The Politics of Education: Social Pressure and Political Influence in Arab Local Authorities

The present research examined the personality traits prevalent among Arab teachers as a minority in the Arab educational system in Israel.Research on personality traits has much significance in the prediction of human behavior in various situations. Personality traits affect a person's behavior. Usually personality traits do not change, and they are reflected in a person's behavior in various situations.Teaching, like any other profession, requires specific traits, skills and personal abilities, a basis of extensive, professional knowledge and the appropriate perceptions and thinking. Teachers' personality traits play an important role in their work. Research has shown that there are correlations between people's personality traits and their behavior in various situations. A number of researchers state that thinking styles constitute a central aspect of one's personality, whereas other researchers claim that personality traits and thinking styles overlap somewhat, but that each of them provides a unique contribution, with clear structures characterizing them. Research has shown that personality traits explain a high percentage of the diversity in thinking styles. Additional research has shown that personality traits explain the variations in thinking styles in higher percentages.Personality traits among Arab teachers as members of a national minority in Israel have not attained research attention up to now, despite this society undergoing rapid processes of change in social, economic, political, cultural and family spheres. In light of this, it is vitally important to study the subject and examine what personality traits are prevalent among Arab teachers as a minority in the Arab educational system in Israel.185 teachers from the Arab minority participated in this research. The teachers responded to a questionnaire on personality traits, where research questions made use of theoretical statistics with the statistical analysis program SPSS.The principle research findings revealed that the personality traits prevalent among Arab teachers in the Arab educational system in Israel are: extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness; despite this, traits of openness and emotional stability were less prevalent among them. Key words: personality traits, Arab teachers, Arab educational system in Israel.

This pioneering study constitutes initial research on the topic of the thinking language of elementary school teachers in the Arab education system in Israel. The language of thinking can contribute significantly to every child and every classroom. However, written and spoken texts in the classroom at all levels use very few words referring to thinking. The current study attempts to bring the topic of thinking onto the agenda of the education system in general and the Arab education system in particular. This education system functions in a society characterized as developing and marked by a traditional culture. Thus, teaching in the Arab education system in Israel is still primarily a verbal activity. The objective of the study was to examine the language of thinking among teachers in the Arab elementary schools. It uses qualitative methodology through analysis of quantitative measures. The research tool involved the structured recording of the protocols of 38 lessons. The results of the study show that the thinking language of teachers in Arab elementary schools is sparse, ambiguous and inaccurate. Among the study’s recommendations are to offer teachers continuing education courses on this topic, to train teachers at teacher training colleges in the language of thinking, and to allot special courses for teacher trainees. Such training programs should provide teacher trainees with experiential learning experiences to understand and develop their thinking, enabling them to use the language of thinking with their pupils.

Diala Abu-Oksa Eid, The Arab Educational System in Israel: Challenges and Changes [Arabski system szkolnictwa w Izraelu – wyzwania i zmiany]. Studia Edukacyjne nr 56, 2020, Poznań 2020, pp. 435-448. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 1233-6688. DOI: 10.14746/se.2020.56.24While the Arab minority in Israel has suffered greatly from war events and political definition of the state, its education system has experienced rapid development since the state’s establishment until today. The partial improvement in the level of education of Arab children and youth is evident in qualitative and quantitative indices, as well as in the level of infrastructure of the Arab education system. Nevertheless, socio-economic gaps between Arab and Jewish children and youth continue to exist, and it is apparent that the rate of improvement does not keep pace with the growing needs of Arab society in the field of education. In the last decade, the government has adopted a series of five-year plans for the socio-economic development of Arab minority. However, there is a significant gap between Arab education and Hebrew education in important indicators, such as financial investment per pupil, infrastructure (buildings and classrooms), educational frameworks outside the school hours, and the rate of entitlement to matriculation.At the beginning of the eighth decade of the State of Israel, the real challenge of the Arab education system in Israel is not necessarily quantitative, but qualitative. The more formal and informal educational programs in the Arab educational system will be adapted to the culture of the children and youth integrated into it, the more Arab society will be able to realize its human potential.

