A comparative case-study of school-LEA-NGO interactions across different socio-economic strata in Israel

Abstract

This study examines the interaction between NGOs, the Local Education Authority (LEA), and public schools in communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds in Israel. We characterize how schools serving more and less affluent communities create, cultivate, and preserve interactions with NGOs; how NGOs form, and sustain interactions with schools serving communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds, and how this process is maintained through LEA regulation. The methodology is based on qualitative research principles involving data collection by means of in-depth interviews with different stakeholders including school principals, involved teachers, LEA representatives, and NGO directors and staff members. We show how school-NGO-LEA interaction is largely shaped by the affluence of respective schools' communities within given educational settings. Analysis of interviews conducted with different stakeholders exposed two main themes: (1) the differing capabilities of various actors in this interaction to express agency; (2) the power relations between involved parties, whereby NGO and LEA agents impose a global agenda on local schools (particularly those serving less affluent communities)occasionally in contrast to the needs as perceived by school agents. Our conclusions offer unique insights into the nature and possible consequences of the interaction between third-sector organizations and schools serving communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Market logic at school: Emerging intra-school competition between private and public STEM programmes in Israel

“…This study is part of a larger research project concerned with investigation of interactions between NGOs and schools in Israel (Sagie, Yemini, & Bauer, 2016;Yemini, 2017;Yemini, Cegla, & Sagie, 2018;Yemini & Sagie, 2015), which included interviews, meetings observations, document and media analysis, and literature reviews. Here, we focus on a specific form of such interaction, analysing a case of the delivery of two particular STEM programmes that operate in Israeli secondary schools; namely, the Technological Scientific Reserve programme operated by the Ministry of Education and a similar programme operated by an external NGO.…”

“…The relationship between the MOE and such NGOs are complex; on the one hand, the Ministry views external organisations as a threat, since they represent free-market principles and interests that do not necessarily coincide with those of the public sector. On the other hand, these partnerships enable the MOE to cope with limited resources that affect the delivery of educational services (Almog- Bar & Zychlinski, 2012;Yemini, Cegla, & Sagie, 2018).…”

“…Nevertheless, the vast majority of the education provision in Israel is still public. External organisations are criticised publicly and sometimes even banned, especially when they become involved in issues related to religious education (Sagie & Yemini, 2017;Sagie, Yemini, & Bauer, 2016;Yemini, Cegla, & Sagie, 2018). Moreover, most NGOs offering educational services in Israel are funded or willing to be funded by the state, thus gaining even greater access to the field.…”

“…Frequently, external organisations must benefit various interest groups such as the MOE, municipalities, and schools; this ability to act upon differing agendas grants them with an image of promoters of innovation and change within schools (Dvir et al, 2017;Yemini, 2017). On the other hand, integration of external organisations into schools creates complex power dynamics between the various interest groups with misaligned interests (Sagie, Yemini, & Bauer, 2016;Yemini, Cegla, & Sagie, 2018;Yemini & Sagie, 2015). Indeed, the complicated relations between the Israeli education system and external organisations remain unsettled (Almog Bar, 2016;Ichilov, 2009;Weinheber et al, 2008;Yemini, 2017), despite the significant growth in the number of organisations operating within schools (Eden, 2012).…”

“…Although the contemporary research on privatisation in public schools is flourishing (Ball, 2012), in Israel this topic yet to receive significant attention (Klein & Shimoni-Hershkoviz, 2016). Moreover, while such research often focuses on privatisation that occurs outside the schools (notable exceptions are Brehm & Silova, 2014;Yemini, Cegla, & Sagie, 2018) and with official support from policymakers (e.g., the establishment of charter schools in the US; Lubienski, 2005) this line of research only tells part of the story. Here, we show how privatisation may develop within public schools-where initially, private actors were supposed to complement the governmental provision of extracurricular activities or remedial assistance, but actually, they now compete with the Ministry of Education over the same (internal) resources and students.…”