Abstract

Israel is a multi- ethnic society comprised of ethnic and cultural groupings. It is characterized by on-going conflict between ethnic groups. Nowadays, cultural awareness is one of the most important skills for teachers, especially in this era of multi-ethnicity. Preparing teachers for coping with a dynamic, multicultural and intercultural awareness is important (Yang, 2011). Therefore, students are expected to speak different languages and exhibit good communication skills as well as multicultural competencies. For this to happen, teachers must be equipped with global awareness, cultural competencies while being involved in holistic learning and community collaboration (Darling-Hammond, 2006).

Although multicultural education is very crucial for multi-ethnic systems, Israeli education system is divided into four sub-systems according to nationality, ethnic group and religion: state education, state Jewish religious education, ultra-orthodox Jewish education and the Arab education system (Gibton, 2011). Each of these subsystems has an independent pedagogic administration which focuses on knowing its own culture except for the Arab education system which is subordinate for both administration and pedagogy to the state education system and situated at the margins of that system. Hence multicultural education has yet to permeate the education system to any significant depth (Appiah, 2005; Banting & Kymlicka, 2006). Israel’s education system encourages a multicultural education that is particularistic (Paul-Binyamin & Reingold, 2014).

Israeli higher education is often the first chance for Jews and Arabs to engage in a meaningful intercultural encounter (Arar & Massry-Herzallah, 2017; Arar & Ibrahim, 2016; Banting & Kymlicka, 2006; Bowen, 2007). However, for the Arab students at the college where the present research took place, their first intercultural encounter was during their training in a Jewish Israeli school. The aim of having the training at a Jewish school was for students to meet Jewish people, to promote social and cultural connections, to strengthen values such as acceptance, to improve teaching skills and the students’ sense of efficacy, and to give students confidence to teach in another sector, specifically the Jewish sector.

Most research on intercultural encounters focuses on students’ encounters with other cultures in their disciplinary subject courses. Prior studies have thoroughly studied training in schools in general, or the benefits of PDS (Professional Development School). So far none have examined the way training as part of a PDS program affects the perceptions of Arab students who did their training in Jewish schools. The following study, for the first time, examines the contribution of an Arab teachers training program in Israel to changing students’ perceptions and attitudes, their willingness to adopt and implement multicultural education. This contributes to the body of knowledge about cross-boundary training in teacher education institutions, and the methods of

changing Arab students’ perceptions and attitudes towards having their training in Jewish schools, which resembles other global minorities encounters with majority through multicultural education and alignment.

Besides theoretical contribution, this research also offers practical innovation which highlights the importance of integrating student teachers in teaching in a different ethnic group as a means of improving their readiness and ability to cope with challenges in education in the twenty-first century, changing reality, as well as to foster social and emotional skills and a personal and professional identity while encountering different ethnic reality. The student teachers will thus be trained to cope with challenges while applying multi-cultural pedagogies that opens the gate for a dialogue.

Thus, the study examined Arab students’ perceptions of their training experiences from different angles: students’ perceptions of factors affecting their placement experience (e.g., influence of pedagogic supervisor), how training affected factors linked to its success (e.g., better Hebrew skills, knowledge about Jewish culture).

Methods Section The study employed the qualitative research approach and included qualitative data collection methods: in-depth interviews with students and reflective writing. Qualitative research was used as a means to broaden and deepen our knowledge of this little-known subject. The goal of the personal interviews, which employed the guided and focused interview approach, was to explore questions that cannot be investigated using closed questions. By using qualitative research tools, the researcher could investigate the dilemmas that students faced and reflect the process that they experienced from their perspective. It also enabled recurring phenomenon to be exposed and for the researcher to confirm that student meanings were understood, thereby ensuring a high degree of research reliability. The interviews were also recorded in order to strengthen research validity and reliability and assure accuracy in the response analysis (Stake, 2005). Research Population The participants consisted of thirteen second-year student teachers from an Arab teacher training college in Israel, who were specializing in teaching English in junior high schools. The students had all been through the Arab education system. They were Israeli born and their ages ranged from 20–30. Two of the teachers interviewed were men and the rest were women. Research Tools The research tools included: in-depth interviews with the students and analyzing their reflective writing. The source of each item was documented carefully during data collection. A. In-depth interviews: Interviews were semi-structured interviews which were guided and focused. In the interviews the interviewer was attentive to the opinions of the interviewees and enabled them to expand on what they considered significant subjects, to clarify their responses, and help them stay focused. Although the interviewer has a controlling function, he also allows interviewees to express themselves freely in order to invite new revelations (Creswell, 2007; Marshall, & Rossman. 2012). The interviews took place at the beginning and end of the training year. B. Reflective writing: The students were asked to write reflectively during their training year in the Jewish schools and describe their feelings and their professional and personal and experiences. Their writings were analyzed according to the principles of qualitative analysis (Stake, 2005). Data Analysis The aim of the qualitative data analysis was to identify themes in the interviews and reflective texts. The interviewees’ responses to each interview question and the written reflections were analyzed and processed using coding.

Conclusions In this study, the Arab students were conscious of the advantages of doing their training in Jewish schools. They see it as a strategic move, which gives them an advantage compared to those who only had training in Arab schools. The students regarded the training as an opportunity to develop professionally and personally, and as a vehicle for social mobility and raising their economic status. The school and the pedagogic supervisor were agents of socialization and change, as a result of which the students felt that they benefited from their training. It allowed them to improve their Hebrew, make discoveries about Jewish society, and learn new teaching methods leading to better integration in the job market. The study also found that the Arab students perceived having training in the Jewish sector as a valuable strategic move owing to the complex situation in Israel while enabling Arab teachers future integration in the Jewish education system, and meeting its teacher's shortage. Furthermore, these findings, which can contribute to other multi-ethnic societies and intercultural education, support the conclusions of other studies that emphasize the importance of cross-cultural partnership between academy and K-12 education in shaping future teachers and students identity and strengthening their sense of professional and personal efficacy as well as the responsibility of the school when hosting training students from a different sector of the population (e.g. Arar & Taysum, 2019; Duan, Sheeran & Weiss, 2015; Mor & Reichel, 2016).

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