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The rise and fall of school integration in Israel: Research and policy analysis
Author(s) -
Resh Nura,
Dar Yechezkel
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
british educational research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1469-3518
pISSN - 0141-1926
DOI - 10.1080/01411926.2011.603034
Subject(s) - desegregation , educational research , racial integration , politics , pessimism , political science , face (sociological concept) , sociology , ethnic group , political economy , economic growth , public administration , social science , gender studies , economics , law , philosophy , epistemology
School integration (desegregation) was introduced in Israeli junior high schools in 1968 with the aim of increasing educational equality and decreasing (Jewish) ethnic divides. While never officially abandoned, a de facto retreat from this policy has been observed since the early 1990s, despite the voluminous research that revealed its positive, though moderate, educational outcomes. This shift in educational emphases reflected profound societal changes, fed by global neo‐liberal trends and educational consumerism, which research‐based arguments supporting integration were too weak to resist. The ascent and waning of school integration in Israel provide an instructive case for analysing the interconnection of educational policy, educational research, and societal changes, demonstrating the weakness of research in sustaining educational policy in the face of counteracting social and political developments.