Education for National Identity: Arab Schools ...

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Oct 1, 2000 - educate them according to the spirit of Israeli citizenship (Crossley ... In schools it is forbidden by law to relate to the “Nakhba” (exile) or to note.
Education for National Identity: Arab Schools Principals and Teachers Dilemmas and Coping Strategies To appear in: Journal of Educational Policy Khalid Arar, Ph.D. The Center for Academic Studies & Sakhnin College Fadia Ibrahim (M.Ed.) Sakhnin College for Teacher Education

Abstract:

This article discusses the policy of national education in the Arab education system in Israel and the strategies used by Arab principals and teachers in Israel to cope with dilemmas involved in education for national identity stemming from conflict between two different national narratives. While the Israeli Ministry of Education expects the Arab education system to educate students according to the Jewish State’s values, Palestinian Arab society expects its schools to educate its children according to Palestinian Arab nationalcultural values. A qualitative research employed a semi-structured interview to elicit views on this issue from seven principals and fourteen teachers in the Arab education system in Israel. The findings indicate a conflictual reality. Interviewees expressed fear, humiliation and affront when required to obey Ministry of Education instructions in contradiction to attitudes prevalent in their society. They therefore developed coping strategies to foster students’ national identity without disrupting the necessary balance; primarily the construction of a covert learning program through manipulations in the official overt learning program. This study contributes to our understanding of minority education in a reality of conflict between the state and its national minority. Keywords: Identity education, Arabs in Israel, Principals, Teachers. Introduction The State of Israel is defined as a Jewish and democratic state, a definition that embodies a deep contradiction since it implies the preference of one nationality over others and thus disregards the democratic principle of equality (Agbaria, Mustafa & Jabareen, 2015). The establishment of the state in 1948 on the lands of the former Palestinian Mandate territory as the realization of the Zionist dream (Khoury, Da'Na & Abu-Saad, 2013) following what was known as the “War of Independence” in the Hebrew narrative and “Al-Nakhba” in the Arab narrative, led to the displacement of the large majority of Palestinian Arabs who became refugees, exiled beyond the borders of the new state and found sanctuary in neighboring states (Morris, 2004). Those Palestinian refugees who fled or were exiled were denied the right of return and yet Jews from all over the world were given a right of return 1

and the gates of the new state were opened to them (Khoury et al., 2013). This right created a heterogeneous cultural texture in Israel, although the state aspired to create a uniform culture according to the characteristics of the dominant Jewish culture (Smith, 2003). To achieve this Jewish “melting pot”, policies were implemented which created a split between the Jewish majority and the Palestinian Arab minority that fought for many decades to retain collective rights and suffered from rejection, distrust, racism, discrimination etc. (Agbaria et al., 2015; Author, 2015). Many studies have traced the changes faced by Arab education in Israel, comparing unequal governmental allocations to Arab and Jewish education, and noting the achievements gap between the two systems (Abu-Saad, 2006; Agbaria, 2010; Author, 2012; Jabareen, 2006). Thus too, research has noted the subjugation of Arab education to Jewish education in terms of policies, contents and administration and revealed discrepancies in learning programs and learning materials (Author, 2012, 2015). However, few studies have traced the formation of Palestinian national identity within the education system and the right of Arab students to be educated according to their own community’s values through different learning programs and materials. The lack of literature discussing the subject of the national identity of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel and especially the contribution of school principals and teachers in the shaping and consolidation of this identity stimulated our desire to research this issue. Our study aimed to identify the coping strategies of Arab school principals and teachers in Israel when dealing with the dilemma of education for national identity, overshadowed by a dual commitment, affiliation with the Palestinian Arab minority and subordination to the Israeli Ministry of Education. More specifically we posed the following four questions: (1) How do Arab principals and teachers perceive national identity education; (2) Which motives encourage or hinder the school principals from dealing with education for national identity

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for the school’s students and to what extent do the Ministry of Education and local Palestinian Arab society influence these motives? (3) How do the principals and teachers cope with the conflicting expectations of the different stakeholders concerning education for national identity and (4) what are the educational activities that help the school to reinforce their students’ national identity? A qualitative research approach was chosen to examine the different dimensions of the Arab schools’ dilemma, employing in-depth semi-structured interviews with seven principals and two teachers from each school. The interviews were analyzed and the findings are presented together with conclusions and insights that emerged from the research. The Palestinian Arab minority in the State of Israel The Palestinian Arab minority in Israel is defined as an indigenous minority that is entitled to collective rights (Jabareen, 2012) since it existed as a majority in this territory before the existence of the state and in 1948 became a minority as a result of what is known as the “War of Independence” in Hebrew or “Al-Nakhba” [The Catastrophe] in Arabic. This war led to the exile of the majority of Palestinian Arabs outside the borders of the State of Israel, or displacement from their original homes to other neighboring villages within the new state (Morris, 2004). Additionally, certain Arab villages were not recognized by the new state or were recognized solely as residents of the state and not citizens (Abu-Saad, 2006). Israeli nationality was imposed on Palestinian Arabs who remained within the new state (Jamal, 2009). According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (2014) Palestinian Arabs constitute 20.7% of Israel’s 8,134,000 citizens. This minority population consists of 81.2% Muslims, 9.4% Christians and 8.4% Druze. The State of Israel was established as the realization of the Zionist dream of a state for the Jewish people, so that the preference for the Jewish people is expressed in its definition, symbols (Abu-Saad, 2006; Khoury et al., 2013), and laws and appears heavily in the official

