This study explores how Arab teacher educators in Israel worked to nurture Arab student teachers' identities and their commitment to social activism. The research questions are: What actions were taken? And what effects did these actions have? The questions are significant in view of the European Commission’s (2017) recommendations for preparing prospective teachers to deal with diversity, and teachers’ needs for professional development in providing high quality education to diverse learners (OECD, 2019; 2019). This study may be relevant to other teacher educating institutions who wish to promote civic engagement among students of marginalized groups.

Education can have an important role in promoting equity and social justice. Through education, members of marginalized groups gain awareness of their identities and the forces that shape the society in which they live (Freire, 1970; Banks, 2017). Teachers can encourage political activism in an effort to transform discriminatory conditions and practices (Banks, 2017), but to do so, they must be well-educated. Therefore, teacher education has a significant role in counteracting marginalization and discrimination, and encouraging civic engagement (Bartolomé, 2004).

The focus of this study is a multifaceted service-learning program that was developed by a group of Arab teacher educators in Israel in order to enhance student teachers’ civic engagement and nurture their personal, professional and national identities.  

Service learning is a pedagogical method that combines community service with students’ academic learning (Salam, Iskandar, Ibrahim & Farooq, 2019). During service learning, prospective teachers develop appreciative attitudes toward cultural diversity that will help them support the maintenance and further development of minority groups’ cultural identities and heritages (Bartolomé, 2004; Ladson-Billings, 1995). In Addition, experiences gained through service learning can increase student teachers’ willingness to become politically involved. 

In Israel, approximately 74% of the population are Hebrew-speaking Jews and 21% are Arabs (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2019). There are significant differences between the Arab minority and the Jewish majority in terms of educational achievements, employment, living conditions, and economical status (Weiss, 2019). The Israeli education system is segregated. Jewish pupils study in schools where the language of instruction is Hebrew, whereas most Arab pupils study in Arabic speaking schools. The Hebrew speaking schools' curriculum nurtures Jewish nationality, whereas in the Arabic speaking schools there is a constant denial of the social, cultural and national uniqueness of the Arab society (Agbaria, 2015; Pinson, 2020). This denial stands in contrast to international standards such as the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN, 2007) and Israel's State Education Law from 1953,  and the amendment to this law in 2000, article 2(11) (Agabaria 2015, Jabareen and Agbaria 2017).

In 2015, a committee that was appointed by the Israeli Ministry of Education identified four main challenges in Arab teacher education: 1. lack of academic skills, 2. low quality of field experience and pedagogical supervision, 3. low level of proficiency in Arabic, 4. lack of knowledge related to societal issues and cultural heritage, and blurred professional and ethnic identities. These conclusions triggered the initiation of the "Etgarim" ("Challenges") project aimed at dealing with these four issues. The project was launched in ten academic teacher colleges that serve Arab student teachers. All the participating colleges appointed teacher educators to be in charge of each of the four issues (theme coordinators). Additionally, a college supervisor was nominated to be responsible for the entire project. Together, they formed five inter-institutional professional learning communities (PLCs): one college supervisors’ PLC and four themed PLCs - one for each issue (Wenger-Trayner, Fenton-O’Creevy, Hutchison, Kubiak & Wenger-Trayner, 2015).

This paper examines the actions of one of these communities, which dealt with "Society, Culture and Identity" (SCI).

This is a mixed method study (Plano Clark and Creswell, 2008). The qualitative part comprises interviews with SCI coordinators and college supervisors. Data for the quantitative part was obtained through a survey. Data sources: Interviews: We interviewed all 10 SCI theme coordinators who participated in the SCI PLC. In addition, we interviewed all 10 college supervisors who participated in the college supervisors’ PLC. The SCI theme coordinators were asked to describe their actions and the challenges they had to overcome, whereas the supervisors were asked about the impact the project had on the students in their respective colleges. Survey: The survey participants consist of two student cohorts: 900 first-year graduates (the study group) who answered the survey at the end of the year, and 786 first year students who were not yet exposed to the project (the comparison group). The comparison group answered the survey at the beginning of their studies. Scholarships were awarded to 421 students in the study group for their service, and 110 students in the comparison group were expected to receive a scholarship later that year, once they began their service. The survey asked the participants about their level of agreement with different reasons for volunteering. Agreement was interpreted as an indication of pro-civic engagement attitudes. Principal Component Factor analysis resulted in 5 factors explaining 54.94% of the variance: 1. socio-cultural and altruistic reasons (6 items), 2. a desire to bring about societal change (4 items), 3. personal and professional reasons (4 items), 4. political reasons (4 items), and 5. objections to volunteering (6 items). Procedure: The first author was the PLC's facilitator. She began conducting the study after she left her position as PLC facilitator. We obtained informed consent from all of the PLC participants' to participate, as well as the Institute's IRB approval. The second author (who was unfamiliar to the participants) conducted the interviews. These were transcribed, retaining the interviewees' anonymity. Data Analysis: We used thematic analysis to analyze the interviews. Although thematic analysis is often performed as a component of other qualitative research methods, it can also be viewed as a research method in its own right that is particularly suitable for an inductive and exploratory study of individuals’ experiences and the meanings they assign to them (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Two-way ANOVA was used to examine the program and the scholarships’ effects on students’ attitudes toward volunteering.

The interviewees believe that prior to the project, student teachers lacked knowledge and interest in their cultural heritage and current society. They think that such limitations impede students’ abilities to educate the next generation. To respond to these challenges, SCI theme coordinators devised academic courses that dealt with societal, cultural, historical, and civic issues, and stimulated critical discussions of power relations within Israeli society (Freire, 1970). Furthermore, they dealt with sensitive, taboo, and contested issues within Arab society, such as discrimination against women and the exclusion of individuals with special needs, thus practicing transformative citizenship (Banks, 2017). The SCI theme coordinators provided student teachers with opportunities for service learning programs according to the needs of the sites where the students volunteered and to students’ areas of interest and abilities. Student teachers who chose to participate received academic and emotional support in college workshops. The availability of scholarships provided them with financial support. The survey found that on a scale from 1 -5 the students’ levels of agreement with different reasons for volunteering ranged from moderate to high. The levels of agreement with reasons to volunteer among first-year graduates who were exposed to the project were higher than those of beginning students who did not expect a scholarship. The scholarships increased beginning student teachers’ willingness to volunteer, but had no effect on first-year graduates. It seems that exposure to the project strengthened students’ intrinsic motivations to volunteer and reduced the power of monetary reward. SCI theme coordinators and college supervisors believe that the project succeeded in changing students’ attitudes and civic identities. Some students continued volunteering even after their formal service learning was over. It is suggested that additional teacher educators take part in this effort to strengthen the message that civic engagement is inseparable from the professional duties of educators.

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