Jews and Arabs) learning ability, whereas the present study used quantitative tools as well. There are likely a number of reasons for improved ability to learn: the positive sensations that emerged in the analysis of the research questions, such as relief from pain, enjoyment, and alertness, enabled students to be available to learn the content presented in the lessons. The legitimacy students experienced for moving their body in accordance with their understanding and ability, and accepting their body, are also likely to ‘release’ them from unpleasant thoughts and sensations that may overwhelm them, and to be available for learning. Performing the exercises refined their ability to adapt and to manoeuvre, their resourcefulness to find solutions, and arouse their motivation to change and learn new subjects.¹⁶

There are a number of possible reasons for the absence of differences between learning ability and level of learning between the two groups. The main reason is that the gaps between the two population sectors have been reduced.¹⁷ Consequently, it may be assumed that the substantial financial investment made by the State of Israel to create equality between the Jewish and Arab educational systems has indeed borne fruit. Just as the gaps in mathematics, English, and science and technology were substantially reduced,¹⁸ so the ability to absorb and understand new theoretical content presented while performing physical exercises is now also similar. Another reason associated with a reduction in gaps, pertains to language. Israeli Arabs who attend higher education institutions in Israel in general (e.g. Kaye College), and the Technion in particular, which is considered very high standard, are fluent in Hebrew, which is advantageous for them in their studies, and reduces gaps.

The reasons may not stem from the intentional reduction of gaps in resources, but rather in how the lessons were taught. Since theoretical content, such as explanations about the human body, the body’s movement and posture, the Feldenkrais method, and more, accompanied the physical exercises, the teacher repeated every explanation or knowledge multiple times during the lessons. This repetition possibly made it easier for all students to internalise the presented content, and thus equalise the level of absorption and understanding of all the students.

• Learning after the lessons. The findings of the quantitative study with reference to Hypothesis #2 showed that both Arab and Jewish students’ learning improved in the post-lesson hours. In accordance with the research hypothesis, no differences in learning were found between the two groups.

The finding of improved learning in the post-lesson hours is consistent with the findings of a previous study conducted by the author of the present article,¹⁹ which also proved that learning improves after performing Feldenkrais exercises. It is also consistent with Hillier and Worley’s conclusions that a learning process occurs when performing Feldenkrais exercises.

These beneficial changes can be explained by the knowledge that performing Feldenkrais exercises also improves emotional components, such as mood,²⁰ and physiological components, such as reduced pain and reduced effort.²¹ It is evident that improvement in these components helped students experience greater concentration and made sitting in a chair easier, and consequently contributed to more effective learning as well.

This lack of differences between Jews and Arabs is also consistent with previous studies showing that nowadays there are no big gaps in learning between Israeli Jews and Arabs.²² This may be a corollary of the state’s substantial investments in the Arab sector in the 2010s, or the nature of the Feldenkrais method, which makes theoretical learning easier for any population by the very fact that it is a calm and inclusive method that accepts every person’s way of moving, through extensive repetition of explanations, and so forth.

Uniqueness of the study

Striking a delicate balance that facilitates a full and peaceful life, and a sense of belonging for all residents in the State of Israel, is a complex, even painful, issue. Reducing the gaps between the Jewish and Arab education systems is of paramount importance. The present study examined and compared, for the first time, the attitudes of Jewish and Arab students to the effects of performing physical Feldenkrais method exercises on their lives and found that both populations experienced similar improvement in sensations and learning ability after performing Feldenkrais exercises. Additionally, unlike most studies on the Feldenkrais method, which address its beneficial effects on the human body and psyche, this study refers to the extensive philosophy of the Feldenkrais method on human learning. As such, it joins the few studies conducted to date on improving the ability to learn, and presents the advantages of the method for learning as well.

Limitations of the study

• A small number of participants: The number of quality participants and the data collected from the Technion (mostly Jewish, a few Arabs) was high, but the number of participants and the data collected and found suitable for analysis at Kaye College (mostly Arab, a few Jews) was low. To conduct a quantitative comparison between the data of the two population groups, Jews and Arabs, the number of participants needs to be increased.

• Different characteristics of students between Technion and Kaye College: Most Technion participants were relatively young (24) and single, and their studies were central to their life. Most participants from Kaye College were relatively mature (33), married and with a family, and their studies constituted an additional element in their life.

Recommendations for future research

• A similar study that enables Arab participants to express themselves in their Arabic mother tongue.

• Continued tracking and research investigation on reducing gaps between Jews and Arabs in Israel, both in general learning, and in various types of physical activity and its implications.

• Continued research on the implications of performing Feldenkrais exercises on participants’ ability to learn.

• Recognition of the importance of the Feldenkrais method and implementing Feldenkrais exercises as a means to improve human wellbeing from a perception that such improvement in anyone can positively affect and enhance society as a whole.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Iris Gil

Iris Gil is a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Early Childhood, Shaanan College & Department of Physical Education, Tel-Hai Academic College, Israel

Notes

1. Karsh, “Israel’s Arabs,” 7; and Prime Minister’s Office, “Resolution 922.”

2. Haddad Haj-Yahya et al., Master Plan for Employment; Haddad Haj-Yahya and Rudnitzky, The Arab Education System; and Winninger, A Review of Arab.

3. Gil, “A New Educational Program.”

4. Feldenkrais, Improving Abilities.

5. Alon, Mindful Spontaneity; Feldenkrais, Improving Abilities; and Texeira-Machado et al., “Feldenkrais,” 8–14.

6. Alon, Mindful Spontaneity; Gil, “A New Educational Program”; and Hillier et al., “The Effects,” 62–6.

7. Bitter et al., “Change,” 783–98; Ruth and Kegerreis, “Facilitating,” 25–9; and Stephens et al., “Lengthening,” 1641–50.

8. Hillier et al., “The Effects,” 62–6; Ullmann et al., “Effects,” 97–105; and Vrantsidis et al., “Getting Grounded,” 57–76.

9. Chinn et al., “Effect,” 131–6; Smith et al., “The Effect,” 6–14; and Stephens et al., “Use of Awareness,” 39–49.

10. Nambi et al., “Comparative Effect,” 71–7.

11. Laumer et al., “Therapeutic Effects,” 170–80.

12. Löwe et al., “Quantitative,” 197–91.

13. See note 3 above.

14. Alon, Mindful Spontaneity; Gil, “A New Educational Program”; Hillier et al., “The Effects,” 62–6; and Texeira-Machado et al., “Feldenkrais,” 8–14.

15. Gil, “Human Ability to Learn,” 1–13.

16. Alon, Mindful Spontaneity; and Gil, “Human Ability to Learn,” 1–13.

17. Haddad Haj-Yahya et al., Master Plan for Employment.

18. Winninger, A Review of Arab Education.

19. See note 15 above.

20. Gil, “A New Educational Program”; Hillier and Worley, “The Effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method,” 1–12; and Texeira-Machado et al., “Feldenkrais,” 8–14.

21. Hillier and Worley, “The Effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method,” 1–12.

22. Haddad Haj-Yahya et al., Master Plan; and Winninger, A Review.