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goals of education often leaving the Palestinian minority’s needs unanswered (Author, 2012). Two main principles dictated the nature of relations between the Jewish state and its Palestinian Arab minority, the security principle and the Zionist principle (Ghanem, 2001). Additionally, Zionist nationalist discourse advocating the precept “maximum territory with minimum Arabs” (Khoury et al., 2013) led to a territorial struggle by the Palestinian Arab minority due to expropriation of their lands, a struggle that constitutes a major component of Jewish-Arab conflict till today (Yiftachel, 2006). The Palestinian Arab minority has consequently endured exclusion, discrimination and structural inequality (Agbaria et al., 2015; Author, 2015). Abu-Saad (2006) described three main methods used by the Israeli government to control the Palestinian Arab minority: the first was division of the minority into small groups according to religion (Muslims, Christians and Druze) and according to different areas of residence, that in the main remain separate from Jewish localities (in the Galilee in the North, the Triangle region in the center of Israel and the Negev desert in the South). The second method was to foster maximum economic dependence of the minority on the majority’s employment market and (3) enlisting the minority’s elites to assist in constant supervision over the minority. The implications of this reality have influenced all dimensions of the Arab education system as is explained below. The Arab education system and its learning programs The Arab education system has suffered from neglect and difficult conditions since the establishment of the Israeli state and especially during the period of military rule until 1966 (Author, 2012). Since then, government policies towards the Arab education system have created what Jabareen (2012) succinctly called “education on hold”. The state education system served as a main tool for “nationalization”, purifying the dominant culture from other competing narratives under constant supervision and was

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directed to educate Palestinian Arab students to become Israeli citizens while annulling their own national identity (Author, 2015; Crossley & Tikly, 2004). State control of the Arab education system was complete: the Compulsory Education Act (1953), defined goals and aims in terms of Jewish interests, there were discriminatory policies towards Arab education (Agbaria et al., 2015; Author, 2012) and interference of the security services in the appointment of Arab principals and teachers (Khoury et al., 2013). The Arab education system was pushed to the margins, especially with regard to the allocation of resources (Author, 2015). The learning program for Arabic is emptied of any national contents, learning contents for civics aspire to educate the Palestinian Arab students to Israeli civil values, and they are obliged to study the history of the Land of Israel and Zionism leaving no legitimization for the Palestinian Arab narrative (Agbaria, 2010, Al Haj, 2005; Author, 2012). This policy has been imposed on Arab schools and guided their path as is described below. Education for national identity in school Wood and Deprez (2015) define education as equipping students “with the wherewithal and with a widening sense of possibilities” (p. 6) to provide a “foundational capability for every individual to envision, choose and live a life he or she values” (p. 13). For this process, students need to learn how to criticize, to express their opinions, to present arguments and to justify them in a logical manner, a process known as “education for democracy” (Wood & Deprez, 2015). Education for identity in general and for national identity in particular, is one of the expressions of democracy in an education system that can be highlighted through two learning programs applied in parallel in school, the official overt program and the coverthidden program (Jay, 2003). Official learning programs and textbooks serve as a tool in the hands of the governing regime to imbibe values of loyalty to the homeland and to legitimize the existing political and social order (Apple & Christian, 1991).

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In the Arab education system in the State of Israel, teachers are forbidden to discuss political subjects that could arouse national feelings among the students; the state expects teachers to suppress any tendency to reinforce national identity among the students, to educate them according to the spirit of Israeli citizenship (Crossley & Tikly, 2004). Meanwhile, the Arab teachers’ own community expects schools to educate pupils according to Arab national values and culture (Al Haj, 2005). The demand of their own community is supported by an international convention that Israel endorsed and that grants the Palestinian Arab minority the right to realize their collective rights and primarily to maintain the characteristics of their culture and national identity (Agbaria et al., 2015). These conflicting expectations prompt Arab teachers to avoid discussion of current and political issues. Some scholars believe that the motivation for this is the economic dependence of the Palestinian Arab minority on the Jewish majority (Ghanem, 2001; Khoury et al., 2013); while Agbaria (2010) argues that the reason is the lack of proper and effective training for the teachers so that they can discuss national issues. Notably, Williamson (2014) suggests that activities and media of the “third sector” should be enlisted in order to articulate the voice of the “other”, and to assist the development of new political thinking in schools. “National identity” is defined in various ways. Jiang (2006) defines national identity as a feeling of belonging to an imagined community whose participants have certain basic characteristics such as a homeland, shared historic memories and a public culture, while Smith (1991) stressed that the culture is a major component in national identity. Different definitions challenge teachers when teaching their students national values (Chong, 2012). The Palestinian Arab minority in Israel mainly defines its identity in two dimensions, national-cultural and civil, and the national element generally supersedes the civil element in their identity (Khoury et al., 2013).

