Bible teachers in contemporary society confront serious problems related to the nature of the biblical text and the socio-cultural context of their teaching. This study, based on semi-structured interviews, examines the problems that five expert religious Israeli elementary school teachers encounter in their teaching and the solutions they employ.…

Aim/Purpose: In this paper, we analyze the phenomenon of "classroom WhatsApp groups", in which a teacher and students from a particular classroom interact with one another, while specifically focusing on the student perspective of these interactions. Background: The instant messaging application WhatsApp enables quick, interactive…

In this study, our aim was to understand how environmental education has been implemented in Israeli elementary schools. We selected ten schools that had implemented Education for Sustainability programs and analyzed their mission statements and curriculum documents. We observed each school's activities and interviewed teachers. Our analysis shows…

Science education today has become increasingly focused on research into complex natural, social and technological systems. In this study, we examined the development of high-school biology students' systems understanding of the human body, in a three-year longitudinal study. The development of the students' system understanding was evaluated…

Aim/Purpose: Awareness of eSafety and potential online dangers for children and teenagers. Background: The study examined eSafety among children and teenagers from their own perspectives, through evaluations of their awareness level of eSafety and of potential online dangers. Methodology: This is a mixed-method study with both quantitative and…

We present findings from an in-depth study on a school-based multi-disciplinary learning community in the context of practice teaching in university pre-service education. We elaborate on one of the three predominant patterns of talk identified, the "star" pattern, and show how it created particular power relations in the discourse which…

Internationalization became a mainstreamed goal of almost every higher education institution, and institutions are expected to proactively implement this process. Although as an academic discipline, education is considered to be one of the most context-related and locally oriented ones, it had not avoided pressures to internationalize. Within the…

We apply semi-structured interviews to conceptualise perceptions of global citizenship among teachers at an international school and teachers at a local public school in Israel, revealing discrepancies between theory and practice in global citizenship education (GCE). We find that teachers perceive global citizenship differently along three major…

This research investigates the ways in which undergraduate courses dealing with the environment address sustainable development (SD), and contribute to the development of sustainability learning outcomes (SLO). The participants in the study were 13 instructors, and 360 students who were enrolled in 13 courses that addressed the environment in a…

Purpose: This study investigates how senior science teachers viewed the effects of a Raising Test Scores policy and its implementation on instruction of higher order thinking (HOT), and on teaching thinking to students with low academic achievements. Background: The study was conducted in the context of three concurrent policies advocating: (a)…

This study investigated the role of school-related variables in explaining academic proficiency (AP) performance in Hebrew (L2) and English (L3) among immigrant youth. The following sets of variables were examined: (1) school background (2) academic, linguistic and social-psychological support, and (3) professional staff and school resources…

The current study was set to examine the role of school principals in Israel in the professional development process of their teachers following the implementation of a new professional reform. 159 teachers and 13 principals responded to a questionnaire designed to collect data concerning the involvement of principals in initiatives developed by…

Neo-liberal ideologies have given parents influence over education. This requires teachers to find ways to engage with parents and use resources for dealing with them. Following Bourdieu's notion of field, in which different groups struggle over resources to maintain their social position, we examine the relations between teachers' attitudes…

The research compares principals in Israel (Jewish and Arab) and Turkey and how they perceive and practice their role in promoting social justice (SJ) in their schools in order to bridge socioeconomic and pedagogic gaps. It poses three questions: (1) How do Turkish and Israeli SJ leaders make sense of SJ? (2) What do SJ leaders do in both…

What is Israel in the minds and hearts of young American Jewish children? Through interviews and photo and music elicitation exercises, this research uncovers how day school kindergarten students conceive of Israel. This study, part of an ongoing longitudinal project, shows how 5- and 6-year-old children are able to form a multilayered conception…