Coping with uncertainty in a sociocultural context: the case of Arab preservice teachers in a teacher-education college in Israel

ABSTRACT

The present study examined how Arab students, as a minority group in a teacher-education college in Israel, coped with uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The insights gained can inform how educators support Arab students during other challenging times, such as periods of political instability. The study aimed to enhance understanding of participants’ experiences, increase sensitivity to diversity, and improve the inclusion of Arab students in the college. A qualitative interpretive phenomenological methodology analyzed students’ written reflective tasks as part of an Arabic-speaking course. Two main themes emerged: a) Arab students’ perceptions and experiences during the COVID-19 crisis and b) their strategies for coping with challenges. The findings showed that students were able to express feelings in writing, contradicting previous research indicating difficulty expressing personal emotions among Arab populations. The findings may encourage reviewing practices to promote the inclusion of various sociocultural groups in teacher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Arab students in teacher education
• teacher education
• sociocultural contexts
• inclusion
• uncertainty
• coping mechanism

Introduction

The discourse on sociocultural and ethnic inclusion has become more prominent in the professional literature over recent years (Miles and Singal 2010; Woodcock and Hardy 2017; Zilliacus 2014). Most of the inclusion literature refers to issues related to educational needs and/or disabilities (De Vroey, Struyf, and Petry 2016) and to teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education (De Boer, Jan Pijl, and Minnaert 2011). This considerable body of literature does not devote sufficient attention to all students’ wide range of needs, considering their race, ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, gender and family structure (Salend 2010; Woodcock and Hardy 2017). However, it is noteworthy that the broader understanding of inclusion as the right of all students not only to learn but also to learn about and express their identity is becoming increasingly accepted (Huissy-Sabek, Hussein Farraj, and Lapidot-Lefler 2023; Şahin and Kesik 2019; Zilliacus 2014). The present study is relevant to this discourse. The enrolment of Arab students in teacher education institutions in Israel increased by 122% from 2011–2021 (Council for Higher Education, Israel 2021). The present study addressed how a specific minority group – Arab college students enrolled in two courses of a teacher-education programme in a mixed Jewish – Arab teacher college in Israel – coped with uncertainty and stressful situations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We considered the courses’ emphasis on sociocultural inclusion and how this further facilitated their coping efforts.

The aim of this study was to gain insights into working with Arab students who were engaged in a teacher-training process during a time of crisis. These insights can also shed light on how educators can support Arab students during other challenging times, such as periods of political instability or conflict. Understanding their experiences in the academic framework can be helpful not only to the academic staff, namely, Jewish and Arab lecturers, mentors, pedagogic advisers and administrative staff members, but may improve these students’ self-understanding as well, thus promoting their personal and professional development. Moreover, examination of how a particular minority group copes with specific sources of stress can shed light on the importance of the capacity of education systems to address sociocultural differences more generally in times of crisis. To understand Arab students’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, we formulated the following research questions: (1) What were Arab students’ perceptions and experiences of their academic learning process, in general, and during the pandemic, in particular? (2) Which coping strategies did the students use during the pandemic?

Theoretical background

The concept of education for all

The Education for All (EFA) concept is committed to ensuring universal and equitable access to education for all children, youth and adults (Lindqvist 1999). A proactive approach is required to identify the potential obstacles to equal access as well as relevant resources to overcome them. Inclusive education strengthens the education system’s ability to address the needs of all learners. i.e., is a key strategy for achieving EFA (Peters 2004). Although the EFA concept is part of Israeli education system policy, there is a seemingly persistent gap between the rhetoric of EFA as a national policy and difficulties in policy actualisation (Razer and Friedman 2016). Therefore, inclusive education – that education is a basic human right and the foundation for building a just and equitable society – should be the central guiding principle for policy makers and educators everywhere (Ten Have and Jean 2009). This emphasis on inclusive education requires further elaboration, both in the training programmes geared for preservice teachers and in the professional development workshops offered at later stages (Specht and Metsala 2018).

In higher education institutions in Israel, Jewish and Arab students study together, using Hebrew and English, as in the teacher education college where the study was conducted. Arab students can also choose to study at Arab colleges with an entirely Arabic curriculum. As the Jewish and Arab education systems for school-age children are separate, higher education is the first place where young people from the different societies genuinely meet. Feniger (2017) suggests that this separation may create gaps in the two groups’ academic achievements, even after controlling for socioeconomic variables. Arabic-speaking students who have grown up in the Arab school system (which differs fundamentally from the Jewish education system), face numerous challenges on entering higher education (Arar and Haj-Yehia 2016). One significant obstacle to their academic success is the language of instruction – Hebrew and sometimes English – rather than their mother tongue, Arabic. In addition, lack of experience, soft skills and critical thinking skills all pose unique difficulties. Finally, the sudden encounter with a different culture can lead to a sense of alienation, and the students often have difficulty navigating the academic environment (Mustafa 2015). Another challenge is meeting students and lecturers, most of whom belong to the hegemonic Jewish majority group. Together with the culturally non-inclusive curriculum (Paul-Binyamin and Haj-Yehia 2019), the situation is not conducive to social justice and equity.

