A comparative case-study of school-LEA-NGO interactions across different socio-economic strata in Israel

Abstract

This study examines the interaction between non-governmental organization (NGO), the Local Education Authority (LEA), and public schools in communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds in Israel. We characterize how schools serving more and less affluent communities create, cultivate, and preserve interactions with NGOs; how NGOs form, and sustain interactions with schools serving communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds; and how this process is maintained through LEA regulation. We show how school–NGO–LEA interaction is largely shaped by the affluence of respective schools’ communities within given educational settings. Analysis of interviews conducted with different stakeholders exposed two main themes: (1) the differing capabilities of various actors in this interaction to express agency; (2) the power relations between involved parties, whereby NGO and LEA impose a global agenda on local schools (particularly those serving less affluent communities) – occasionally in contrast to the needs as perceived by schools’ leaders. Our conclusions offer some insights into the nature and possible consequences of the interaction between third sector organizations and schools serving communities of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

Keywords:

• External organizations
• NGOs
• Israel

Notes

1. We use the terms third sector organizations, non-profits, and NGOs interchangeably in this paper, despite the various minor differences that some scholars attribute to their meaning (i.e. Kamat 2004).

2. LEA role and structure in Israel underwent various reforms and transformations over the years (for review see Addi-Raccah and Gavish 2010). Its role is similar to that of school districts in US, usually positioned as independent education department within almost each municipality. In line with the decentralization reforms of the last decades, LEAs had gained more autonomy over schools’ funding, provision, and even pedagogy.

3. This study began by addressing School–NGO interactions. As LEA was found to have a key role in this process, it was added later to the triangle of power (School–LEA–NGO) investigated and presented here (see also Sagie, Yemini, and Bauer 2016).

4. Schools must participate in funding the programs provided by this NGO (at a rate of approximately $650 per year). The LEA matches this budget, and the schools receive several resources like teaching hours and specific facilities through the interaction.