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In order to reinforce national identity among its citizens, the nation state constructs and develops collective memory in the form of a designed narrative, with certain key images and symbols from a common past (Connerton, 1989). The main strategy is the organization of national memorial ceremonies that embody the fundamental principles of the nation and constitute an emotional experience that stimulates the commitment of individuals towards the nation to which they belong (Smith, 1991). Over the years, and in different ways, an attack was waged on the collective memory of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel and their national identity symbols, by excluding Palestinian Arab culture from public arenas (Agbaria et al., 2015). This memory is composed of fundamental events that took place since the establishment of the state, such as “Nakhba Day”, which is seen as a day of mourning in the Palestinian Arab nation, the day commemorating the tragedy of the overnight ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian community, when most were forced to flee and were exiled (Ghanem, 2001). In schools it is forbidden by law to relate to the “Nakhba” (exile) or to note this day. Schools that breach this law may lose the budgetary support of the Treasury (Zaher, 2010). Other special days commemorate the “Kfar Kassem massacre” and “Land Day” that was a decisive point in the struggle of the Palestinian Arabs against the appropriation of their lands and the beginning of their organized resistance (Khoury et al., 2013). This latter mentioned is a day that symbolizes the affiliation of this minority with the land, reinforcing their patriotic feelings and national identity. The “1st October, 2000” was added to this list of special days to commemorate the day when armed Israeli police used gunfire to disperse a Palestinian Arab demonstration and thirteen Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel were killed. Methodology In order to identify principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of education for national identity and the coping strategies they adopt to deal with national identity education, we chose qualitative research methodology (Bryman, 2012), employing a collective case study

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that would examine a collection of specific cases, and enable us to learn about common experiences. We conducted semi-structured interviews which included two parts: (1) 17 questions on the research issue and (2) the demographic characteristics of the interviewees. Research procedure and data analysis Ten schools were chosen randomly to represent elementary and high schools in the Arab education system in Israel. Seven school principals consented to participate. Each principal was asked to suggest four teachers from their school whom they felt were knowledgeable about the research topic (mainly humanistic studies teachers). We then interviewed two of the suggested teachers and the principal from each school, to provide a picture of the studied topic in the school, cross-checking data from the teachers with data obtained from the principal. The interviews with principals and teachers were conducted by the second author from February to June 2014 in the schools. Each interview lasted from one to one and a half hours. Each interviewee received an explanation of the objective of the study and was assured anonymity and consensual participation; they were able to terminate the interview if they chose to. Interview questions included, for example: “How do you as a Palestinian Arab principal in the State of Israel cope with issues of national identity and your commitment to the instructions of the Ministry of Education?” “What are the different activities that you suggest should be conducted in Arab schools in order to maintain and reinforce students’ Palestinian identity?” “Is it the school’s role to conduct this activity?” “What difference is there between the values acquired through a covert or an overt learning program?” etc. The interviews were conducted in Arabic, recorded and transcribed, and then their content was analyzed according to the guidelines of content analysis. Initially, each text was read straight through in order to enable the voices of the interviewees to be heard, and subsequently the data were analyzed by identifying units of meaning and categories and then

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dividing them into themes, as they emerged from the words of the interviewees (Marshall & Rossman, 2012). The qualitative method chosen for data collection and analysis reinforces the reliability and validity of the emergent data (Yin, 1989). Following the data analysis, a summarizing model was constructed to present the correlations between the different categories (See Figure 1, p. 19). As the study was based on a small sample from a specific group of school principals and teachers, the reader should be aware of the limited generalization of the findings to other social arenas. The applicability of the findings and conclusions to other circumstances is left to the reader's discretion. Table 1 below presents the research participants’ biographical data. Table 1: The characteristics of the interviewees (one principal and two teachers from each school)

Fictive name

Role

Age

1. Ahmed

High school principal Arabic teacher & coordinator Civics teacher & coordinator High school principal Arabic teacher Arabic teacher /Social studies coordinator Elementary school principal Educational counselor Music teacher /Social studies coordinator High school principal Arabic teacher & Coordinator

50

Years of experience in teaching 29

51

25

42

13

43

20

27 34

5 10

60

38

42

16

38

18

58

37

60

39

2. Amer 3. Amera 4. Khalil 5. Nidal 6. Khawla

7. Sami 8. Sinaa 9. Samar

10. Hossam 11. Hatim

9

Years of experience in management 7

10

17

9

12. Hassan 13. Mohamed 14. Mona

15. Mansour

16. Samera 17. Samah 18. Aber 19. Muwafaq 20. Anan 21. Yuosef

teacher & coordinator Elementary school principal Special education /Educational counselor Arabic teacher /Educational counselor Junior high school principal Civics teacher Arabic teacher High school principal Arabic teacher Civics teacher

56

30

53

31

33

11

35

11

47

25

7

47 41 37

24 18 14

2

49 48

26 22

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There were a total of 21 interviewees including seven principals (six male and one female) with 2-7 years’ experience in management. Additionally, in each school, in addition to the principal we chose another two teachers for the interviews, thus in total 14 teachers were interviewed (7 males and 7 females). The teachers’ years of teaching experience ranged from 5-39 years.

