Kibbutz Education: A sociological account

The ideal type of kibbutz education was characterised by six structural traits: unbalanced duality of communal institutions and family, centrality of the peer group in the socialisation process, merging of education and community, a multicoded and mullifaceted school, autonomous but task-orientated adolescence and a short passage to social adulthood. Although possibly taking a toll on individual autonomy, the “hidden curriculum” of this education facilitated the development of a prosocial orientation, emotional moderation and a strong sense of belonging–all important to the fulfilment of the role of kibbutz member. Rapid social change, culminating in the last decade, is eroding the structural uniqueness of kibbutz education and thus jeopardises its capacity for continuing to socialise children to communal life.