Turning points in the lives of two pioneer Arab women principals in Israel

Arab Parents’ Involvement in School Reform in Israel

“…Each of the groups that compose the Arab minority (82.1% Muslims, 9.4% Christians, and 8.4% Druze) is influenced by internal processes of modernization, by external processes linked with the Jewish society and Jewish-Arab world relations, and by the social context of the particular ethnic group within the community (Shapira, Arar, & Azaiza, 2011). Since the establishment of Israel, the proportions of young people studying in Arab schools has increased, including the proportion of the Arab population (both sexes) studying in institutions of higher education; consequently, there is growing involvement of women in the workforce (Arar & Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2011). However, these outputs are relatively low in comparison with those of the Jewish sector's education system.…”

Leadership for Equity and Social Justice in Arab And Jewish Schools in Israel: Leadership Trajectories and Pedagogical Praxis

“…In 2008, only 11.8% of Arab high school graduates were accepted to higher education, and their achievements in B.A. studies were 78.2% lower than those of Jewish students (Sbirsky & Degan-Bouzaglo, 2009 Source: Jabareen and Agbariah (2010) Since there are limited career opportunities for educated Arabs in Israel, the role of school principal is considered one of the most desirable senior positions in Arab society and tenders for this post often provoke intense power struggles (Arar & Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2011). Additionally, Israel's Arab society is still predominantly a traditional patriarchal society; so, while most principals and deputies in the Jewish education system are women, in Israel's Arab education system men usually hold these positions, reflecting cultural norms that limit women's advancement in the public sphere.…”

Leading a Quiet Revolution: Women High School Principals in Traditional Arab Society in Israel

“…Many researchers argue that women's ability to advance their careers, including transitions into senior management, depends on a combination of personal traits and behaviors learned while serving in middle management positions at schools that ultimately shape their leadership capabilities (Oplatka, 2006). Others note that most women who reach senior management positions had served previously in midlevel positions (Coleman, 2005), illustrating that they made their way up the management ladder more patiently than men did (Arar & Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2011). This pattern is also evident among women who reach senior management positions in the Israeli education system (Oplatka & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 2006).…”

“…Several aspects of this issue have been discussed, including political (Blackmore, 1998;Shipps & White, 2009), professional (Oplatka & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 2006;Rodriguez-Campos, Rincones-Gomez, & Shen, 2005), gender (Embry, Padgett, & Caldwell, 2008;Grogan & Shakeshaft, 2011;Hertz-Lazarowitz & Shapira, 2005), and social aspects (Shapira, Arar, & Azaiza, 2010). recent studies on women principals in developing societies have examined the psychological perspective (Akuamoah-Boateng et al, 2003;Morris, 1999), feminist leadership (Biseswar, 2008), women's leadership in indigenous minority groups (Fitzgerald, 2010), and the underrepresentation of women in educational leadership roles in these societies (Celikten, 2005;Arar & Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2011). Yet, few studies have examined the lives and career paths of women principals in developing societies (Oplatka, 2006).…”

“…Yet, few studies have examined the lives and career paths of women principals in developing societies (Oplatka, 2006). Although findings of these studies often hold true for women principals within Arab society in Israel, which has traditional values and characteristics similar to the developing societies examined (Arar & Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2011;Hertz-Lazarowitz & Shapira, 2005;Khattab & Ibrahim, 2006), there is a shortage of in-depth studies examining the particular issue of Arab women's management in Israel. Due to the restrictions on women in Arab society in Israel, very few Arab women have managed to attain managerial positions, and there have been few attempts to investigate their personal and professional growth and leadership styles in the sociopolitical context of arab high school education.…”