The principle of inclusion in academia can be achieved by amplifying minority voices, adapting course materials, teaching methods and research agendas to meet the needs of diverse student populations. Simultaneously, it is important to consider ways to address gender, ethnicity, sociocultural differences and first language preferences in the design and implementation of curricula and study programmes (Quaye, Harper, and Pendakur 2020; Saija, Meril, and Tienari 2010). Until recently, core education courses at this college were taught in mixed classes of Arab and Jewish students. However, language barriers and culturally inappropriate content prevented Arab students’ full engagement (Mustafa 2015). Therefore, the college developed specific separate courses in Arabic on issues unique to Arab society. While adhering to the overall curriculum, these courses are tailored to individual Arab students’ needs based on the understanding that the Arab and Jewish cultural worlds are different (Nijim-Ektelat, Ben-Rabi, and Sabo-La’el 2018). This evolving model sheds light on complex issues in Israel’s multicultural teacher training, as separate Arabic courses allow Arab students to examine their identity more efficiently and address education-related challenges encountered in Arab schools.

The individual in Arab society in general and in higher education in particular

The Arab society in Israel is undergoing changes and Arab individuals are changing their self-concept and lifestyles, particularly among specific socioeconomic status groups. Studies of Arab society identified its unique characteristics and the individual’s role within it (Nijim-Ektelat, Ben-Rabi, and Sabo-La’el 2018). Thus, for example, the literature describes Arab society’s tendency to uphold collectivist values (Dwairy 1997; Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov 2010), a cultural approach that emphasises the group framework of which the individual is an integral part. Such values promote mutual assistance and strong familial and social relationships, solidarity and assistance to individuals in need (Abu-Asbah 2012; Dwairy 1997). Furthermore, Arab society appears to be characterised by strong hierarchical and patriarchal elements (Abu-Asbah 2012; Sagy et al. 2001). Tension deepens between collectivism and individualism as a result of contact with mainstream Israeli Western culture. Arab society encourages individuals to see themselves as connected and shaped by their close family members, through mutual ties and responsibility (Sagy et al. 2001). At the same time, in the university space, contact with Jewish students exposes Arab women to questions surrounding gender, freedom and values not accepted in their culture. This arouses feminist awareness and a re-examination of patriarchal values (Abu-Rabia-Queder and Weiner-Levy 2011). The approach to education and learning appears to emphasise knowledge acquisition based on memorisation with less focus on acquiring and developing skills for thinking and self-expression or for conducting an educational dialogue (Alian 2013; Dwairy 2004). Arab women in Israeli society may grapple with conflicting demands from self, family and society. Despite their growing independence, there is a feeling of an exhausting battle over how to detach emotionally from the familial and societal norms, particularly among educated women (Abu-Rabia-Queder and Weiner-Levy 2011; Ramadan 2019).

Studies on education and social constructs in Arab societies indicate the prominence of conservative authoritarian education that enforces obedience and acceptance of external authorities at the expense of critical thinking, dialogue and creativity (Abu Saad 2011). According to Watfa (1999), authoritarian education and control lead to ‘a paucity of self-confidence, initiative and spontaneity’. Therefore, the transition from school to higher education is Arab students’ first encounter with and experience of a different educational approach that requires them not only to apply thinking and analytic skills and to formulate and justify their opinions, but also to take personal responsibility for their learning.

Drawing on research on minority and marginalised students, including Arab students in Israel (Khattab, Miaari, and Steir 2016), peripheral college populations (Quaye, Harper, and Pendakur 2020), first-generation students (Terenzini et al. 1996) and the intersection of gender and social hierarchies (Villa Lever 2020), compounding barriers and inequities impact marginalised students’ engagement, experiences, development and access within higher education systems. In addition, studies have indicated the importance of being in an academic framework and the positive effects of higher education on the development of self- and social-awareness (Mustafa 2015). By navigating this new academic context, students compare prevalent campus values against home, school and society, thereby formulating personal meaning and examining identity across environments (Brooks and Waters 2011). By challenging notions of ‘right/wrong’, ‘truth’ and ‘power’, academia can destabilise identity, enabling reconstruction through dialectical deconstruction. For Palestinian Arab and other minority students in Israel, their cultural background often clashes with academic expectations, as exposure to new knowledge and interpersonal experiences disrupts familiar patterns and lifestyles (Arar and Haj-Yehia 2016). Contact between Arab and Jewish students in Israeli higher education offers potential for meaningful dialogue and relationships. However, realising such opportunities requires addressing societal power imbalances facing these groups (Friedman 2018). As more Arab women pursue higher education, a quiet gender revolution may emerge as they gain empowerment, find their voices and spread ideas about gender equality within their communities (Arar and Masry-Herzalah 2014; Friedman 2018).