Findings The research findings revealed three main themes relating to the principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of, and strategies for coping with national identity education. These were: perceptions of Ministry of Education policies; the school’s policies and the school’s activities for education for national identity. 1. Perceptions of Ministry of Education policies With regard to Ministry of Education policy concerning education for national identity among the Palestinian Arab minority, Abu Saad et al. (2000) found that Ministry of Education textbooks, especially in Civics programs strive to imprint the character of the state 10

as a Jewish and democratic state (Ibid.; Agbaria, 2010; Author, 2012). Analysis of the interviews significantly sharpened the vision that the State of Israel is primarily a Jewish state. Hassan, a Civics teacher explained: The state is defined as Jewish and democratic,[however] there is a [democratic] law of equality that forbids discrimination between people on the basis of nationality and the definition of the state contains discrimination, so there is no democracy. In addition to the definition of the state, its symbols such as the national anthem and the flag, do not constitute a source for identification for the Palestinian Arab minority within the state. Sami, an elementary school principal explained: We cannot identify with the state symbols, so when I was appointed as school principal, the first thing that I did was to compose a school anthem and a flag with a symbol. Hassan’s words reinforce the need for education regarding symbols, simultaneously criticizing and rejecting the civil symbols of the state of Israel that fail to serve as a source for identification with the state for its Palestinian Arab citizens. The laws of the State of Israel reflect the definition of the state as a state for the Jewish people, and there is no room for any narrative other than the Jewish narrative (Author, 2015). A striking example of this is the “Nakhba Law” (Zaher, 2010). This law permits discrimination and exclusion of the Palestinian Arab minority narrative from the cultural sphere and contradicts the democratic character that was included in the original definition of the state. This contradiction was not overlooked in our research findings. Khalil, a high school principal explained: If the Minister does not permit us to talk about the Nakhba then where is democracy? This prohibition puts the Palestinian minority in the margins.

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It should be stressed that in addition to the difficulties posed by the definition of the state and discriminatory laws, the teacher is a state employee, who receives compulsory instructions from the Ministry of Education through its General Manager’s Directives that they are required to implement. These instructions are restrictive and constitute a difficult challenge for Arab teachers, especially when there is a contradiction between them and the attitudes prevalent in their society. The strength of the dilemma is evident from the words of Khawla, a social studies coordinator: I have to conform to and obey the instructions even if I am not convinced. After all I am a state employee and if I do not accept the instructions of the Ministry then I may be punished by being summoned to a clarification, to the disciplinary committee and I can even be suspended. The findings show that the principals and teachers are aware of the dilemma posed by these government instructions and try to conform to them when conducting activities to reinforce national identity in the school, because of the consequences that might ensue if they did not do so. Ministry of Education policies also constitute the encompassing outline for school policies and activities that are derived from them, as shown in the next section. 2. School policies and national education School policies concerning education for national identity are influenced by different stakeholders, ideologies and often contradicting interests (Crossley & Tikly, 2004). The research findings yielded two noticeable sub-categories regarding the interviewees’ thoughts on school policies towards education for national identity. The first related to the “school as an institution” and the second related to “the principal and teachers as individuals”. The findings show that the Arab school’s institutional policies, concerning education for national identity are influenced by three main factors: (1) Ministry of Education instructions, (2) Arab society’s social consciousness regarding national issues and (3)

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learning programs. In addition on special occasions and in special circumstances the school receives specific instructions concerning the procedure to be followed on a particular day, for example on “Land Day” or “1st October”. All the interviewees noted that these ministry instructions were obligatory. Ahmed, a high school principal, related to his obligation towards the Ministry’s instructions: I receive the Ministry of Education instructions; I am obliged to obey them. There was one government instruction that the teachers especially noted: the obligation to come to school on “Land Day”, when the Follow-up Committee on Arab Education (representatives of the Arab community) declares a general strike. Sami, an elementary school principal noted: According to the Ministry instructions for Land Day, teachers have to come to school and on that day the supervisors make sure to call each school in their areas of jurisdiction and ask for a report on the teachers’ attendance. This enforcement of attendance at school puts the teachers in an embarrassing situation. The teacher Khawla explained: On Land Day I have to come to school. We come because we have to and it is very difficult. In parallel to the Ministry of Education directives the school receives instruction from the “Supreme Follow-up Committee of the Arabs in Israel” and the “Follow-up Committee on Arab Education” through the local Arab governments, which usually contradict the directives of the ministry. Both sides try to influence the character of political education in the school and to outline policies from a political aspect. Usually principals tend to follow the ministry’s directives, and even ignore the instructions from the followup committees.

