Role of Druze high schools in Israel in shaping students’ identity and citizenship

Abstract

This study investigated how two Israeli Druze high schools shape the identity and citizenship of adolescents through curriculum, teaching, discourse, social activities and national ceremonies. Data were collected through interviews with teachers, the two school principals, policymakers for Druze education in the Ministry of Education, and students, as well as through observations and document analysis. The research found that the Israeli Druze school system plays a significant role in shaping students’ identity and citizenship in the difficult Israeli context, developing adolescents who are firmly rooted in both Druze and Israeli identity. Four central mechanisms were found to infuse the schools in order to accomplish these goals. These were characterized as multi-faceted values education, multi-faceted development of students’ identity and citizenship, meaningful learning and the community good. The commitment of Druze educators to building strong Druze-Israeli identity in their students was seen to spring from Druze religious beliefs and from the unique position of the Druze among other Arab groups in Israel.

Youth political (dis)engagement and the need for citizenship education: Encouraging young people’s civic and political participation through the curriculum

“…Furthermore, some authors have stated that there is evidence that young people who have taken citizenship education in the United Kingdom also demonstrate higher levels of civic knowledge and skills than those who have not studied such courses (Henn et al, 2007;Print, 2007;Keating et al, 2010;Kerr, 2014). Similar results have been found in other countries, including Australia (Lindström, 2010), the United States (Patterson et al, 2012), Israel (Court and Abbas, 2010) and Scotland (Brown, 2012).…”

What Do They Want From My Life? Parent-Child Relationships as Perceived by Druze Adolescents in Israel

“…Tuason and Friedlander (2000) suggest that in collectivist cultures, adolescents may develop their sense of personal identity and voice from within the family, rather than through a process of separation from the family. In Druze culture, children are expected to live near and care for their elderly parents until their last day (Court, Abbas, & Walters, 2012; Nasser-al-Din, 2005); those who do not become socially ostracized and are seen as violating the dignity and status of their family. Notably, only one nursing home exists in the entire Druze sector of Israel, created for those who are medically required to undergo intensive care and cannot live within a family home.…”

“…Two of the researchers (male and female) were members of the Druze community and grew up in Druze families, whereas two coauthors were not members of the Druze community. One Druze researcher also had prior experience interviewing Druze youth and adults in research on inter-religious generational gaps (Court et al, 2012). The combination of “insider” and “outsider” researchers gave us a rich and balanced perspective for developing the interview questions and then analyzing the participants’ responses (Dwyer & Buckle, 2009).…”

“…Although Druze live in largely segregated villages and attend their own school systems, their ongoing integration into secular Israeli society has increasingly exposed the Israeli Druze to Western ideas and values. Interdependence with the larger Israeli society has increased in part due to the societal transition away from local agriculture into the broader job market, and the increasing need for both men and women to achieve advanced academic degrees and work to support one’s family (Court, Abbas, & Walters, 2012; Dana, 2009; Weiner-Levy, 2008, 2011). Under sustained intercultural contact such as this, acculturation may occur when people are meaningfully engaged with a culture that differs significantly from their own (Ward & Geeraert, 2016).…”

Religious and Heritage Education in Israel in an Era of Secularism

“…The Druze educational sector maintains close reciprocal relations with the Arab sector because of the fact that Arabic is the language of instruction in both Arab and Druze systems; and the curriculum of the Druze educational subsystem is almost identical to that of the Arab education system [26] but deviates from it in the field of religious and heritage education where the unique Druze religious heritage is emphasized. This emphasis is quite limited as the Druze religion is secret and only religious leaders are fully aware of the theology, principles, and tenets of the religion.…”