Barriers to Post-Secondary Education among Young Arab-Bedouin Women in Israel

Abstract

Post-secondary education (PSE) is an important factor predicting a person's success in life. One group that would benefit from obtaining PSE are young women from ethnic minority groups. The current study focuses on young Bedouin women, one of the most marginalized minority groups in Israel, with the aim of exposing the barriers they face on their way to acquiring PSE. The study focuses on groups with 11 Bedouin young women, ages 20-22. The findings revealed that these young women face many barriers that are expressed at the structural level and at the gender-family level. To increase the participation of young Bedouin women in PSE, it is necessary to intervene and promote their academic achievements and aspirations, beginning during primary school and continuing until their actual integration into PSE. There is also a need to develop programs that will increase family support for women’s education.