Suchergebnisse

There are two main paradigms regarding political socialization. The early-years-of-life hypothesis emphasizes the importance of political socialization in the early years, while the life-long hypothesis argues that political socialization is shaped continuously throughout life. The literature on the topic concentrates on seminal events and their impact on political socialization. In this study, we examined these hypotheses in the unique context of Arab teachers in Jewish schools in Israel. The teachers spoke about the culture of silence about politics that characterized their childhood and their inhibitions regarding engaging in politics. Entering work in a predominantly Jewish environment highlighted the social mechanisms and minority–majority power relations that preserve Arab citizens' political oppression. The teachers all indicated a process by which they become more politically aware, while their willingness to be politically active varies. The political dialogue between the Jewish and Arab teachers begins hesitantly but increases with time. The findings demonstrate political socialization as a life-long process that is shaped by everyday contact with the majority group and not only by historical/seminal events. It is demonstrated that schools cannot be sterilized from political influences, and the potential of Arab teachers in Jewish schools in defusing the polarization in Israeli society is emphasized.

This mixed-methods study examined the sense of belonging of Russian-speaking immigrant teachers, who immigrated to Israel in the 1990s from the Former Soviet Union (FSU). The study has two methodological parts. In the first part, 57 Russian-speaking teachers were compared to a national sample of Hebrew-speaking teachers on demographics and self-efficacy. In the second part, 34 of the 57 Russian-speaking teachers answered an acculturation questionnaire and two open-ended questions. The findings, both quantitative and qualitative, indicate positive integration of FSU immigrant teachers in Israel. Their feelings towards the school team and management were no different than those of other teachers. The teachers described a sense of belonging through shared care for students, shared content-related teamwork, friendships and school events. Differences were found in favour of veteran Israeli teachers in the percentage of homeroom teachers and managerial positions. Conclusions about migration and accommodation within the education system are discussed.

Belonging is a basic human experience that symbolizes social relations and social structure. This study examined the institutional sense of belonging of minority teachers to their school and its association with sociodemographic (first language, education and gender) and systemic variables (seniority, heterogeneity of training college, teaching discipline, role at school and education system). We found that sociodemographic variables had a much stronger association to the teachers' sense of belonging than systemic variables did. Particularly, a strong relationship was found between the teachers' sense of belonging and what they defined as their first language. Conversely, most systemic variables had no relation to institutional belonging, except teaching discipline. The findings indicate the difficulties education systems have in incorporating minority teachers or even moderating their sense of otherness by offering the opportunity of recognition of all teachers. We argue that this stems from native language being a core/basic status, whether it is related to immigration or to a national divide.

Twenty-first century teachers are expected to have a holistic approach to teaching including addressing students' self-determination, interpersonal awareness, cultural sensitivity, empathy and self-regulation. Discussions of controversial political issues (CPI) provide opportunities to examine the interplay between emotional and cognitive components, the former having rarely been studied. As part of a larger study, teachers were asked to provide a description of a CPI discussion in class. The 387 valid responses were analysed qualitatively, and the model that emerged connected triggers, motivations, responses and outcomes. The students and teachers were found to have different motivations and needs: while students were concerned with emotional needs, teachers had educational goals in mind. Teachers wanted to quell the emotional unease, to prevent racist remarks, to keep control of the classroom, and to tie the discussions to the curriculum. Teachers mainly used cognitive responses and somewhat allowed students to ventilate, or used moderating responses, all of which produced partial results. Some teachers avoided the discussion altogether, which was the least useful. The smallest proportion used a mixture of responses, which met both educational and emotional needs. Implications to teacher training, including the importance of training in social-emotional aspects of teaching, are discussed.

PurposeAttitudes toward minority employees are hard to predict, and there is no enough information about the variables that are associated with increased and decreased prejudice toward them. The Jewish and Arab education systems in Israel are, for the most part, segregated, which may potentially contribute to prejudice and alienation between the two populations. The integration of Israeli–Arab teachers in Jewish schools has been suggested to reduce prejudice. The current study sought to examine Israeli teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of Arab teachers in Jewish schools (AJ) and its relation to degree of religiosity, minority status and demographic variables.Design/methodology/approachA total of 1,644 teachers completed an online 22-item questionnaire that surveyed background variables such as gender, mother tongue, seniority and degree of religiosity, the two independent variables, religiosity and minority status, and the dependent variable, attitude toward the inclusion of AJ.FindingsOverall, teachers exhibited positive attitudes toward the integration of AJ. Multiple linear regression indicated that among Jewish teachers, the degree of religiosity was the strongest predictor of the teachers' attitudes toward inclusion but was a poor predictor among Arabs. Conversely, minority status was the strongest predictor among Arab teachers but was a poor predictor among Israeli Jews. Not only did religiosity differ in its prediction of attitudes among Arabs and Jews but also the patterns of religiosity were quite different among these two groups.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the overall sample was wide, the specific minority groups that were examined were small and did not allow deep exploration of minority nuances. The study's generalizability is hampered by the given exceptionality of the Israeli context, where "Church" and State are not separated. Religiosity was examined in a unidimensional way and failed to explore other related factors that may be relevant, such as political inclination.Practical implicationsThe study further refutes the notion of commonality among minorities. It proposes to place more emphasis on religion's role in attitudes toward minority employees. Further research into the role of religiosity in Israeli Jews' attitudes toward Arabs is needed.Social implicationsThe findings suggest that the degree of religiosity might be a central factor in Israeli Jews' attitudes toward the Arab minority in general.Originality/valueThe research calls attention to the association of Judaism and nationalism as well as segregation, contributing to negative attitudes and prejudice toward the Arab minority. Unlike previous research using contact theory, the authors call attention to the importance of examining willingness to make contact prior to examining the impact of contact itself.

The study examined teachers', parents' and students' attitudes toward controversial political issues (CPI). A Random stratified sample of 501 adults and 201 high school students completed questionnaires. Respondents had little confidence in teachers' ability to conduct CPI discussions in classrooms. Students reported low incidents of CPI discussions in classrooms. Support for CPI discussions differed according to specific topics. Purpose: Many argue for the benefits of controversial political issues (CPI) discussions but little is known about teachers', parents', and students' attitudes toward CPI. The present study explored these attitudes, as well as attitudes towards specific controversial topics, and how they relate to socio-demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative cross-sectional methodology was employed using questionnaires to collect data. Random stratified sampling was used to obtain a representative sample of 501 Jewish Israeli adults, including 70 teachers, and 201 Jewish Israeli 10th-12th grade students. Findings: Respondents, including the teachers themselves, had little confidence in teachers' ability to conduct CPI discussions in classrooms. Students reported low incidents of CPI discussions in classrooms, and that they are mostly held by homeroom and civics teachers. Students supported CPI discussions more than adults (including teachers) and wanted teachers to disclose their opinions much more than adults did. Support for CPI discussions differed according to specific topics. Linear regression revealed that the less religious individuals are, the more left-wing, older and more educated, the more they will support CPI teaching.

Given the surplus of Arab teachers and the shortage of Jewish teachers in Israel, the government has adopted the policy of employing Arab teachers in Jewish schools, contrary to the dominant nationalistic agenda. We argue that this low-cost solution meets the criteria for disruptive innovation in that it flies under the radar and has the potential to proliferate and change the existing social order. Through surveys and interviews with boundary-crossing Arab teachers, this article finds that teachers circumvent power structures in three social fields. In the Arab community, work in Jewish schools helps teachers bypass nepotism and provides a new path for upward mobility. In the education system, boundary-crossing teachers disrupt segregation. And at the state level, this innovation may improve Jewish-Arab relations.