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CV File

Summary of my Activities and Future Plans

Academic Profile

My academic and research career was initiated by preparing my thesis and moved to my doctoral dissertation, in which I investigated gender issues and educational aspects of conservative traditional society (see details below). As a woman that was brought up in a traditional Druze community, and won the title of “the first Druze woman to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Bar-Ilan University,” I believe that the influence of the type of education I received within the traditional Druze community laid the  groundwork for the course of research I have pursued. 

In my Masters thesis, I conducted research concerning culture and educational climate among Druze teenage students in comparison with teenage students in the traditional Arab society. Findings from this research indicated differences in several aspects between the two traditional societies regarding school management, budget distribution, and the student-teacher and management relationships. These differences originated in the nature and characteristics of two related but different traditional societies. Druze schools were characterized by extrovert relationships between principal, staff and students. Druze schools also maintained a moral education approach rather than an achievement-oriented approach. Arab schools, however, were characterized by an achievement-oriented education system with confined relationships between principal, staff and students. 

Based on these findings, the focus of my doctoral dissertation involved investigating the role of the Druze educational system in shaping the identity and deepening the sense of citizenship among its teenagers. Findings of this research suggested that the Druze educational system works to shape the personal identity, particularly the Israeli Druze identity, together with supporting the sense of citizenship among teenagers. The research revealed how the approaches used were implemented in all domains of education at school. 

These findings provided the basis for constructing an educational model consisting of three main elements: “community goodness”, critical theory, and meaningful learning, which all fulfill mutual relationships, and characterize different layers in the school texture (such as: revealed and concealed educational programs, official state ceremonies in both formal and informal education, etc.).

For the past seven years, following completion of my Ph.D., I have been continually concerned with issues related to aspects of gender and education in traditional societies, and in  qualitative methodological topics.  It can be said that my research focuses on three domains: 

Education for minority communities, the Druze society in particular.

Female leadership in a traditional society.

Reflective qualitative methodology and its contribution to the field of research.

Education for minority communities and for the Druze community

Educational institutions can be seen as operative manifestations of the social and values commitment of the education system to undertake responsibilities, to create significance for the co-existence and legitimate norms and cultures of other co-existing communities with different views.  My papers approach the contribution of curriculum for shaping identity and entrenching the sense of citizenship among Druze adolescents; the role schools play in shaping identity; heritage and tradition in Druze education; education for pluralism in institutions of teacher training; and how teaching methods may support teacher-student interactions. Findings from my research have contributed to better understanding of processes taking place inside schools, and to developing applied educational tools to help educators introduce and instruct identity related topics, citizenship issues and improving teacher-student relations. 

I tackled the multicultural issue also from the view of apprentice teachers attending institutions for training. My research in this domain reviewed how students conceive education for multiculturalism in their college and whether multicultural academic colleges are actually enhancing and promoting tolerance and multicultural concepts. This research contributed to understanding of how to train new teachers who can educate for pluralism and social tolerance in a multicultural society.

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Women’s leadership in traditional society

Women are often disadvantaged in traditional societies, where their perceived main role is providing care and support for their families. This traditional view of women’s positions in society has changed over the last few decades: women have gone to work outside the home and attend higher education institutions, building their own careers. These changes were strongly opposed at the beginning by many parties, especially by religious scholars and men in general who seek to preserve their advantage. In spite of all oppositions and social obstructions, some women have broken through to the highest levels of social and educational leadership positions in traditional societies. As a Druze woman raised in a traditional society, my research has focused on examining processes and factors which positively or negatively affect professional development of leading women, and reviewing how a traditional society interacts with such women. The purpose of these studies is to suggest tools for assisting and supporting other women in traditional societies, who are at the beginning of their professional careers. Findings indicated that those women who succeeded in developing their professional direction were those women who usually were able to preserve and integrate tradition and cultural heritage with a personal view, and received support from their families (parents and husbands). These findings were introduced and discussed in my published articles under the topics: women in traditional society, between openness and orthodoxy; women managers as leaders in traditional society.

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Methodological interpretation

When using qualitative research, the need to explore researched communities and illuminate deep layers of their moral and cognitive world entails scientific understanding of processes, associated with personal interpretation, but also personal experience and reflective learning. Integrating personal interpretation and reflective learning for better understanding of research issues was discussed in a paper I prepared with my colleague Prof. Deborah Court from Bar-Ilan University. The paper tackled the question: who is the researcher (within an interview carried out in three languages) and what is his/her role in the process of qualitative research. I am currently preparing a paper in which I discuss the reflective processes that we experienced as researchers while conducting narrative analysis of the interview that we undertook as part of research aimed at exploring generation gaps among members of the Druze community.

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Education and Teacher Education

Education and teacher education occupy a central place in my professional and academic life – research, teaching and educational administration. I see them as a natural combination aimed at improving student teaching and raising the level of academic staff in teacher education institutions. As I am involved in the higher education system in key management positions, I see myself actually implementing educational and scientific principles and seeing the results of my work with both students and colleagues. I will continue my involvement in the professional, administrative and academic fields.

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5) My contribution to Israeli Arab Society in General and to the Israeli Druze Community in Particular

My academic and professional activities, as demonstrated in this document, are accompanied by community and social involvement in the Arab sector in general and in Druze society in particular. 

Knowledge-sharing is encouraged and promoted in the tight-knit Druze community, especially when it concerns pioneering and groundbreaking accomplishments by members of the community, in both the social and the academic fields. The affiliation of the Druze community to “external” communities is an expression of the “unit pride” principle, a central pillar of the Druze faith, which necessitates the importance of contributing to the society in which you live. I have never wavered in my dedication to my community. I continue to invest heavily in its advancement. 