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Mona, the educational counselor in an elementary school, raised another issue, the fact that the principals sometimes conceal the materials sent by the Follow-up Committee from the teachers. She explained: I also know that the Follow-up Committee sent materials relating to contemporary issues but the principals don’t always tell us that the materials have arrived or distribute them. Apart from the Ministry of Education directives and in parallel the instructions of the Follow-up Committee, the school is also fed by the society in which it resides. Thus the society’s consciousness regarding national and political issues gives its tone to school policies on these matters. The principal Khalil explained how he copes with these conflicting expectations: On the one hand I am required to work as a local government worker and to obey the call to strike, while on the other hand the school supervisor asked me to open the school and to compel the teachers to arrive. When I agreed to follow the request of the local government I found myself summoned for a hearing in the office of the Regional Manager [of the Ministry of Education]. The society’s consciousness: the state of consciousness in Arab society influences the way in which the school copes with national issues and this is reflected in the school in the work of the parents’ committee and/or the students’ council. The research findings proved that Arab society’s consciousness has a very strong influence on the shaping and fostering of the students’ national identity. This consciousness constitutes an essential factor in the preparation of the younger generation; this is the consciousness of people, who for years have internalized values that reinforce and foster their national identity. The words of the principal Khalil support this assertion:

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I think that consciousness regarding these issues within the family has the greatest influence, because the student lives in this atmosphere and internalizes its values. This consciousness inspires the students and in the school an active students’ council becomes a legitimate and important partner for the school management in noting days of national importance. Ahmed, a high school principal described the students’ council in his school: They are a very active council, if I do not conduct activity to commemorate something with national importance, then the students’ council expresses disagreement. It therefore seems that the students suggest, plan and dictate activities for the school. The source of these initiatives seems to stem from the level of consciousness in the students’ society and family. When there is a lack of consciousness concerning national issues in the family, teachers believe that the school should play a role in filling this vacuum. When Khawla, a social studies coordinator, was asked whether this should be a role for the school, she responded: Yes I believe that this is a role for the school, not all the students have families who are conscious of these matters. We identified two discourses in the school, the official (overt) discourse and the subdiscourse (covert) (Jay, 2003). We found that the official overt learning program ignores the values and contents embodied in the Palestinian Arab national identity. Thus, the teachers have developed many methods to reinforce their students’ national identity in an indirect manner, through covert learning programs. Hatim, a high school Arabic teacher described the method that he has adopted in order to foster his students’ national identity by exploiting the official learning program:

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According to the new learning program it is possible to study several works by different Palestinian authors and poets and this can be used to learn about our history and to educate for national identity. The teachers did not have any uniform consideration concerning the connection between the overt and covert learning programs. Some of them argued that there is no contradiction between the two programs and that one complements the other, while others stressed the contradiction between them. Khalil, a high school principal, argued that there was no contradiction and that the two programs could be integrated one with the other on every subject and in every discipline, depending on the interpretation that they were given: The internal arrangement in school does not contradict the general arrangement, but is derived from it, there is a harmony between things. We determine the covert contents, according to logic and the interpretation that we give to the overt learning contents.

In contrast to Khalil, there were some teachers who defined the relation between the two programs as contradicting. According to Hatim, an Arabic teacher: There is undoubtedly a contradiction between the two programs, the overt learning program reflects the official policies that are not interested in emphasizing values relating to [our] national identity, and in parallel our covert learning program does the opposite, at every opportunity we try to stress those values. Personal consciousness: The research findings highlight the duality in the teachers’ consideration of the dilemma of education for national identity. On the one hand they explained what was expected from them and how they acted as an educational institute, while on the other hand they expressed their feelings and attitudes on this matter as individuals,

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who in most cases are not content with what they are doing in practice and have difficulty doing it. In this theme three sub-categories emerged: the principals’ and teachers’ definition of national identity, their attitudes towards performance of activities in school and the feelings that arose when marking or ignoring subjects or commemorative days with national significance. The teachers related to their definitions of national identity, to their sense of belonging to the Arab nation and the Palestinian people and also considered the civil dimension of their identity (Khoury et al., 2013). Mohamed, an elementary school principal defined his identity: I am an Arab, a Palestinian, a resident of the State of Israel, This is how I define my identity according to that order. I belong especially to those first two circles.

Thus too, Nidal, an Arabic teacher, defined himself as a Palestinian Arab, and added that Israeli identity was imposed upon him: I am primarily a Palestinian Arab person, who lives in the State of Israel, a reality enforced upon me and that I did not choose. The existence of these two identity components, national and civil, among the Arab principals and teachers, in addition to their being state employees who are obliged to perform its policies, influences their attitudes regarding the performance of activities that foster their students’ national identity. This complex identity perception guides the attitudes of the principals and teachers, so that they support and encourage the performance of activities that promote education for national identity, but had several reservations regarding the character and the planning and performance of these programs. Khalil, the high school principal explained:

