This study explored the intersection of participation rights, politics, and culture in youth councils operating in a polarized socio-political climate. It drew on the case of youth councils integrating Jewish and Palestinian-Arab youth in Israel. Based on interviews with youth council members, adult leaders, and Ministry of Education officials,…

Programmes based on intercultural encounters with the 'Other' place culture and cultural difference at their centre. 'Cultural discourse' has even been defined as a new epistemology and praxis that plays a key role in the process of recognition. In the light of these assumptions, this study used ethnographic field work to examine the ways culture…

This article discusses challenges facing novice principals (hereinafter: NPs) and the coping strategies they develop at the inception of their managerial careers. Qualitative research employed semi-structured interviews with 40 principals in the Arab education system in Israel. Findings indicated that Arab NPs face conflicting demands of their…

Nations throughout the world continue to examine how to improve their system of education in terms of improving student achievement, so that each student has the opportunity to be a productive and successful member of the global society. For this to occur, each school must be successful in the development of high quality teaching and learning.…

The private/personal sphere is perceived to be a channel of empowerment that fosters processes of acknowledgment and recognition during encounters between participants from different cultural groups. Drawing on ethnographic research at an inter-cultural program that offered a space for engagement for Palestinian and Jewish educational trainees',…

This study describes the positionality and power relations revealed during research on women in Israel's Druze minority, conducted by a Jewish woman in the country's hegemonic society. Although the researcher's position and power appear obvious, changes took place constantly, reflecting her unstable position as a stranger, "outsider" or…

It's a challenge for schools in every country: How to provide the right kind of discipline and create a climate that nurtures learning. This challenge may look different in different countries. A school's disciplinary climate not only is the product of educators' beliefs and actions, students' beliefs and actions, and the interaction of these, but…

This article reveals the intrinsic connection between the constructs normality, identity, meaning, cultural tracking, and school achievement. In particular, it illuminates the indirect connection between cultural tracking and a reduction in the meaningful engagement of school tasks. As documented elsewhere, learning proceeds in a meaningful…

Examined how children of different cultural backgrounds weigh competing considerations when presented with conflicts between two concerns: Justice-Authority; Justice-Interpersonal; Personal-Interpersonal; Personal-Authority. For each concern, subjects selected the course of action to be followed and weighed alternatives. Found differences between…