Difficulties of Students from the Palestinian Authority who Learn in an Arab High School in Israel

Abstract

The aim of research is to investigate high school students who have moved to Israel from the Palestinian Authority in order to study. We used qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews. The research participants of this study were students and teachers affiliated with a high school in the North of Israel. The paper discusses those students’ experiences of identity crisis between their self-identity and their national identity. The paper also voices the students’ feelings of alienation and disconnection to their school community, leading to gaps in the academic, social, and familial difficulties. This study shows that these difficulties lead to a conflict of identity between their original identity – the Palestinian Authority – and their new identity as students in an Arab school in Israel. This situation might lead to feelings of disconnection and alienation, that must be addressed by the entire school community.