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We are at the margins [of Israeli society] and this obliges us to guard our values more strongly and not to assimilate into Jewish society, and this is the role of the family, the school and Arab society in general. The research findings show a gap between the declarative level and the operative level. All the interviewees expressed support for the performance of activities that would advance education for national identity, something that is not reflected to the same extent in the operative level and a significant number of the teachers ignore this issue, even if the activity is formally authorized, legal and ready and only needs the preparation of a class program. Mohamed, the elementary school principal said: When I ask the teachers to talk about subjects or days of [Palestinian Arab] significance, not everyone talks about them in the classes. Perhaps they lack consciousness of our history, or they are apathetic, perhaps they are not interested or do not know. There is another factor for this behavior and this is a lack of suitable training for the teachers concerning the best way to conduct a discussion on national and political issues (Agbaria, 2010). This factor emerged from the response of Mona, an educational counselor when she was asked whether she had been trained to deal with national subjects in the teacher-education college: Not at all. We never touched on national subjects, how to cope with them and how to teach those contents. The situation that faces the principals and teachers stimulates many different, mostly negative feelings that accompany them when coping with the dilemma of national identity while affiliated with two contradicting circles. When the interviewees were asked about their feelings when they experience the extent and depth of the dilemma due to their affiliation to

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the Palestinian Arab minority and also simultaneously their responsibility and duty towards the Ministry of Education, they expressed feelings such as: Humiliation, a sense of insult, fear, inferiority etc. These feelings are augmented on days with national significance such as "Land Day". Sami, the elementary school principal related to his own feelings: We have mixed feelings, a sense of offense and humiliation that we have to come to school to work on such a day and we are clearly seen as out of line, exceptional, we are seen as disrespectful collaborators. An additional feeling that emerged from the findings was fear. Principals and teachers fear discussion on national issues because they may be punished for it if it is interpreted as incitement, so they prefer to ignore these issues. Nidal, a high school Arabic teacher noted this feeling: I am the only one in school that relates to the subject (1st October) in the classes and all the other teachers seem to think its nothing, a normal day from their point of view. There are some who are afraid. Amera, a Civics teacher concurred with Nidal: The source of the fear is the concern for their income. On the one hand the substance of the Civics discipline involves the discussion of national and political issues, yet on the other hand the Ministry of Education policies towards Arab education, allow only limited freedom of expression and state laws such as the Nakhba Law prohibit and hinder discussion. Other interviewees mentioned fear that other teachers or students would inform on them. Samah, a Civics teacher said: The fear that people will inform on you overcomes you, you cannot know who is recording you or whether they will pass on what you said in their own version.

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Muwafaq, the principal of a high school summarized: Fear is a major factor in the teachers’ avoidance of discussion of these issues. The research findings show that the teachers are afraid to teach national issues because of the possible reaction of the Ministry of Education and also because they feel humiliated and insulted. This complex situation has led the principals and teachers to try to develop legitimate strategies and activities to enable them to deal with national and political issues and to foster a sense of national identity in their students, without this being considered as incitement.

3. School activities for education for national identity This category is divided into two sub-categories, focused, specific activities for particular commemorative days and suggestions for activities that in the opinion of the principals and the teachers can be used to foster the students’ national identity. Commemorative days: The Palestinian people have several historic days with national significance, from “Nakhba Day” to “1st October”. Some of the interviewees drew a distinction between “Nakhba Day” and the other commemorative days, due to the Nakhba Law that prohibits institutions funded by the state from commemorating this day (Zaher, 2010). Mohamed, an elementary school principal said: We have never held activities for Nakhba Day because there is a law prohibiting this, but on other days such as Land Day or 1st October we talk about their significance in the classes.

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Some of the schools prepare for the activities in an organized manner, they plan a work program, choose contents and discuss this in assembly and the teachers’ commitment to perform the program is very high. The participation by everyone in the planning gives the teachers a sense of confidence, as Sanaa, an educational counselor explained: We plan the activities together, especially with regard to national issues, so that if there is a problem then the entire staff will be responsible and not just the steering team, its not as if it were a matter of just one teacher A small proportion of the school representatives who participated in the research told us about activities that had been performed in their schools, which had drawn the consideration and intervention of the Ministry of Education. One of these had been a commemorative ceremony for Nakhba Day which led to the principal being summoned to a clarification because of non-maintenance of a balance in the presentation of the subject. As a result, the principal became more cautious and reserved. The principal Ahmed spoke about his experience in this context: In the first year when I conducted an activity to commemorate Nakhba Day, I invited guests who are Knesset members with varied political views, but they were all Arabs. The problem was that I needed to invite someone from the other side. If I had made such a balance there wouldn’t have been a problem. In contrast, there are principals whose strategy involved the use of the local government or the parents’ committee who initiated the national activity under their own responsibility to avoid confrontation between the Ministry of Education and the principal or the teachers for performance of an unauthorized activity. Sami, the principal of an elementary school said:

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If the local government conduct an activity with the parents’ committee for the whole village, then the principal can participate and all the students can participate and the school remains outside the picture and is not responsible. In addition to the regular authorized activities that the teachers perform in the schools, they suggested a wide variety of activities that in their opinion could serve education for national identity. Some of these activities take place in the classes or for the entire school. Some of the interviewees preferred to share these activities with the local government or the parents’ committee. Mohamed, a high school principal provided a range of suggestions for activities that could indirectly reinforce the students’ national identity: We could present a play about the history of our village, or organize trips to visit historical sites that are significant for Palestinians or Palestinian villages, to get to know our homeland. Using the activities that were suggested above, the principals and teachers can, in their opinion, impart unique values to Arab society in Israel either directly or indirectly and most importantly, without disrupting the existing balance between their different commitments. Figure 1 below outlines the model of the research findings. [Place Figure 1 about here] Discussion and Conclusions The purpose of the research was to explore principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of education for national identity and to identify the coping strategies of Arab school principals and teachers in Israel when dealing with the dilemma of education for national identity,

