Arab school principals in Israel – between conformity and moral courage

ABSTRACT

The Arab-Israeli education system is a separate but not autonomous system serving Israel’s inhabitants whose first language is Arabic. These include the Muslim and Bedouin majority communities and smaller Christian, Druze and others, whose children attend schools in which the curriculum is determined by a Zionist perspective, taught in Arabic. Thus, in the context of a system established according to the Israeli cultural/national narrative, this study brings to light the voice of ten principals who, through open, in-depth interviews – ‘small stories’ – reveal their prospective and management of issues-in-conflict to formulate and present their professional identity according to their own sense of self. It presents the conflicts their position confronts vis-à-vis both the formal education authorities and the unique situation their society and culture pose in executing their educational/administrative and moral responsibilities. The findings reveal situations ranging from active acceptance of the institutional dictates of a conformist nature, through passive acceptance, (‘conformity’) to attempts at promoting autonomous activities within the defined limitations (‘moral courage’).     

Transnational learning experiences and teacher transcultural capacity: the impact on professional practice – a comparative study of three Australian schools

In school education, one of the few visible responses to increasing globalisation of educational practice has been the implementation of short-term experiential overseas student learning programmes. This paper analyses the results of a comparative research project on three Australian schools that offer such learning experiences. It argues that teachers who possess or who are capable of developing a transcultural – as opposed to an intercultural – capacity are more likely to be effective educators on these special programmes, as well as being more receptive to the personal and professional development that derives from participation in them.     

Zu den Soziologieanteilen in einem „Bachelor / Master of Arts in Education“ an einer Pädagogischen Hochschule

The contribution presents conceptional considerations of a sociology programme in a future “Bachelor / Master of Arts in Education” at educational colleges. Experience made with Swiss teacher training and analyses of secondary schools’ educational plans in Baden-W:urttemberg both show the cross-sectional importance of a sociologically reflected training of teachers. At educational colleges, sociology proves of value as an attractive and productive subject in order to prepare future teachers for professional routines.     

You Have to Start from Scratch and You Need Someone by Your Side”: Perspectives of Parents and Teachers on Immigrant Students’ Adaptation to School

This article analyses the issue of immigrant students’ adaptation in Israeli schools, as perceived by their parents and teachers. The study integrates data from two qualitative, phenomenological studies: one explored immigrant parents’ perceptions of Israeli education and their children’s adaptation in school, while the other studied teachers’ perceptions of immigrant students’ education and their practices in the field. The data was gathered from in‐depth interviews with 17 parents and 20 teachers. The analysis yielded a list of themes related to parents’ and teachers’ views of the children’s adjustment, and their own roles in this process: their personal experiences in the field, the challenges and difficulties in interpersonal interactions between parents and teachers, and policy issues related to the educational integration of immigrant students. Findings emphasize the vital importance of parent‐teacher collaboration, clarification and better implementation of existing policy, and teachers’ qualifications for the successful educational integration of immigrant students.     

Does teacher educational training help the early math skills of English language learners in Head Start?

To address the early performance gap between native-born and immigrant children and to seek ways to reduce the disparity, the study explored the effect of teacher qualification on early math skills of preschoolers, with focused attention to immigrant children. Particularly, the study examined the effects of teacher educational levels, certification, and professional training, by employing Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis to a US nationally representative database from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences (FACES). The study found a significantly positive effect of teacher qualification for immigrant preschoolers in Head Start, who displayed lower early math skills than their native-born counterparts. Among immigrant preschoolers, those who were with teachers of lower educational levels showed significantly lower early math skills compared with their immigrant peers with teachers of higher educational levels. The study also supported teacher certification and professional training as potential mediators in promoting early math competency of immigrant students, especially with teachers of lower educational levels.     

Preservice Teachers’ Sources of Information on Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse

Teachers in many countries are mandated by law, professional codes, or education authorities to report child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse. However, teachers may not receive adequate preparation for such sensitive interventions, as preservice teacher education degrees provide very few or no compulsory courses on child protection and crucially related, lifelong health and well-being issues. So, where do preservice teachers source their information regarding the mandatory reporting of such abuse? This research examines preservice teachers’ professional university education for their sources of information about mandatory reporting and child sexual abuse. A sample cohort of 56 final 4th-year university bachelor of education (primary school) student teachers in Australia identified the sources they used regarding 10 important aspects of child protection. The results suggest that most did not learn about mandatory reporting or child sexual abuse, and others cited sparse and sporadic public media as their primary information source. These findings, building on previous evidence about inadequate or nonexistent preservice mandatory intervention courses in primary teacher education, may guide the design of appropriate training responses enhancing educational professionals’ knowledge, competencies, skills, and efficacies as mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse.     

