Students of education’s views on the social role of academia and their future role as educators

Abstract

In addition to its dual role of research and teaching, the academic world has assumed a third role – social involvement. This is a common phenomenon all over the world and has become stronger in Israel in the last decade. This research addresses students of education’s views on this role and the implications of their studies in a change-leading campus to their self-perception as future educators. Three hundred and eighty-three questionnaires were distributed to Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Jewish students at a teacher-training college. The findings indicate that the students support the college’s social involvement and see their experiences on campus as important to their future role as educators in a divided society. The Jewish students, more than their Palestinian classmates, prefer to deal with interpersonal relationships, thus preserving the status of the social power structure. The Palestinian students, inexperienced in critical political debate, request tools that train them to become involved and critical educators. The findings point to the power of a campus with a critical-social agenda to help its graduates form an educational world-view that is aware of the social–political context.