Ethical dilemmas facing female teachers in the Arab education system in Israel

Abstract

Arab society in Israel is a minority in the process of change. Teachers are at the heart of these processes as agents of progress, education, and integration, while belonging at the same time to a traditional, religious, and patriarchal society that seeks to preserve its identity. The purpose of this study was to examine the ethical dilemmas that Arab teachers in Israel face in teaching students in Arab schools and to understand what considerations and values guide them in making ethical decisions and how they act on them. We interviewed 15 teachers who teach in Arab schools. The findings of the study show that four categories related to ethical dilemmas characterize the work of teachers: an ethics of fairness versus an ethics of care, the neoliberal concept of ethics versus a professional ethics, a cultural ethics versus a professional ethics, and a professional ethics versus an ethics of care. Teachers adopted five key strategies to address these dilemmas: equal treatment, customized teaching, compromise and appeasement, extra effort on the part of the teacher, and collaboration. This research contributes to the growing literature on ethics and education and adds a unique perspective that addresses the ethical dilemmas of teachers in traditional and conservative societies. The findings of the study suggest that the professional ethics of Arab teachers, who in Israel belong to an ethnic minority, should be strengthened.