The study examines the effects of personal factors (gender, marital status, education and seniority) and intra-organizational factors (transformational leadership, job satisfaction and trust in supervisor) on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) in the Arab education system in Israel. This is a quantitative study, based on questionnaires given to 211 teachers in the Arab education system in Israel. The results show a positive relationship between gender and OCB. A positive relationship was found between all intra-organizational factors and OCB. In addition, it was found that intra-organizational factors contribute more to explain OCB than personal factors do. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The objective of the current study is to contribute to existing knowledge about the Arab education system in Israel. The study focuses on the school principals. They constitute the leadership of the Arab education system in the 21st century to cope successfully with the many challenges. The Arab education system functions within a society still marked by clear signs of traditionalism and being in a state of transition to a more modern society. The system is undergoing many changes, ranging from the academization of school principals to accelerated feminization of the teaching profession. The study examines relationship between the principals' value orientation (pragmatic orientation versus moral orientation) and their leadership style (transactional leadership vs. transformational leadership) among school principals in Israel’s Arab education system. The leadership styles of the principals were examined by a questionnaire along a continuum ranging from transactional leadership to transformational leadership. Data were collected from 100 school principals, constituting a randomly selected sample among 399 elementary school principals and 267 secondary school principals from the Arab education system in Israel (total of 666 principals). Sixty elementary school principals and 40 secondary school principals were randomly selected. The research results indicated that principals having a pragmatic value orientation tended to a transactional leadership style. In contrast, principals having a moral value orientation tended to a transformational leadership style.

This pioneering study constitutes initial research on the topic of professional socialization in the teacher education process in teacher training colleges within the Arab education system in Israel. In recent years, criticism related to education has focused, among other things, on the process of teachers’ education and training. This process, it seems, neither realizes its objectives nor meets the needs and expectations of 21st-century education systems. The State of Israel has adopted a policy of conservation and control. Accordingly, the Arab education system and teacher training institutions are used as a tool to promote conservation and control, rather than as a lever for social, economic and political change. Whether we perceive Education as a conservative force or a way to create social change. Either way, the teacher training process plays a crucial role in initiating necessary changes, particularly because teaching in the Arab education system is still based on three principles: learning means listening; to teach is to speak; knowledge is an object. The variables derived from the theoretical and research literature about teachers’ professional socialization are: professional commitment, value orientation, and professional attitudes. According to the recently studies the general hypothesis is, changes should occur among these variables as a result of the professional socialization process. The current study is cross-sectional in nature. The research population included 153 subjects: 35 teachers and 118 teacher trainees in different stages of their training. The data were collected by use of questionnaires, and processed through SPSS. Statistically, the results show that no changes in variables occurred as a result of the training process and some of the variables were even decreased. As a result of this study, several questions surfaced for review and research. Dealing with these questions is expected to promote the professional socialization process within the context of teacher training colleges, in general, and teacher training colleges in the Arab education system, in particular. In addition, the study findings will contribute to a better understanding of teachers’ professionalization process and teacher training in general.

This study examined the thinking styles prevalent among Arab teachers, given their status as members of a minority, in the Arab education system in Israel. Examination of thinking styles very important for predicting a person's behavior in different situations, and teachers’ thinking styles predict some of their professional behavior when at work in school. The teaching profession demands certain personal characteristics, skills, and a wide professional knowledge base together with appropriate thinking and perceptions and thinking styles are considered to be an important aspect of the teacher’s work. A central aspect of a person’s personality is their thinking style and another, parallel aspect, is their characteristics. Each of the two have their unique contribution and defining structure. A person’s thinking style is influenced by culture and social characteristics and different cultures and societies are characterized by different thinking styles. As members of a national minority in Israel, the thinking styles of Arab teachers have not been previously studied, despite the fact that Arab society is undergoing rapid change in the social, economic, political, cultural, and familial spheres and despite the fact that thinking styles of teachers have an important impact on their day-to-day work in school. It is therefore important to study this subject and to examine the prevalent thinking styles among Arab teachers given their status as a minority in the education system in Israel. The study was conducted among 185 Arab teachers who answered a questionnaire about thinking styles. Their responses were analyzed using the SPSS statistic software. The principle findings showed that the most prevalent thinking styles were Type 2 (executive, local, conservative, and oligarchic) and Type 3 (monarchic, anarchic, internal, and external). The least prevalent was Type 1 (legislative, judicial, global, liberal, and hierarchic).