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on higher education: the context of Arab students in Israel

From previous studies, we know that COVID-19 changed the basic learning order for most students (Aristovnik et al. 2020), adding to existing challenges in the already layered Israeli higher education system (Lapidot-Lefler 2022). It exacerbated digital inequalities, particularly in the context of education and access to vital services (Treve 2021), challenging Arab college students in the Israeli periphery, in particular (Sommerlad and David 2022). Alfayumi-Zeadna et al. (2022) further emphasised the inequities in the transition among Arab minority students in Israel, including the lack of appropriate devices, difficulties in securing suitable housing and workspace and the stress experienced. Meler (2022) highlighted, specifically, the challenges faced by female Palestinian-Arab students. She emphasised the role of family obligations and traditional gender roles for Palestinian-Arab female undergraduates during the crisis, showing that students were studying in a shared family space because they did not have their own rooms and sometimes shared equipment. This is particularly true for Arab college students in the geographical and social periphery. Abu-Kishk and Mendels (2020) revealed digital divide issues among Bedouin students – lack of technology access and remote learning skills. Barakat and Meler (2022) qualitatively explored Palestinian-Arab students’ struggles to engage in online lectures and schoolwork from home. The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens (Farah 2020) also outlined Arab society’s unique coronavirus challenges. Finally, Katz et al. (2020) surveyed Arab and Jewish students and lecturers about their experiences of suddenly shifting to emergency remote education, revealing significant tech access and adjustment issues among Arab learners. Together, these studies demonstrate systemic equity issues in enabling Arab students to participate meaningfully and succeed in technology-based distance learning platforms implemented during the COVID-19 health crisis. An additional study shed light on how the COVID-19 pandemic has widened disparities, as peripheral and Arab students in higher education in Israel face compounding barriers and struggles (e.g., the digital gap and lack of internet infrastructure or the difficulty to get used to remote learning). This crisis elucidates and amplifies inequalities in the Israeli school system and, specifically, enrolment in higher education linked to ethnicity, geography and socioeconomic status (Dahan et al. 2020; Degani and Degani 2020).

Coping with situations of uncertainty in a cultural context

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the mental wellbeing of potentially vulnerable higher education students as it led to heightened stress, anxiety and depressive thoughts, with negative impacts on academic performance. This confluence of factors uniquely disadvantaged marginalised student populations during the crisis (Steinberger, Eshet, and Grinautsky 2021). People are accustomed to plan and lead their lives with a sense of control that enables them to predict possible events and scenarios. The ability to rely on certain outcomes due to a causal factor gives individuals a sense of security about their future, based on the belief that they will be able to cope successfully with future developments. However, as people have an extremely limited ability to control their lives, uncertainty is integral to life (Alaszewski and Coxon 2009). In the context of the role of culture in coping with uncertainty, it seems that cultural values and norms significantly shape psychological and behavioural responses to uncertain or traumatic events (Williams 2021), with broader implications for individual and collective resilience (Chun, Moos, and Cronkite 2006; Williams 2021). Across diverse cultures in Arab societies, psychological and behavioural responses to uncertainty vary (Gertel and Hexel 2018). For example, qualitative studies in the United Arab Emirates identified unique coping strategies utilised by university students, faculty and staff during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, influenced by sociocultural and religious values (Al Miskry, Hamid, and Darweesh 2021). Relatedly, survey research in Saudi Arabia indicates that intolerance of uncertainty during the pandemic was associated with poorer mental health, while religious coping methods were frequent (AlHadi, Alarabi, and AlMansoor 2021). As such, culturally-shaped coping plays a meaningful role in how Arab communities and individuals navigate stressful uncertain events. Further examination is needed regarding how cultural, ethnic and national differences manifest in Middle Eastern uncertainty appraisals and coping trajectories.

While previous studies explored Arab students’ academic experiences and highlighted the challenges faced by Palestinian-Arab female students during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Meler 2022) and the mental health of minority Arab higher-education students in Israel (Alfayumi-Zeadna et al. 2022), research is lacking on this specific population’s perceptions, experiences and coping strategies regarding uncertainty. This is problematic given the unprecedented disruption to education, as students had to shift abruptly to remote learning without preparation. Understanding how Arab students navigated these challenges is critical to helping educators support them better during crises. However, no studies to date have explored Arab students’ learning, experiences and responses to coping with uncertainty in the context of the pandemic in a mixed Jewish – Arab college in Israel. Therefore, the present study sought to address this gap by exploring two key research questions: 1) What were Arab students’ perceptions and experiences regarding their academic learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic? 2) Which coping strategies did Arab students employ to deal with pandemic-related educational challenges?

