Ethnographic Research on Education in Israel: Trends and Directions

Author(s):

Bracha Alpert(presenting / submitting)Simha Shlasky Naama Sabar Ben-Yehoshua

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

19. Ethnography

Format:

Paper

Session Information

19 SES 09, Parallel Paper Session

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-20

11:00-12:30

Room:

ESI 2 - Aula 3

Chair:

Dennis Beach

Contribution

In this paper we present the way ethnographic research in Israel describes the practice of education as an action and a process in various educational institutions and their surroundings, and as a component in the culture of knowledge transmission and identity construction of young learners. When we speak about ethnographic research we mean a work which delineates and explicates – on a basis of close observations with some involvement in the field – the daily lives of people in a certain setting, including their interpretations of their lives, in order to present a place or a setting's culture (Geertz, 1973; Van Maanen, 1988). In education we mean the multitude of actions and interactions that take place in educational institutions for children and youth, aiming at providing them with knowledge and skills, as well as at influencing their beliefs and deeds according to the cultural concepts of the community to which the institute belongs (Spindler, 1997).

We aim to examine the contribution of ethnography to understanding the culture of life and action of various educational institutions with its meaning for the participants in these institutions. Our work begun as part of a project delineating ethnographic studies of learning and schooling around the world (Anderson-Levitt, 2012) and is being further expanded and developed in the present paper.

We asked: How is the practice of education reflected in the ethnographic research in relation to broader societal concerns and what directions can we point to for further research of interest both in the state and across-countries.

Method

We reviewed over 100 works published since the beginning of educational ethnographic research in Israel during the 1970's (Shlasky, Alpert & Sabar Ben-Yehoshua, 2012). We examined the social research data base of the Sold Institute in Israel as well as the Eric data base and others. Our review includes works that were published in Hebrew and in English in Israel and abroad and also new works to be published in a book edited by the first two authors of this paper. We reviewed the papers according to five organizing dimensions that emerged in our initial process of analysis: 1. The stratification dimension - From critical examination of trends of equality and integration toward identifying and discussing mechanisms of exclusion and hierarchy 2. The identity dimension - From examination of cultural unification to the interpretation of the development of multiple cultural identities (immigrants, religious and ethnic groups). 3. The organizational dimension- Analyzing public-state education and the moves toward idiosyncratic education and privatization. 4. The local cultural dimension – Identifying a change from common ethos and myths to efforts at their deconstruction (State ceremonies, youth movements, informal education). 5. The gender dimension – feminist research and gender relations in educational institutions, formal and informal.

Expected Outcomes

The paper discusses two motifs that pass through many of the works we reviewed: the construction of identity and the presence of power relations. Identity is constructed on nurturing what is common to members of a group; however it is also built on separating them from the others. The motif of identity is expressed in each one of the dimensions we examined, for example: struggles that took place in schools for and against integration not only expressed social class struggles but also an effort to preserve the superiority of the western modern cultural identity. Encounters among newcomers and veterans in schools involved excluding the other as one of the means to crystallizing the identity of the self/selves. Ceremonies in schools attempt at reinforcing national ethos and myths and at the same time there are expressions of tendencies to deconstruct the big ethos to unique, personal and local components. The paper points to the critical and unique outlook ethnography provides regarding these topics. Such topics may be of interest also to researchers in European countries and may offer cross-national comparisons and examinations regarding ethnographic research in education. Implications for further research from a global perspective will be presented and discussed.

References

Anderson-Levitt, K. M. (Ed.) (2012). Anthropologies of Education: A Global Guide to Ethnographic Studies of Learning and Schooling. New York, NY: Berghahn Books. Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic. Shlasky, S., Alpert, B. & Sabar Ben-Yehoshua, N. (2012). Ethnography of Education in Israel. In: K.M. Anderson-Levitt (Ed.), Anthropologies of Education: A Global Guide to Ethnographic Studies of Learning and Schooling (257-277). New York, NY: Berghahn Books Spindler, G. (Ed.) (1997). Education and cultural process: Anthropological approaches (3rd edition). Prospect Heights: Waveland Press. Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press.

Author Information

Bracha Alpert (presenting / submitting)

Beit Berl College, Israel

Education

Rosh HaAyin

Simha Shlasky

The Mofet Institute, Israel

Naama Sabar Ben-Yehoshua

Tel Aviv University, Israel

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