Arab Education in Israel: Lessons From Positive Learning Experiences of Palestinian-Israelis

This empirical study investigates positive learning experiences of 250 Palestinian-Israeli high school graduates who were formerly pupils in Israeli Arab schools. It addresses how they perceived and now describe such experiences in a questionnaire. The study inquires as to what characterizes these positive learning experiences and under which conditions they occurred. The research reveals, using a qualitative analysis of the questionnaire responses, that 70% of all of the positive learning experiences reported occurred within the school and were primarily related to the personalities and professionalism of teachers. Using these results, the study then asks how such positive learning experiences can have long-term, sometimes ethical, implications upon the personality formation or future behaviour of the respondents and might lead to positive change within Arab schooling and educational process in Israel.