Materials and methods

We chose a qualitative methodology using the interpretive phenomenological approach for a deeper understanding of participants’ experiences and the significance they attributed to them (Smith, Flowers, and Larkin 2009). The qualitative phenomenological approach is based on gathering and analysing data using qualitative interpretive tools to explore and explain existing phenomena. The focus is on the actual interaction among members of a group or an organisation and the way that the group forges its path of action (Smith, Flowers, and Larkin 2009). This methodology was appropriate for the present study that sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences, perceptions and attitudes of Arab students participating in a teacher-education programme. We conducted a culturally oriented examination of how they coped with uncertainty with the aim of improving their integration in the college (Braun and Clarke 2006).

Participants

Participants in this study were 37 Arab students (eight men and 29 women). Their ages ranged from 25–50, and the majority were 25 or 26. Approximately half were single (14 female teacher-students and six male teacher-students). They came from three religious backgrounds: Muslim (32), Christian (2), and Druze (3). The students came from all regions of the country: most were from the Galilee area (34), one female student was from the Golan Heights, two were from the Northern Triangle and one was from Rahat in the South. All these students, except one, regardless of their age, had never participated in a workshop type of course.

The case study

The present study focused on Arab students enrolled in two Arabic-speaking workshop-based courses in the 2019–2020 academic year, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Course participants were Arab students on a one-year teacher education programme for students with a bachelor’s degree. As mentioned, the students had the option to attend the same core courses in Hebrew. The goal of these courses was to establish participants’ professional and personal self-efficacy, based on self-knowledge and discovery, including personal and cultural aspects. Students analysed their personal experiences and reconceptualised them to shape attitudes towards education and authority. The workshop instructors emphasised self-reflection and the development of reflective skills by posing questions that required students’ careful deliberation and examination of connections between their thoughts and emotions, while observing their own learning. In March 2020, because of the pandemic, the colleges in Israel were closed and, from that point on, the workshops were conducted weekly on Zoom.

The research instrument

Assessment of participants’ learning process throughout the course relied on students’ personal reflections in which they described the process and noted their related insights, thoughts and emotions. Students submitted their written reflections several times throughout the semester and at its end. Part of the course’s emphasis was related to observation and reflective thinking that required devoting attention to one’s inner world; to feelings and thoughts. Accordingly, a discussion was held focusing on self-reflection and reflective processes. The concept became part of the classroom lingo after the workshop instructors modelled its use verbally and demonstrated its significance and relevance.

We gradually introduced the students to the active use of this tool. The students’ reflections were intended to help them develop self-observation skills by gathering information about their experiences and coping strategies during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. We began with some guiding questions regarding the pandemic period to serve as the basis for their written reflections. They handed them in after about a week, and all except one participant wrote in their native Arabic. At the end of the course, we asked them to write summarising reflections.

The research procedure

The data were collected from the students who attended the two workshop courses in the second semester of the academic year (between March and June 2020). The course met once a week for 90 minutes, at a regular time slot and setting, with approximately 18 students in each course. At that time, the workshops were held online and there were no face-to-face meetings. The two authors of the study were the workshop instructors.

Data analysis

The data were analysed according to the qualitative research strategies suggested by Bogdan and Biklen (2007). The analysis began by reading the written texts sequentially and then reading each reflection separately, sentence by sentence, while writing comments in the margins to identify themes related to the research questions. The reading, reflection and writing of comments in the margins took place simultaneously. In the next stage, each text was subject to thematic analysis. The goal was to identify categories based on the text content rather than on the way it was expressed (Braun and Clarke 2006‏). Relationships between the prominent categories were identified and then similar or identical categories from other texts were grouped under these initial categories.

Research ethics

Once the workshops had been concluded and the final grades assigned, we requested the students’ permission to use their reflections as data for this study. At this point, we explained the goal of the study, the conditions of anonymity that would be maintained and that participation was voluntary. We assured the students that their decision to participate would have no repercussions, as they had already graduated from the programme, and that if they consented, the data would be used only for the purposes of the study. Given the study’s sensitive nature, confidentiality and anonymity were strongly emphasised.

Findings

The results revealed two main themes. The first concerns the Arab students’ perceptions and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and is divided into six subcategories. The second refers to how the students coped with the rapid changes and uncertainty during the pandemic. In the second theme, we identified two subcategories: coping through external action and internal coping. The following sections describe the outcomes of the analysis and bring out the participants’ voices (under pseudonyms).