Survival of the Fittest: Russian Immigrant Teachers Speak about Their Professional Adjustment in Israel

This qualitative study explores the determinants of occupational integration among recent immigrants whose profession is culturally and linguistically dependent. It compares personal accounts of 36 former Soviet school teachers of math and physics, of whom 20 succeeded in regaining their occupation in Israel and 16 left teaching for different reasons. Analysis of the interviews shows that, even in a society committed to the goal of professional integration of the immigrants, cultural barriers to successful work performance are rather high. Beyond instrumental skills to master (the Hebrew language and new curriculum), immigrant teachers have to adjust to the new school culture and student‐teacher relationship. They also have to face competition with their local colleagues, threatened by the influx of the better‐educated peers. The study points to a number of external conditions and personal characteristics that are conducive to successful adjustment to the new school system. The reported findings may be applicable to immigrant education workers in other national contexts.     

‘Good faith and effort?’ Perspectives on educational inclusion

This paper considers what might ‘count’ as educational inclusion from the perspectives of six women who are both mothers of and teachers of children with special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. The mother‐teachers draw on their own personal and professional experiences to consider meanings of inclusion in relation to ‘their’ children. Their voices suggest that it is the detail of daily interaction and the commitment to ‘good faith and effort’ on the part of both parents and educational professionals that matters. For the purposes of this paper I shall consider the discourses of SEN, learning difficulties and disability together, although I am aware of the danger of reductionism in doing so.     

Kindergarten teachers promote the participation experience of African Asylum-Seeker families

African asylum seekers live in Israel in the realities of poverty, racism, and personal insecurity. From a sociological point of view, Participation is taking part in social processes, interacting with people, texts and technologies and it may affect all areas of life. This is a qualitative-interpretive study that examines through interviews the participation experience from the perspective of eight African couples and six Israeli kindergarten teachers. The findings indicate: (1) Increasing the parents' sense of belonging, (2) Increasing the cultural participation, (3) Increasing community cohesion. Findings reveal a tension between the parents' desire to be involved and my reality of poverty and working around the clock that prevents their presence in educational activities. Under such complex conditions, kindergarten teachers worked to establish a positive personal relationship, strengthen the parents' sense of ability, overcome language barriers, and cultivate a sense of belonging from a perception that increasing participation would help them deal with integration challenges and livelihoods social rejection. The study has a theoretical and practical contribution, and its findings may be used by educators and policymakers regarding principles for action to promote the experience of participation and involvement of parents in educational settings.     

The Thread That Binds: Building on the Stories of Adolescent English Language Learners in Mainstream Social Studies Classrooms

This article draws on current research in the areas of storytelling and social studies to present a practical, culturally responsive storytelling model for Grades 7–9 social studies teachers to use to better engage English Language Learners (ELLs). Integrating the proven effectiveness of storytelling from a scientific and social perspective, with common themes explored in a typical social studies classroom, this model provides teachers with a concrete strategy to weave the rich, personal stories of ELLs into their classrooms. Based on a holistic understanding of storytelling, this model serves as a way for teachers to supplement traditional teaching methods used in the social studies classroom with personal stories shared by students, teachers, and experts during the introduction of key concepts. Future research potential exists to examine the effectiveness of this model if put into practice.     

When do stories change our minds? Narrative persuasion about social problems

Scholars in a number of disciplines have sought to assess the power of reading or viewing a personal story to modify people's beliefs. However, the research, which has been pursued under diverse programs, has produced conflicting findings. We focus on the persuasiveness of personal stories about problems that are structural (rather than individual) and whose solution requires government action. Overall, the research suggests that although personal stories can overcome people's tendency to resist new information, they often do not do so. People's preexisting beliefs, assumptions, and stereotypes affect their willingness to be absorbed by a story, to empathize with the stories' protagonists, and to endorse the message communicated by the story. We argue also for a sociological perspective on narrative persuasion, one which, unlike the mostly experimental research conducted so far, pays attention to the context in which people encounter stories and to the norms shaping people's assessment of a story as credible, relevant, and important.     

