Using Stickers to Address Differences in Age-Based Attitudes between Israeli Jew and Arab Tweens

The study is focused on an educational tool to grasp students’ age-based attitudes and generate discussion during class activity. The tool is composed of 12 statements which together reflect perceived ageism toward older persons, younger people and a society for all ages. Participants are asked to indicate whether they agree/disagree with each of the statements by placing a sticker. In total, 667 Israeli Jews and 160 Israeli Arabs participated. We obtained a quantitative summary of the number of stickers indicating agreement/disagreement with each of the statements per sector (Israeli Jews vs. Israeli Arabs). Compared with Israeli Jews, Israeli Arab tweens were significantly more likely to endorse negative stereotypes of older persons and of younger persons, and significantly less likely to endorse statements which convey a world for all ages. The findings point to the potential use of the tool to assess but also generate class discussion concerning ageism.