The Arab students’ perceptions and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

This theme includes the descriptions in which the participants addressed their sense of a shifting reality, their predominant experiences during that time and their thoughts and feelings. Most participants described complicated emotions and difficult feelings, such as fear, worry, stress, helplessness and anger. In addition, the students reported harsh and negative thoughts regarding sickness and loss. Nearly every student presented these thoughts and feelings clearly and directly, as detailed in the six subcategories below.

Worry and stress followed by extreme anger and inaction

Nearly all the students mentioned experiencing intense stress and worry, followed by anger in the face of their inability to take action, in general, and specifically, the sense of having no control over their lives. This can be seen in the following quote:

I see that I’m quick to anger, especially when things are unclear and not well understood … . I’ve developed a fickle mood; it changes quickly from one end of the spectrum to the other … . What troubles me most about this period is that I don’t have full control of my time. I feel that time passes without any outcome …

(Hiba, age 25, single, Muslim)

Hiba describes sensing a lack of control and distress. She shared an increased tendency to anger and a fluctuating, unstable mood. What concerned her most was the feeling of lacking control over time and the passage of time without productivity. Usually, Hiba managed her time, and this empowered her. She felt threatened by the very experience of losing control and time passing without accomplishment. The difficulty stemmed mainly from the disruption of balance and harmony between herself and the environment, as emerged in previous research on Arab women.

Fear of the unknown and unfamiliar

Along with feeling stressed and worried, many of the students noted difficulty in coping with the stress due to the changes in their daily chores as well as in their academic assignments. They were particularly concerned about missing deadlines and being unable to complete their academic tasks and requirements:

I feel afraid, stressed and worried about all the [academic] assignments that have piled up because of my job and time constraints. Furthermore, these feelings are exacerbated by the thought that this pandemic will spread extensively and will not be contained.

(Lamis, age 28, married + 3, Muslim)

Lamis expressed her fear, worry and the sense of pressure caused by the lack of time to complete the mounting tasks because she worked outside the home. Arab women are expected to manage everything, particularly domestic duties, and the fear of inadequacy may reflect this woman’s distress due to her own and the society’s expectations, as women often conduct themselves to honour their cultural traditions and norms. Additionally, she was worried that if the situation persisted long-term and the disease spread widely, it would become uncontrollable.

Concern for their families

Many students expressed concern for their families: ‘It is not normal for a dangerous illness to spread so fast and for the world to have difficulty containing it; it makes me worry about my family and the entire world’ (Fatma, age 24, single, Muslim). Fatma emphasised the family connection and the fear of losing the family’s togetherness, a source of security that emerged in previous research. Arab women maintain the collective-familial belonging, which provides them with financial and emotional protection and support. Fatma did not mention fear for herself, but for her family. This reflects her self-experience as not separate from her parents. Her concern for them (rather than for herself) reflected her perception of self in respect to others.

Fear of the virus itself

Fear of the virus and, more specifically, of receiving a positive test result, was extremely conspicuous in the students’ written reflections:

Because of the virus, a sneeze can make me feel scared, angry, worried, anxious, and I feel despair taking over me. I fear losing my social life. And from experience, I can tell you that waiting for the COVID test result filled me with fear and worry, in case it turns out positive.

(Mahmoud, age 27, single, Muslim, male)

Mahmoud expressed intense feelings resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear pervaded multiple facets of life, perhaps most profoundly impacting the sociocultural dimension. A mere sneeze induced overwhelming dread due to its association with contagion, triggering a cascade of negative emotions, such as anger, worry and, ultimately, despair. He was primarily occupied by his fears and concrete worry about the disease and about himself (as opposed to his family or others).

Fear of an uncertain future, lack of control and future negative repercussions

This subcategory represents another element of how the virus affected the students, causing greater fear and worry. This can be seen in the following excerpts from students’ reflections:

I always find myself wondering what will happen to my children’s education if this situation continues because they have difficulty understanding the material being taught [through distance learning] and, in the current setup, they have difficulty asking questions about things they don’t understand. As a result, the entire learning process gets distorted.

(Iman, age 28, married + 2, Muslim)

Iman voiced anxiety about the long-term educational impacts of COVID-19 on her children, citing comprehension challenges with remote learning, impaired teacher interactions and gaps in normal learning processes. Her maternal identity intertwined with her children’s academic achievement, reflecting a collectivist notion of selfhood that might be prevalent among Arab women.

Hoda reflected on the lack of control and contemplated the day after the pandemic:

After the lockdown was extended, which I had not expected … , I started thinking about what would happen to us after our social life, our work, and studies have come to a halt. What if the situation continues and we remain without work? How will we make a living? Would normal life resume easily and naturally?… I’m constantly thinking about what might happen in the future … what if the virus keeps spreading throughout the world and no one can control it?