My academic activities outside the Druze community are a concrete expression of my unhindered willingness to make pioneering breakthroughs, and this work has resulted in the high rank and position I have attained today.  This twofold success manifests the popular slogan “yes, we can,” and boosts the representation of the Druze community on the national and international levels. My work is both academic and practical, contributing to knowledge about the Druze community as well as generating educational and social programs and solutions. This manifests in the following aspects:

Raising awareness and promoting knowledge of the unique status of the Druze community and its position in Israeli society.

Some of my academic studies have made exceptional contributions to research into the Druze community. Some of the various aspects of the Druze community studied in my research include the status of women in a traditional society, intergenerational disparity in the Druze sector, language and identity, transformations in the Druze society, and the exploration of social and educational phenomena that are not understood or accepted by non-Druze community members. Studies of these aspects have made a unique contribution to understanding educational and social processes in the Druze society. 

My extensive research on the various aspects of the Druze community has qualified me to lead teams in the education system in developing suitable curricula for schools in the Druze sector.  I have also taken part in building the educational and social visions for the education system in the Druze sector.

Raising awareness and promoting knowledge of the gender, ethnic and national aspects

The classifications of ‘woman,’ ‘Druze’ and ‘Israeli, ‘ and their combination in the context of the nature of Arab society, has constituted an intriguing factor for local and international platforms. The curiosity around the combination of these classifications has brought forth numerous invitations for me to present and explain the various aspects embodied in the concepts.

Presenting my research and data in the context of my own “personal narrative” has led to the exposure of the Druze society, as well as shedding new light on the complex social realities in the State of Israel, in unfamiliar aspects and contexts. The feedback which I receive concerning my views, attests to the truthfulness and meaningfulness of my representations of the Israeli reality.  The international feedback I receive indicates the contribution of my research to increasing the positive representation and understanding of the State of Israel. I have received calls from Israeli envoys in the United States and various countries in Europe to appear before local communities to present my work. My appearance in communities overseas brought to the minds of my audiences not only the existence of the Druze community but its characteristics as well. My personal journey is an integral part of this, giving life and spirit to academic material.  My academic and educational breakthrough as a woman from a traditional society has led me to make theoretical contributions and offer insights regarding the role of women in other traditional societies. In the Israeli context, my academic, social, and national contributions brought me to the World Zionist Movement to speak at a multifaceted meeting on Mount Herzl to showcase the Israeli education system and the contribution of the Druze education system to shaping the identity of proud adolescents in the country and in the community.

Being the first woman Druze Doctor of Philosophy to graduate from Bar- Ilan University, located far from the north, has gained me the admiration of young women from northern Druze, Arab and Jewish communities. My decision to study at Bar-Ilan in Ramat Gan has asserted three core principles before women of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. First, women can convert unorthodox decisions into socially acceptable ones. Second, women from a traditional setting can take part in and contribute to professional and social communities. Last of all, Northern residents can also study in the center of the country. 

Journals, academic institutions and research institutes contact me regularly to evaluate research projects and proposals in the fields of minority education and study of traditional societies. 

Parents of children, and especially of girls, in the Druze society, come to consult me in connection with the education of their children in their attempts to bridge tradition with modernity. Some of the concerns addressed by parents involve making unorthodox decisions by allowing their daughters to receive higher education or by allowing them to leave home and live on campuses for example, instead of commuting. 

My being part of the academic establishment continues to bring members of the Druze community to academic studies. My research contributions have also provided members of academia with ideas and initiatives for lectures, seminars, theses and doctorates, both in education and in socio-cultural fields. My female students, especially from the Arab sector, see me as a role model for my pioneering endeavors to bridge the academic and modern world with the traditional world. I am asked to advise PhD students of the Arab sector, who see me not only as a professional figure but as someone who embodies their culture as well. 

My studies have provided traditional parents with tools and knowledge to address the gaps between them and their children. In addition, my research has also provided tools for beginning school administrators to understand and cope with the transformations that are taking place in the Druze education system and in Arab society. 

These accomplishments, commitments and beliefs are demonstrated in my ongoing contributions to promoting higher education among Arab and Druze adolescents, especially women, in addition to building the vision of the Druze education system and playing a leading role in developing the system.

Future research

I am looking forward to continued investigation of educational issues in society and to expanding my work to study of linguistic issues. Some examples are, Druze adolescents’ attitudes towards Hebrew language as a foreign language, and the way teachers of elementary classes use literary and spoken Arabic language.

With collaboration of my colleagues from Peterson University of New Jersey, we are currently considering the use of effective teaching methods for developing understanding of multicultural concepts. Other research has already been conducted with colleagues from Westminster College, USA, in the domain of education for tradition and religion in public schools in the United States and around the world, and the role of education in breaking boundaries. I plan to continue researching linguistic, gender, social and educational issues in the coming years for the sake of reaching better understanding and enhancing educational and instructional processes in different societies.

Vision

As a woman educator that was brought up in a traditional Druze society, with private and professional experience in educational institutions in the country, from elementary schools to colleges and universities, I believe that in shaping a healthy, prosperous, creative, valiant and caring society, we need to be committed to investing in preparing our future leadership without gender differentiation; creating leadership that emphasizes values and vision with capacity for dealing with crises and problems, leaders who can at the same time lead innovative educational and social change.