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overshadowed by a dual commitment, affiliation with the Palestinian Arab minority and subordination to the Israeli Ministry of Education. The model presented in Figure 1 above summarizes the research findings and illustrates the connections between them. The Arab school is situated at the focal point of the educational arena, with regard to nationality and values. Formal and informal stakeholders influence it and take part in the creation of its policies, especially with regard to education for national identity. These stakeholders hold contradicting interests and this makes the daily coping of Arab principals and teachers extremely difficult (Al Haj, 2005). Formal stakeholders permit the formation of a civil identity for Arab students, when they accept the status quo: the definition of the state as Jewish and democratic and in parallel suppression of any expression of Palestinian Arab national identity (Author, 2015; Crossley & Tikly, 2004). In contrast, informal stakeholders expect the school to educate their children according to the values of Arab society, values that they themselves choose to impart to their children (Wood & Deprez, 2015), while giving emphasis to the Palestinian narrative, national identity components and their collective memory (Connerton, 1989), a demand legitimized by law (Agbaria et al., 2015). Coping with this dilemma over many years, and with the wisdom gained from experience, has led the principals and teachers to develop strategies to create a balance between the demands of both these groups of stakeholders. The research findings show that the principals and teacher cope with this complex reality in two dimensions. The first, the professional dimension, is represented by the school as an institution and the second, the personal dimension is represented by the principals and teachers as individuals. In the professional dimension their coping strategies stem from their recognition of the uniqueness of their status as an original indigenous population, and they see education for national identity as one of the main functions of the school (Author, 2015). For this reason they work together as a team to plan activities that can contribute to education

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for national identity and perform it while maintaining a balance, without transgressing the law or breaching the instructions of the Ministry of Education. They primarily stress the national Palestinian Arab aspects of their identity and only as a secondary element relate to their civil identity (Khoury et al., 2013). Most of them even add that their civil identity was imposed upon them (Jamal, 2009). Thus, they encourage the performance of activities that promote education for national identity out of a sense of commitment to the nation to which they belong (Jiang, 2006). However, they experience and express negative feelings with regard to the directives of the Ministry of Education and its policies towards the Arab schools and regarding their fostering of national identity (Author, 2015). These negative feelings include fear and a sense of insult that augment the strength of the dilemma that they face. The research findings revealed a broad range of motivating factors encouraging the teacher to initiate activities to foster the national identity of their students such as the teacher’s consciousness, their personal worldview and the extent to which the subject was important in their view (Chong, 2012). Another motivator is the consciousness of their society, especially in the villages that were the site of major historical events for the Palestinian Arab minority. This consciousness encourages education for national identity, justified by their legitimate legal rights (Al Haj, 2005; Agbaria et al., 2015). In parallel to motives that encourage this activity there are other factors that hinder the process such as the Nakhba Law (Zaher, 2010), and lack of suitable training for the teachers, sometimes leading teachers to totally ignore these subjects (Agbaria, 2010); and the restrictive Ministry of Education directives that cause the principals and teachers to fear to discuss national issues out of concern for their source of income, fearing that they will be excluded from the system (Ghanem, 2001; Khoury et al., 2013).

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Each of the stakeholders has a different reaction to the performance of activities that foster national identity in the school. The Ministry of Education criticizes activities of this kind and even sometimes forbids them, because they contradict its expectations from the Arab school (Zaher, 2010), while Arab society encourages these activities as they meet their expectations (Al Haj, 2005). This contradiction creates vagueness and inhibits any work to educate for national identity (Author, 2015). The research provides us with a window into the perceptions and strategies that Arab principals and teachers adopt in order to find some sort of equilibrium between their dual responsibilities and commitments. These include the performance of activities that contribute to the construction of collective memory (Connerton, 1989) through the commemoration of days with national significance , an activity that is mostly forbidden in school, with the assistance of outside entities such as the local government and parents’ committees (Williamson, 2014). And the main strategy is the exploitation of the official overt learning program in various disciplines to create another parallel and covert program, in addition to the exploitation of educational projects authorized by the Ministry of Education (Jay, 2003). Thus a large proportion of the activities are conducted according to the formal learning program throughout the year, exploiting these programs and linking them to Palestinian Arab national issues. Although these findings cannot be generalized, important insights that emerged from the findings can serve as cornerstones to advance education for national identity in Arab schools and to inform future research that will compare the issue of education for national identity in Israel’s two education systems: Jewish and Arab and in other indigenous minorities. Further research could also help to elucidate discrepancies in the consideration of the national identity and national narrative of different national groups and differences in the