(Hoda, age 26, single, Muslim)

Hoda expresses persistent anxiety regarding the future, particularly fearing the unchecked spread of the disease. She emphasised potential economic disruption, jeopardising livelihoods amidst heightened precarity. Additionally, panic about the future and loss of hope reflect the Arab Israeli community’s greater vulnerability to continuous upheaval, given its underlying political-economic and social instability. They have no people or systems on whom to depend. Hoda expressed more general fears, less confined to intimate circles, positioning herself as part of the broader collective. The society-oriented fear and use of the plural ‘we’ may reflect a cultural identity embedded within the community rather than a distinct individual identity.

These statements present the students’ anxiety, stress and fear, as well as other mental states. While the first theme addresses students’ experiences and subsequent thoughts, the second theme addresses how they coped with those experiences, as emerging from their reflections.

Students’ coping strategies with feelings and thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic

This theme relates to how the Arab students coped with the COVID-19 pandemic, in general, and with their own difficult and negative thoughts during that period. We identified two subcategories in this theme: coping through external actions and internal coping, i.e., addressing one’s own thoughts and emotions.

Coping with uncertainty through external actions

Most of the students addressed the question regarding their coping with emotions and feelings by describing in detail their various practical steps to ease the situation. One coping strategy was to share their thoughts and emotions with people in their immediate environment, as demonstrated here:

I share my emotions with my parents and friends, with our online workshop lecturers, that is, with the people who are always asking how we’re doing and who encourage us to talk to them personally if we feel any sense of distress. And that in itself calms me down.

(Lina, age 25, single, Muslim)

Lina’s sharing of emotions with family, professors and fellow students reflects the primary support that young Arab Israelis draw from these circles. This may indicate the younger generation’s willingness to disclose feelings and struggles to parents, unlike older cohorts. However, she noted that professors also sincerely inquired after students’ wellbeing, actively encouraging them to speak about personal difficulties and even to approach them individually for assistance. Moreover, the virtual learning climate, compared to in-person interactions, may engender a relative sense of openness for sharing their feelings.

Another student reported engaging in enjoyable activities as a way of coping with those emotions:

I make an effort to overcome my negative emotions by doing things that I love, like listening to a reading of the Quran, working out, reading and cooking. In these ways, I try to calm down, reject negative thoughts and gradually adopt a more positive thinking pattern. Positive things make me happy and diminish the concern about what may come.

(Noha, age 24, single, Muslim)

Noha demonstrates self-awareness and connectivity to supportive resources to mitigate rumination on negative thoughts. She described the coping strategies enlisted to overcome adverse emotions, referencing the soothing spiritual-religious domain (listening to the Quran). Faith and religious conviction can be seen as pillars of coping with distress.

A different student was helped by creating routines, listing goals and enjoying small pleasures:

I decided to take things into my own hands and to relate to things differently. So now, each day … , I start by writing a daily plan of everything that needs to be done, even the smallest tasks, and convince myself that even this little bit is better than nothing. In addition, I do things that make me feel content, like reading a book, cooking or listening to music, even if it’s just for a short time.

(Noor, age 27, single, Muslim)

Noor shared her chosen coping strategy of exercising personal agency to construct an optimistic routine despite the circumstances; evident promotion of self-efficacy and control, prioritising individual needs. Potentially, women feel a greater responsibility for self-driven mobilisation, especially young, educated women who derive their strength from independence rather than from communal-cultural structures.

Some students referred to undertaking activities or tasks that they were not accustomed to doing and discovered that engaging in new experiences brought them some relief. They were even pleased with the discoveries, as revealed by the following excerpt:

At the beginning of the second week of the pandemic, I bought myself a musical instrument that I have been dreaming of playing since I was a child … I started learning to play through the Internet. I also started reading books and novels that can be informative and challenge my way of thinking, by making me think more positively, or to help me cope with the fears that this situation triggers in me.

(Manal, age 24, single, Muslim)

Manal’s chosen coping strategy involved fulfilling previously neglected personal needs and desires, capitalising on current circumstances. External resources such as music and reading offered distraction from the tumultuous situation and positive rumination.

All these examples indicate that the students coped by taking on activities that helped them deal with this new reality. Another theme emerging from the participants’ descriptions was coping by looking inwards, conducting self-observations, processing experiences and engaging in self-dialogue.

Coping with uncertainty through internal processing

Coping by looking inwards in contrast to engaging in external activities entailed dealing with emotions and thoughts. Many students noted that self-observation and self-dialogue helped them change their attitudes, thoughts and feelings:

When I talk to myself and understand my emotions, instead of succumbing to these emotions and thinking about the situation while waiting for salvation, I can find more useful solutions. In this manner, I stand to benefit and reduce the impact of the negative emotions that otherwise might control me. This way, I see things in a better and more positive light.

