‘I am living proof of coexistence’: the experience of Israeli-Arab teachers in Jewish schools

ABSTRACT

Arab teachers in Jewish schools (AJ) constitute a unique case of minority teachers. This mixed-methods study set out to examine the school experience of AJ (N = 101) in comparison with two groups: Arab teachers in Arab schools (AA; N = 76) and Jewish teachers in Jewish schools (JJ; N = 99). The questionnaire measured three aspects of the teachers’ experience: motivational, professional and ecological. AJ teachers reported lower levels of professional difficulties than the two same-culture groups. Among AJ, novice and experienced teachers reported similar levels of motivation, while among the other groups, novice teachers reported lower levels. AJ teachers’ answers to an open-ended question enriched the understanding of the positive experiences alongside the negative aspects that included some incidents of racism and microaggression. The findings support the benefit of contact to positive attitudes and tolerance. Nonetheless, questions arise regarding the processes that underlie these results.

KEYWORDS:

• Minority teachers
• Arab-Israeli conflict
• contact theory
• novice teachers

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Notes on contributors

Itzhak Gilat

Prof. Itzhak Gilat, a psychologist by profession, lectures on psychology and research methods at Levinsky College of Education and serves as head of Research, Evaluation and Development Authority at Levinsky College. His research deals with the mental well-being of adolescents and teachers, the professional development of teachers and educators for teaching and evaluation of educational programs.

Shahar Gindi

Dr. Shahar Gindi is a lecturer and a researcher at Beit Berl College as well as a clinical and school psychologist. He has published in different areas relating to psychology, education and program evaluation. His latest work is related to minority teachers as well as teachers' handling of controversial political issues in class.

Rajaa Sedawi-Massri

Rajaa Sedawi-Massri is an Arab teacher who has been teaching English language in a Jewish school for 8 years.  She completed her Master of Education in the Language Education in a Multicultural Society program at the faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies in the Levinsky College of education in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her Master’s thesis examined the phenomenon of cross-cultural encounters among Arab teachers in Jewish schools.