Teachers' beliefs of democratic educational practices: the case of Arab teachers in Israel

Abstract

It was the aim of the present study to examine teachers' beliefs about democracy in the classroom as a component of the classroom environment. This issue is especially important in the case of teachers who live in a traditional society such as the Arab teachers in Israel. The participants were 498 Arab teachers from the Triangle area in Israel. The research results indicated that the participating teachers' beliefs about democracy in the classroom were 'normal' but not 'good'. Furthermore, the results showed that those teachers' beliefs in democracy have significant relationship with their background variables. It is suggested that a clear educational policy should be developed for confronting failures of the educational system. In addition, those teachers would benefit from participating in democracy workshops that prepare them for more democratic practices in the classrooms.