(Mais, age 34, married + 2, Christian)

Mais described employing self-reflection and insight to grapple with immense distress, evidencing an internalised self-concept distinct from prevailing Arab cultural mores, which emphasise external support. By analysing rather than being engulfed by overpowering emotions, she exhibited connection to an inner world of understanding, verging on Western notions of selfhood. This introspective strategy allowed actualisation of internal strengths rather than relying exclusively on outward help.

Other students noted a change in thought patterns: ‘This was the first time I could make a significant change and substitute negative thoughts with positive ones. I was able to rid myself of the negative emotions’ (Reem, age 32, married + 3, Muslim). Reem reported this first instance of successfully reframing negative thought patterns positively, thereby alleviating distress. In Arab contexts, women’s cognition may reside predominantly within external cultural-societal spheres, lacking inward critical awareness.

Some students described interpreting the situation differently, to view it in a more positive light, through personal and general insights. The following excerpt is an example of personal and family-based insights: ‘Despite the many disadvantages of the pandemic, it does offer us an opportunity to discover ourselves and enjoy our time with the family … ’ (Yarra, age 25, married, Muslim). Other more general insights had to do with global solidarity and mutual assistance, as illustrated in the following example: ‘I realised that the world could join forces to cope with this single threat in a unified and cohesive manner, forging solidarity among countries to provide an astonishing amount of help to people everywhere’ (Ruba, age 25, single, Muslim). This participant expressed positive insights regarding the crisis period: opportunities for self-discovery, quality family time and the capacity for global unity against a shared threat. She found solace in the universality of hardship that led to a common purpose and solidarity across humanity.

Thus, students’ descriptions presented the theme of inward processing and coping, which included self-observation, change of thought patterns and significant insights, not only regarding personal and family-related issues but also regarding wider spheres of human activity.

Discussion

The aim of the present study was to enhance our understanding of the experience of Arab students enrolled in a teacher-education programme through a culturally oriented examination of coping with uncertainty. Our intention was to promote their inclusion and our own sensitivity to diverse groups. We examined these students’ perceptions and coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two major themes emerged from the study’s findings: (a) the perceptions and experiences of Arab students during the pandemic and (b) their coping mechanisms during this period. Here, we discuss and analyse these findings through a sociocultural prism.

Unlike previous research showing limited emotional expression in Arab societies (Dwairy 1997; Jeraissi 2013), the present study’s participants readily articulated feelings evoked by pandemic-related life disruptions. Their verbal emotion processing suggests natural reactions to extraordinary uncertainty. Lahad et al. (2014) noted that fear and worry are common initial human emotions that emerge in times of change and, although universal reactions, their manifestations can differ in different people. As mentioned earlier, however, in Arab society, individuals consider themselves as part of the group and are more attentive to their surroundings than to their internal worlds (Dwairy 1997; Ramadan 2019). Thus, participants’ verbal emotional expression in the present study is unique in its intensity and prevalence. In their written assignments, the students coherently expressed extreme anxiety, stress and fear, demonstrating the ability to observe their inner worlds of emotions and thoughts.

One explanation of the discrepancy between the research literature and the current findings concerns the participants’ experience of change in the academic sphere during the workshop, particularly given the strong emphasis on the reflective process and the importance of self-observation, and on connection to their inner world in contrast to the outer world (Kaufman 2013). The reflective workshop’s inward focus, enabling structured examination of external changes, may explain participants’ atypical willingness to articulate emotions. Guiding internal organisation and interpretation of thoughts and feelings appeared to facilitate verbal expression.

Another explanation for the discrepancy mentioned above relates to the conditions of the pandemic. Could these emotions have been expressed outwardly because they gave voice to the more general, public reaction characteristic of this period? Typically, individuals in Arab society try to present an ideal impression of their lives, in the sense of ‘keeping one’s dirty laundry at home’. Thus, the acceptable norm is, outwardly, to present an idealised picture. This norm may be related also to fear of criticism or to the perception that its violation might lead to exclusion from the collective community. Consequently, difficulties are rarely shared, and individuals are expected to align with the rest of society by portraying their lives as perfect (Dwairy 1997; Watfa 1999). Not surprisingly, for the most part, Arab students find difficulty expressing negative emotions or fears (Dwairy 1997; Jeraissi 2013). This contrasted the findings of the present study. The departure from the cultural norm could be explained by the global exposure to the pandemic and the fact that the individual was part of a broader public wherein everyone experienced fear and uncertainty (Rettie and Daniels 2021). Thus, voicing emotions as part of the global community was devoid of the sociocultural significance that they would typically attribute to negative thoughts and emotions.

