This study addresses the role of language education in shaping students’ critical socio-political awareness in contexts characterized by inequality, power asymmetries, and contested identities. Specifically, it examines the extent to which Arabic language textbooks used in Arab schools in Israel support the development of critical socio-political literacy, understood as students’ capacity to question power relations, recognize ideological positioning in texts, and connect language learning to civic participation and social justice (Haj Yahya & Majadly, 2025).

The study is situated within the broader field of critical pedagogy, which conceptualizes education as an inherently political practice rather than a neutral or purely technical endeavor (Freire, 1970; McLaren, 2003). From this perspective, curricula and educational materials function as sites where dominant ideologies may either be reproduced or challenged. Language education, in particular, plays a central role in mediating identity, belonging, and access to civic voice, especially for students from marginalized communities (Haj Yahya & Abu-Baker, 2023; Majadly & Haj Yahya, 2024).

The conceptual framework of the study integrates three interrelated theoretical strands. First, critical pedagogy provides the foundation for analyzing how schooling may enable or constrain learners’ agency, critical consciousness, and civic positioning. Second, critical literacy (Janks, 2014) operationalizes this perspective by focusing on how texts position readers, whose voices are included or excluded, and how language encodes relations of power, normativity, and legitimacy. Third, Bourdieu’s (1991) theory of symbolic power informs the analysis of language as a form of capital that structures recognition, authority, and social mobility. Together, these frameworks allow for a multidimensional examination of textbooks as ideological artifacts that shape students’ understandings of society, power, and participation.

Empirically, the study analyzes Al-Arabiyya Lughatuna, the state-approved Arabic textbook series used for teaching Arabic as a mother tongue from Grades 1 to 12 in Arab schools in Israel. Although official curricular documents emphasize values such as equality, dialogue, and civic responsibility, previous research has questioned whether Arabic language education meaningfully engages with Arab students’ lived realities, including discrimination, marginalization, and contested national identity. This study examines how these tensions are reflected in the textbooks themselves.

Using qualitative content analysis, 293 texts across 16 textbooks were examined. Each text was analyzed using a structured rubric that assessed four dimensions central to critical socio-political literacy: (1) promotion of critical thinking, (2) representation of power relations, (3) diversity of perspectives, and (4) relevance to students’ socio-political context. This approach enabled a systematic comparison across grade levels and genres, while also attending to developmental progression and pedagogical coherence.

The research is guided by the following questions:
(1) To what extent do Arabic language textbooks in Arab schools include content that supports critical socio-political literacy?
(2) How are issues of power, justice, diversity, and civic participation represented across educational stages?
(3) Do the textbooks encourage critical inquiry and multiple perspectives, or do they reproduce dominant and depoliticized discourses?

Beyond the Israeli context, the study contributes to European and international debates on minority education, social justice, and intercultural learning. Across Europe and beyond, educational systems increasingly grapple with how to address diversity, migration, and inequality while often avoiding politically sensitive issues. By offering an evidence-based analysis of language textbooks in a divided society, this research speaks to broader questions concerning the role of curriculum in either fostering democratic engagement or maintaining symbolic marginalization. The study thus provides insights relevant to comparative education, language education, and social justice-oriented curriculum development in diverse and politically charged contexts.

This study adopted a qualitative content analysis design to examine how critical socio-political literacy is represented in Arabic language textbooks used in Arab schools in Israel. The empirical corpus consisted of 16 textbooks from the Al-Arabiyya Lughatuna series, approved and published by the Israeli Ministry of Education and its Center for Educational Technology. These textbooks are used for teaching Arabic as a mother tongue from Grades 1 to 12 and constitute the core instructional materials in Arab schools. The unit of analysis was the written text. Each chapter was treated as a thematic unit, while sections dedicated exclusively to listening comprehension were excluded to ensure analytic consistency. In total, 293 texts were analyzed across all grade levels, encompassing literary, narrative, dialogic, and informational genres. From this corpus, 43 texts were identified as containing elements with potential relevance to critical socio-political literacy. To guide the analysis, a structured analytic rubric was developed based on existing scholarship in critical literacy and critical pedagogy. The rubric assessed four key dimensions: (1) the extent to which texts prompt critical thinking or questioning of taken-for-granted assumptions; (2) the representation of power relations, including issues of authority, inequality, justice, and domination; (3) the presence of multiple or competing perspectives, voices, or ideological positions; and (4) the relevance of the text to students’ lived social, cultural, and political experiences. Each text was coded across these four dimensions using an interpretive qualitative approach that combined deductive categories derived from the theoretical framework with inductive attention to emergent themes. To enhance analytic rigor, two researchers independently coded a sample of texts and discussed discrepancies until agreement was reached, contributing to inter-rater reliability and refinement of the coding framework. The analytic process enabled a systematic comparison across educational stages (elementary, middle, and high school) and facilitated the identification of developmental patterns, thematic consistencies, and gaps in pedagogical coherence. This methodology allowed for a nuanced examination of how textbook discourse may either support or constrain the development of critical socio-political literacy within minority language education.

Findings from the qualitative content analysis indicate that critical socio-political literacy is only weakly supported in the Al-Arabiyya Lughatuna textbook series used in Arab schools in Israel. Out of 293 texts examined across Grades 1–12, only 43 texts (14.6%) contained elements that could potentially foster socio-political awareness, and these elements were often presented in abstract, symbolic, or decontextualized ways. A developmental increase in thematic complexity was observed across grade levels, yet the progression lacked pedagogical coherence. In the lower grades, content primarily promotes interpersonal values (e.g., kindness, cooperation) through moral narratives, with minimal engagement with systemic injustice or structural inequality. Middle school textbooks introduce socially relevant themes such as media bias or gender inequality, but these discussions remain largely detached from students’ local socio-political realities. In high school, more complex issues—such as authoritarianism and political corruption—appear, including allegorical texts with emancipatory potential; however, explicit engagement with Arab students’ lived experiences in Israel (e.g., discrimination, marginalization, and the Israeli–Arab conflict) remains largely absent. Across all levels, textbooks tend to present monologic narratives, rarely include multiple or conflicting perspectives, and provide limited opportunities for dialogic inquiry. As a result, students are seldom invited to question dominant discourses, examine ideological tensions, or develop civic agency through language learning. The study concludes that the curriculum’s cautious and depoliticized framing risks reinforcing symbolic marginalization rather than supporting critical citizenship. It highlights the need for culturally relevant texts, plural perspectives, and pedagogical scaffolding—including teacher preparation—to position Arabic language education as a meaningful space for civic participation, resilience, and democratic engagement.

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