A gradual transition from a collectivist to a more individualist identity has been noted in the Arab minority with implications for teachers' well-being and organizational citizenship behavior. This study builds on the Job Demands-Control model to investigate the mediating role of teacher organizational commitment in the relationship between the teacher collective involvement in decision making to teacher well-being and organizational citizenship behavior. Data were collected from a sample of 350 teachers randomly chosen in the Arab educational system in Israel. Structural equation modeling (using the AMOS 21.0 program) was used to test the proposed relationships. The results indicate both a direct and indirect relationships (through the mediating role of teacher organizational commitment) of teacher collective involvement in decision making on teachers' well-being and organizational citizenship behavior. The model which tested both direct and indirect relationships (through organizational commitment) between collective involvement in decision making and teachers' organizational citizenship behavior, and well-being, showed good fit indices (χ² = 62.60; χ²/df = 2.50; CFI = .947, TLI = .905, IFI = .949; RMSEA = .066). Specifically, the bootstrapping analysis reaffirmed the mediating role of organizational commitment between collective involvement in decision making and well-being (β = -.04, p < .001) and organizational citizenship behavior (β = .11, p < .001). Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

This paper discusses the characteristics of women discipline supervisors in the Arab education system in Israel, through their professional development to their attainment of senior supervisory posts. It examines how they attain supervision posts and perform various managerial functions in what is considered a male role, in a patriarchal society, highlighting changes they introduce. In-depth interviews elucidated the life stories of four women supervisors in the Arab education system in Israel. Findings point up the need for a policy of gender equality in role appointments, and the need for mentoring and support to encourage women to undertake senior roles in education.

The objective of this research is to examine how principals of Arab schools view the evaluation of teachers and to determine whether and to what extent their perceptions of teacher evaluation differ. The Arab educational system in Israel is an integral part of the general educational system. For the most part it is run by Jewish administrators. Fundamental decisions are determined by officials who are not Arabs, despite the fact that the Arab citizens of Israel possess unique national and cultural characteristics. This systemic control has prevented Arabs in Israel from controlling the objectives of education or from shaping and directing the Arab educational system according to the collective interests of the Arab public. The findings of the study can contribute to research knowledge about school principals and can help in making decisions regarding how to introduce, adapt and make more intelligent use of teacher evaluation. School principals' perceptions of teacher evaluation are an expression of their leadership style. These perceptions also have an impact upon patterns of using teacher evaluation. Principals can view evaluation as part of their administrative functions or as part of their pedagogical and leadership roles. Thus it can be assumed successful use of teacher evaluation is also related to the principals' perceptions of this evaluation. The way in which principals view teacher evaluation is defined by how they see the objectives of this evaluation. To what extent do they see teacher evaluation as a systematic means for determining teacher compensation, promotions and continued employment? Alternatively, do they see it as a way to empower teachers by helping them develop and improve their teaching performance? The data were collected from 100 school principals. The results indicate that most of the principals saw the evaluation process as transformational and constructive. In their view, the objective of teacher evaluation is to help teachers improve their work. The principals who did not participate in the in-service training saw teacher evaluation as a means of exercising control, offering compensation and demonstrating authority.