A third explanation for the discrepancy described above may be the general shift in Arab society through exposure to other cultures, leading to a greater tendency to consider individuals’ perceptions and placing less emphasis on maintaining collective values (Abu-Asbah 2012). In accordance with the finding of sociocultural changes occurring in Arab society, a more recent study identified a tendency among Israeli Arab youths to blur the collectivist identity and to demonstrate individual perceptions (Schiff 2002). In other words, this broader sociocultural shift may have allowed these students to speak more freely of their difficulties rather than presenting a perfect façade.

The sociocultural analysis of the present study’s findings provides a view of the complex experiences of Arab students in Israel who, despite the difficulties, demonstrated elements of constructive coping as shown in previous research (Abu-Rabia-Queder and Weiner-Levy 2011). They reported engaging in external activities as well as introspection and inner dialogue. In general, the coping theme featured a stronger emphasis on external than on internal coping mechanisms, corresponding to the reliance on an external locus of control. The perception that keeping busy with practical matters has a calming effect may be seen as part of the expectation that external factors rather than one’s internal voice will offer solutions. Nonetheless, some participants described a strong tendency to favour their internal coping mechanisms, exercising self-awareness and developing their internal dialogue. These findings may signal a shift in individual self-perception in Arab society (Abu-Asbah 2012; Abu-Rabia-Queder and Weiner-Levy 2011). It is also possible that the Arab students adopted the tone of the public discourse conveyed through the media or were influenced by the discourse prevalent in the academic sphere. The latter has been shown to change the individual’s internal dialogue, leading to abandonment of old action and thought patterns and adoption of new ones (Arar and Haj-Yehia 2016).

An important recommendation based on this study’s findings is to legitimise self-expression of feelings. We noted that encouragement of internal reflection often meant tuning into emotions and feelings related to difficulty when faced with challenging experiences. Verbalising these difficulties and weaknesses appears to have served as a means to vent emotions, organise thoughts and regain a sense of control. Addressing these experiences reflectively also appears to have attenuated the hardship as it precluded the need to present an ideal façade, which in turn improved the students’ overall sense of wellbeing. We recommend gradually introducing self-reflection as a constructive personal development tool, serving initially as a ‘crutch’ that builds familiarity and confidence. Moving from guided to open-ended reflections, this approach helped students become more assured with reflective language as an instrument for self-understanding. Ultimately, reflection facilitates growth by raising self-awareness and elucidating links between internal experiences and external realities.

Another recommendation is to emphasise the individual’s subjective experience of the process. It is essential to underscore the common human element, while recognising that individuals have varied personal needs, emotions and thoughts. In addition to the uncertainty and stress experienced by everyone during the COVID-19 lockdowns, both faculty and students had to adapt to the distance learning framework and the changes this entailed. Acknowledging that behind the screen (the name label or the square with the turned-off camera) were human beings who shared this challenge could have alleviated some of the stress and led to a sensitive discussion about the human condition. This type of discussion places the ‘subject’ at the front and in the centre, emphasises the student’s personal and human dimensions and highlights the personal element in the group’s experience. Other recommendations for educators and administrators to cultivate more inclusive classroom and campus environments include facilitating implicit bias and cultural awareness training, diversifying curricula and pedagogy, recruiting faculty with wide-ranging backgrounds and viewpoints and offering resources and communities of belonging to equip all students.

Study limitations and recommendations for future research

The present study had several limitations. It represents a specific study group at a specific point in time. Another limitation relates to the data collection time, namely, the beginning of the pandemic crisis. If the study had been conducted at another time during the pandemic, the same group might have reported a different kind of experience.

While this study addressed Arab students’ coping methods through inner examination in their sociocultural context, further research could examine coping through the lens of Kristeva’s notion of ‘foreigners’ and ‘otherness’ (Arndt 2017). This could expand our understanding of culturally bound coping mechanisms and advance multicultural theories and the practices derived from them.

The present study examined Arab education students’ assumptions and practices as they coped with the personal and academic challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed to increase understanding of their experiences and enhance sensitivity to diversity. While this research focused on the experiences of Arab students during a health crisis, the insights gained can also inform our understanding of how the students cope with the challenges and uncertainties they face during times of political instability and conflict. This is particularly relevant to the current situation in Israel, where the increased complexity underscores the heightened importance of cultivating empathetic abilities to navigate the multifaceted social landscape. Moreover, the emerging knowledge provides insight that enhances our comprehension of the multifaceted perspectives expressed by Arab students, emphasising female students’ voices. The insights are significant for academia and public policy regarding diversity. Specifically, they can contribute to research and policies for marginalised groups in Israeli higher education, supporting the concept of Education For All. By refining understanding of minority coping strategies, findings can help tailor more effective learning and teaching for this demographic overall and during crises, as it enriches diversity research by embracing vulnerability, emphasising subjectivity, utilising reflection and promoting inclusion.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).