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consideration of the “other” between the Jewish and Arab education systems, a matter especially important in a multicultural state. References Abu-Saad, I. (2006) State educational policy and curriculum: The case of Palestinian Arabs in Israel, International Education Journal, 7(5), 709–720. Agbaria, A. (2010) Civic education for the Palestinians in Israel: Dilemmas and challenges, in: H. Alexander, H. Pinson & Y. Yonah (Eds) Citizenship education and social conflict: New insights and lessons from Israel. (pp. 217-237) (New York, Routledge). Agbaria, A. K., Mustafa, M., & Jabareen, Y. T. (2015) ‘In your face’ democracy: Education for belonging and its challenges in Israel. British Educational Research Journal, 41(1), 143175. Al-Haj, M. (2005) National ethos, multicultural education, and the new history textbooks in Israel. Curriculum Inquiry, 35(1), 47-71. Apple M.K., & Christian-Smith, L.K. (Eds.) (1991) The politics of textbooks. (New-York, Routledge). Author (2012) Author (2015) Bryman, A. (2012) Social research methods (4th ed.).(UK, Oxford University Press). Chong, E. K. M. (2012) The perception and teaching of national identity and national education: Case studies of Hong Kong secondary school teachers, in: P. Cunningham & N. Fretwell (Eds), Creating Communities: Local, National and Global. (London, CiCe). Connerton, P. (1989) How societies remember. (UK, Cambridge University Press). Crossley, M., & Tikly, L. (2004) Postcolonial perspectives and comparative and international research in education: A critical introduction, Comparative Education, 40(2), 147–156.

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Ghanem, A. (2001) The Palestinian-Arab minority in Israel, 1948-2000: A political study. (New York, University Of New York). Jabareen, Y. T. (2006) Law and education critical perspectives on Arab Palestinian education in Israel. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(8), 1052-1074. Jabareen, Y.T. (2012) Towards a sustainability education framework: Challenges, concepts and strategies—The Contribution from Urban Planning Perspectives. Sustainability, 4(9), 2247-2269. Jamal, A. (2009) The Arab public sphere in Israel: Media space and cultural resistance. (Bloomington, Indiana University Press). Jay, M. (2003) Critical race theory, multicultural education, and the hidden curriculum of hegemony. Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education, 5(4), 3-9. Jiang, Y. H. (2006) Is Taiwan a nation? On the current debate over Taiwanese national identity and national recognition, in S.Y.S. Chien & J. Fitzgerald (Eds) The dignity of nations – Equality, competition, and honor in East Asian nationalism (pp. 141-163). (Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press). Khoury, L., Da'Na, S., & Abu-Saad, I. (2013) The dynamics of negation: identity formation among Palestinian Arab college students inside the green line. Social Identities, 19(1), 32-50. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2012) Designing qualitative research (2nd ed.). (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications). Morris, B. (2004) The birth of the Palestinian refugee problem revisited. (UK, Cambridge University Press). Nussbaum, M.C. (2010) Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press). Smith, A. D. (1991) National identity. (USA, University of Nevada Press).

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Smith, A. D. (2003) Chosen peoples: Sacred sources of national identity. (Oxford, Oxford University Press). Williamson, B. (2014) Mediating education policy: Making up the ‘anti-politics’ of thirdsector participation in public education. British Journal of Educational Studies, 62(1), 37-55. Wood, D. R., & Deprez, L. S. (2015) Re-imagining possibilities for democratic education: Generative pedagogies in service to the capability approach. Learning for Democracy, 5(3) 531. Yiftachel, O. (2006) Ethnocracy: Land and identity politics in Israel/Palestine. (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press). Yin, R. K. (1989) Case study research: Design and methods (applied social research methods). (CA, Sage Publications). Zaher, S. (2010) The prohibition on teaching the Nakba in the Arab education system in Israel. Available at: http://www.adalah.org/uploads/oldfiles/newsletter/eng/sep10/docs/Sawsan%20Nakba%20En glish%20final.pdf (accessed: 8th August 2015).

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Table 1: The characteristics of the interviewees (one principal and two teachers from each school)

Fictive name

Role

Age

22. Ahmed

High school principal Arabic teacher & coordinator Civics teacher & coordinator High school principal Arabic teacher Arabic teacher /Social studies coordinator Elementary school principal Educational counselor Music teacher /Social studies coordinator High school principal Arabic teacher & Coordinator teacher & coordinator Elementary school principal Special education /Educational counselor Arabic teacher /Educational counselor Junior high school principal Civics teacher Arabic teacher High school principal Arabic teacher

50

Years of experience in teaching 29

51

25

42

13

43

20

27 34

5 10

60

38

42

16

38

18

58

37

60

39

56

30

53

31

33

11

35

11

47

25

7

47 41 37

24 18 14

2

49

26

23. Amer 24. Amera 25. Khalil 26. Nidal 27. Khawla

28. Sami 29. Sinaa 30. Samar

31. Hossam 32. Hatim 33. Hassan 34. Mohamed 35. Mona

36. Mansour

37. Samera 38. Samah 39. Aber 40. Muwafaq 41. Anan

29

Years of experience in management 7

10

17

9

10

42. Yuosef

48

Civics teacher

30

22