Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education

The Israeli formal education system includes two separate education streams - a Hebrew-speaking and an Arabic speaking

Educational streams, both including state funded public schools. The structure and curricula of the Arabic speaking schools is very similar to those of the Hebrew-speaking schools as far as math, science, English etc. are concerned, with appropriate adjustments to fit the different languages, cultures and religions as far as the study of the humanities is concerned.

At the end of 2013, 74.4% of the students in Israel's elementary and high schools were Jewish, 23.4% of the students Arab (mainly Muslim), and the remaining 2.2% were Druze and other ethnic groups.

The education ministry operates the Arab education system for the Arab minority, teaching Arab students, in Arabic, about their history and culture. However, there have been claims that the Jewish education system receives more resources from the state. Moreover, the Education Ministry today has the challenge of addressing substantial gaps in education achievements between the two populations, mainly in Batrut Recipients and dropout rates.

The ministry is working according to a five year plan aimed to provide support in implementing the new curricula and translating – adapting it to the Arabic language.

In addition to providing budgets and pedagogic resources, the Ministry is operating a number of programs to enhance shared society between Jews and Arabs including  the Civics Studies and Shared living headquarters that is a result of the Kremnitzer Report  from 1995. The aims of the headquarters is to promote civics studies in the Education system, instill values of Democracy, active and responsible citizenship. 

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AREAS OF FOCUS

AREAS OF FOCUS
PROGRAMS SUPPORTED
PROGRAM NAME ISSUES/TAGS
Sindiana - the Arab Youth Village High School
Sindiana – The first Arab Youth Village for Leadership, located in the central Triangle Region of Israel, is changing the way people in Israel think about secondary education for Israeli-Arabs. Founded on the principles of multiculturalism, plu ...
Education, Jewish-Arab Relations, Volunteerism and National Service
TOGETHER - ANW's Innovative Civic Studies High Schools Matriculation ("Bagrut") Program
TOGETHER is a bi-annual modular program which was initiated by A New Way (ANW). It will be further developed in an intensive dialog with school principals and educators. As a first-time pilot project, the program will be implemented in one pair of sc ...
Education, Jewish-Arab Relations, Women
Leadership Program in the Mixed City of Lod
A New Way program on civil leadership together with Lod's town council and the MEPI plan which runs in the framework of the American Embassy in Israel. This program has run for a year and a half and aims to promote a generation of leaders, both y ...
Education, Jewish-Arab Relations, elementary and high school, encounters/dialogue, shared society
School Spring Gatherings
In Israel, many Arab and Jewish students attend different schools streams and often live, shop and work in segregated environments. Young Israelis rarely have the opportunity to explore their group identity in relation to other ethno-religious co-nat ...
Education, Jewish-Arab Relations
Integration of Arab Teachers
ANU has partnered with the Merchavim Institute and the Ministry of Education to promote the increased integration of Arab math, science and English teachers in Jewish classrooms. The program provides schools with excellent candidates, a diverse teach ...
Education, Employment, Environment, Health, Jewish-Arab Relations, Media and Culture, Policy and Legislation, Women
Encounters
Merchavim works to promote encounters and build connections between Arab and Jewish students through the various class subjects taught in the school system. This program includes training courses for hundreds of Arab and Jewish teachers, encounters f ...
Education, Jewish-Arab Relations, Negev Bedouin, Women, arts
Teaching Staff Diversity
Merchavim’s Arab Teacher Integration in Jewish Schools (ATI) program is a joint initiative with the Ministry of Education, with the goal of placing 500 Arab-Israeli teachers in Jewish schools to teach English, math, and science (in addition to ...
Education, Jewish-Arab Relations, elementary and high school
Let's Talk: Communicative Arabic and Arab Society
Merchavim's "Let's Talk" Arabic program has emerged as a proven-effective tool for teaching young Jewish-Israelis communicative Arabic and improving inter-group attitudes. The "Let's Talk" curriculum has been ...
Education, Jewish-Arab Relations, Women, encounters/dialogue, leadership, shared society, youth
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