The social reproduction of science education outcomes for high school students in Israel

Abstract

This paper investigates patterns of social reproduction of science education outcomes for high school students in Israel, specifically by examining the relationship between one aspect of science capital – as measured by having a scientist in the family – and SES with three measures of science education success: interest in science; science self-efficacy; and aspirations to pursue science at university. Regression analyses of questionnaire data (N = 380) from 14- to 18-year-old high school students yield differences between Jewish (majority) and Arab-Palestinian (minority) students. Specifically, regarding aspirations for university science, having a scientist in the family and higher SES are positively associated with better outcomes for Jewish students only. The analyses highlight the potential advantages of employing theories of social reproduction and science capital to explore inequalities in science education, which in this case is used to identify additional challenges in increasing minority student uptake in postsecondary science.

Keywords:

• Social reproduction
• science education
• minorities
• inequalities
• science capital
• socioeconomic status

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the Israel Institute for the award of a doctoral grant and the Federmann School of Public Policy for a doctoral scholarship that together funded my PhD studies while conducting this research. I am especially grateful to the anonymous reviewers and my doctoral advisor, Elyakim Kislev, whose comments and feedback were invaluable in improving the quality of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Hebrew-language schools in Israel are split into secular, religious (‘Orthodox’), and highly-religious (‘ultra-Orthodox’) systems. Secular and religious schools follow similar STEM curricular and were included in the study. The ultra-Orthodox (approximately 10 percent of Jewish Israelis) attend a separate high school system that includes minimal levels of STEM education, and are therefore not included in this study.