Between survival and vision: Boundary-crossing Arab teachers in Jewish schools and Arab teachers in their community

Abstract

This mixed-methods study examined the experiences of belonging/otherness among Arab teachers in Israel. A group of boundary-crossing teachers: Arab teachers in Jewish schools (AJ; N = 57) was compared with Arab teachers teaching in their own community (AA; N = 103). We found that the AJ group had a multicultural orientation, unlike the AA group, who were community-orientated. These orientations are reflected in different otherness sources, different motivations for selecting a workplace, and differences in identity ratings. While professional and social sources promoted teachers’ sense of belonging in the two groups, the source of AJs' sense of otherness was the national divide as opposed to community-oriented aspects in AAs. Selfefficacy ratings were high in both groups with a significant advantage for AJs, an unanticipated finding given that most of them were women, had attended teacher training colleges rather than universities, and were rarely homeroom teachers. Arab teachers' involvement in Jewish schools was partial with a low proportion of classroom educators or teachers in managerial roles. AJs tend to leave their national identity outside the school, and are not involved in political discourse or in the staffroom power relations. The phenomenon of integrating AJs is relatively new, and within a segregated education system that limits the opportunities for Jews and Arabs to meet, it can provide a viable, albeit limited, tool to inhibit prejudice and antagonism between Jews and Arabs.