This study examines the influence of the physical learning environment on students' performance, as perceived by teachers in elementary schools in the Arab education system in Israel, which function within a reality of exclusion and ongoing discrimination. Studies point to the importance of the design of the physical learning environment and its significant influence on students' functioning in several areas: emotional, cognitive, social, and aesthetic. The physical learning environment has a significant influence, both on the feelings of students and teachers, and on the way students function in various fields. Teachers can influence a variety of components in the school's physical learning environment to promote meaningful learning and create an environment that empowers learning, independent thinking, creativity, and self-learning and encourages personal growth and social involvement. This study is a correlational study administered among 200 Arab teachers from elementary schools. Teachers answered a questionnaire examining the relationship between the physical learning environment and the learner's functioning.. In order to test the hypotheses, we used the SSPS statistical analysis program. The main results indicate that the physical learning environment affects the students' performance in the following areas: emotional, cognitive and emotional. Details of findings relating to teachers' personality variables will be reported in the article. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

This article discusses challenges facing novice principals (hereinafter: NPs) and the coping strategies they develop at the inception of their managerial careers. Qualitative research employed semistructured interviews with 40 principals in the Arab education system in Israel. Findings indicated that Arab NPs face conflicting demands of their communities and the state, especially demands of recent government reforms. The sharp transition from teaching to administration is beset by challenges, engendering anxiety. The new role is complex involving immense responsibility, they need to alter their role perception, and struggle to create an organizational culture complying with their vision. Cultural blocks face female NPs since principalship is traditionally an exclusively male role, attributed much respect and power in patriarchal Arab society. All NPs noted that they lacked professional assistance and emotional support. Nevertheless, professional mentors were seen as helpful. Conclusions may inform novice school principals facing similar challenges in traditional and minority societies.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issue of school-based management (SBM) in elementary schools in the Arab education system in Israel, comparing schools experienced in SBM, schools beginning to use SBM and schools that do not use SBM. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research used a structured questionnaire to gather responses from 214 teachers from ten Arab schools in Israel, 70 from schools that do not practice SBM, 64 from schools beginning to use SBM and 80 from schools defined as experienced in the use of SBM. The questionnaire included six parts. Findings – Findings indicated that perceived improvements in pedagogy, organizational structure and participation in decision making were strikingly evident in schools with experience of SBM, more than in the two other types of school. Contrastingly, perceived improvements in budget management were more evident in schools beginning to use SBM. It was also found that teachers teaching in schools with experience in SBM reported the highest levels of satisfaction while teachers teaching in schools that do not use SBM reported lowest levels of satisfaction. The most influential dimension of satisfaction was teachers’ participation in decision making. Originality/value – The paper is original in its context, uniqueness, social and practical contribution.

Following Starratt’s (1991) proposed conceptual framework for ethical leadership that is no longer defined as a style or an attitude, but as the basis for moral dimensions and actions that can be developed and based on the ethics of care, critique, and justice, this chapter traces the following questions: (a) How does cultural and social context influence the meaning and practices of unethical leadership in the school? (b) How do principals and vice-principals preserve and interpret their unethical practices? Using Langlois’s interview guide on ethical dilemmas (1997), 10 interviews were conducted with school principals and vice-principals in the Arab education system in Israel. The chapter presents unethical behaviors emerging from content analysis of the interviews such as personal development versus loyalty to others (unethical behaviors that are related to managing staff underperformance or appointing candidate teachers); or loyalty to my minority-society or to the government. The chapter fosters better understanding of both national specificities and universal commonalities associated with unethical leadership, as well as of the cultural and social characteristics that facilitate or hinder the development of ethical leadership, and finally explains some approaches to leadership that would improve the practice.

The study of women’s management and leadership in education has become a central research topic and the copious work published in many countries encompasses various issues relating to gender and educational leadership. The study of female school principals from the Arab minority in Israel has only recently begun. This is a minority that lives mostly in separate settlements, distinguished from the majority Jewish population by their lifestyle and culture, in a society that can be described as developing. In-depth interviews were conducted with the seven female school principals, from different socio-cultural backgrounds, who had successfully climbed the professional ladder to senior positions in the Arab education system in Israel. Data-analysis addressed three areas: biographical background; the social and political aspects of the women’s nomination to principalship; and the social and professional acceptance of the women as principals. Findings indicated that women principals contribute significantly to the development of Arab schools. As women in senior roles, the majority faces resistance; a change of societal norms and willingness to accept women’s leadership would enable many more women to fill public roles and to contribute to their society’s progress.