Variables affecting teachers’ intentions to include students with disabilities in regular primary schools in Bangladesh

This paper presents an overview of a study conducted to examine the influence of teacher attitudes, teacher efficacy and perceived school support on teachers’ intentions to include students with disabilities in government primary schools in a region of Bangladesh. All of the variables were conceptualized within the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The participants in the study were 1387 in-service teachers drawn from government primary schools located in urban, semi-urban and rural sectors of Dhaka. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that all three Theory of Planned Behaviour variables (teacher attitudes, teacher efficacy and perceived school support) explained 40% of the variance in teachers’ intentions to include students with a disability in regular classrooms. This paper describes the process for conceptualizing the variables, discusses the methodology and presents the outcomes concluding with implications for educational policy reform and practices in Bangladesh. Areas for further research are also identified.     

Elementary Preservice Teachers’ and Teacher Educators’ Perceptions of Financial Literacy Education

The authors conducted an online survey of elementary teacher education programs within a large midwestern state to assess preservice teachers’ and teacher educators’ beliefs about and preparedness to teach financial literacy. Very few preservice teachers had meaningful experiences with personal finance in high school, college, or personal decision making. No teacher educators reported ever teaching financial literacy in their higher education roles. Only 13% of teacher educators and 25% of preservice teachers thought that it was very important to teach financial literacy in elementary education. Most teacher education faculty and preservice teachers reported that they were not well qualified to use state economics standards or the JumpStart standards for financial literacy. Preservice teachers were more confident in meeting financial literacy standards than teacher educators. Both preservice teachers and teacher educators expressed openness to collaborating with other faculty members, members of the financial service industry, and parents to teach financial literacy. Follow-up phone interviews affirmed that elementary preservice teachers and teacher educators value social studies education (and financial literacy) less than reading and mathematics education. Qualitative results also suggest that elementary preservice teachers and teacher educators would like more easily accessible resources for teaching financial literacy.     

新中国对以色列的人文外交

新中国与以色列的人文往来大体经历了三个历史阶段。其中,官方的高层互访与民间的友好往来为新中国对以色列的人文外交提供了丰富资源和有力保障;教育交流、友好城市、农业合作、科技合作等多领域往来深化了中以关系、促进了中犹文明对话、形成了"官民并举"的人文外交模式,并取得了可喜的成就。在新的挑战面前,如何进一步推进中国对以人文外交,则成为当务之急。     

Identity transformation of Chinese secondary school teachers during educational reform

Secondary school teachers’ professional identities have often been overlooked despite that they have experienced ongoing and dramatic identity negotiations, conflicts, and even crisis in new Gaokao (university entrance examination). Starting off from this notable research gap, the present study employed a qualitative approach to examine the changes in teacher professional identity cognitively, socially, and emotionally after they had gone through the reform over a period of 3 years since 2014. Nine participants’ interview data and reflective journals were collected and analyzed. The findings demonstrated that there was a sharp transformation of teachers’ cognitive engagement, social interactions, and emotional experiences in terms of school management, teaching beliefs and practices, teacher professionalism and teacher training programmes, revealing the complexities of identity development through which teachers had to adjust themselves to meet the new demands of the reform. The implications for secondary school teachers were also offered.     

‘If you're a male primary teacher,there's a big “why are you doing that? What is wrong with you?”’ Gendered expectations of male primary teachers: The ‘double bind’

The underrepresentation of men in non-traditional fields of work is often attributed to essentialist gendered beliefs that associate such roles exclusively with women. This phenomenon is not limited to any specific country but is observed worldwide. Moreover, male teacher drop-out rates remain a consistent issue. This article examines the detrimental impact of gendered expectations of masculinity on male primary teachers through interviews conducted with both male and female teachers in the UK. It argues that men in this occupation face a ‘double bind,’ being judged for conforming to hegemonic masculine norms while also facing judgement for deviating from them. All male teachers interviewed expressed feeling the pressure of gendered expectations, which primarily stem from one central misconception fuelled by traditional conceptions of gender; that the occupation is unsuitable for men. As a result, men who enter the profession encounter challenges not only related to their gender but also their sexuality and their sense of professional identity as teachers. Addressing the damaging role of gender beliefs is crucial in promoting the numerical representation of men in the teaching profession.     

Masculinities and fathering

There is a developing body of research regarding fathering, in the UK, but the experiences of African-Caribbean and white working-class fathers, and how their experiences are mediated by gender and ethnicity have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap in research by reporting on the similarities and differences within the stories of African-Caribbean and white working-class men about fathering, and to examine the personal and structural dimensions to these experiences using Connell's theoretical framework for understanding masculinities (1995, 2005). Qualitative, semi-structured individual interviews were undertaken with seven white and six African-Caribbean fathers. Findings indicate that African-Caribbean fathers, specifically, their associated practices, regarding children's ‘behaviour’ and learning, with experiences of racism that they anticipated their children may encounter in the future. Both groups of men's stories demonstrated limited reflexivity about the unequal distribution of domestic labour within the home. The study also found that fathers’ experiences were associated with contradictory and differing forms of masculinity. The fathers’ stories provide evidence of changing forms of masculinity, for example, in ways in which fathers conceptualised fathering as enjoyable involvement with children, and the ways fathers negotiated and resisted the constraints of paid work in order to be involved with children. Findings also reinforce the importance of health and social care services reorienting their priorities to engage with fathers, and opportunities for future research, regarding the experiences of African-Caribbean fathers in particular, are also identified.     

The public private sphere: family narrative and democracy in Argentina and South Africa

This article explores the paradoxical prominence of seemingly private family stories and memories in the democratic public spheres emerging in the wake of the ‘Dirty War’ in Argentina and apartheid in South Africa. In part because the discourse of the family was used in these cases to both uphold and protest dictatorial regimes, individuals who lost family members to state violence became powerful moral agents in the post‐dictatorship and post‐apartheid periods. Narratives told by and about these individuals – ranging from personal testimony given in each country’s truth commission to representations in theatre, fiction and film – have worked to constitute what may be called a ‘public private sphere’. They not only express personal grief, but also (and especially in wider cultural circulation) have been emplotted and mobilised to construct democratic publics. These may or may not correspond to the nationwide publics envisioned in state discourses of reconciliation. Using genealogical fiction surrounding ‘disappeared children’ in Argentina as a lens to analyse South Africa, this article argues that stories of children attempting to piece together their family histories reveal this dynamic as they become sites for convening democratic publics and critiquing transitional politics.     

Supporting Critical Multicultural Teacher Educators: Transformative teaching,social justice education,and perceptions of institutional support

ABSTRACT

In most teacher education programmes in Canada and the United States, educators’ opportunities to develop equity-related skills are concentrated into single ‘multicultural’ courses. These courses tend to have a conservative or liberal orientation, focused on appreciating diversity or cultural competence, rather than a critical orientation, focused on preparing teachers to address inequity. In this study, based on a survey of instructors of multicultural and intercultural teacher education courses in Canada and the US (N = 186), we examined the relationship between the criticality of their multicultural teacher education courses and their perceptions of institutional support for the values they teach. We found a negative relationship between the two – the more critical the instructors’ approaches, the less institutional support they perceived.     

Being a teacher with a so-called ‘immigrant background’: challenges of dealing with social boundaries

ABSTRACT

There have been calls in many European countries to diversify the teaching staff as a response to increasing diversity within student populations. These calls are often based on underlying assumptions that teachers with a migration history are well placed to act as ‘intercultural mediators’ and ‘role models’ for successful integration. However, these assumptions often lack differentiation. The presented study addresses this lack of differentiation for the case of the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Based on social constructivist theory (Barth; Wimmer) and pursuing a qualitative-hermeneutical approach (Schütze; Rosenthal), the study shows four ideal types of dealing with social boundary dynamics among teachers who have been categorised or labelled in terms of a ‘second immigrant generation’. Additionally, the study provides insight that (a) the category of ‘labour migration’ is experienced as a particularly significant category of boundary making and (b) that schools in urban-immigrant neighbourhoods – in contrast to those in rural-non-immigrant neighbourhoods – are experienced as places with an increased chance of recognition for a teacher ‘with an immigrant background’, although even there, these teachers find themselves in constant engagement to defend their belonging and to justify their sensitivity in dealing with migration-related diversity.