Policy implications of Arabic instruction in Israeli Jewish schools

Allon J. Uhlmann

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Arabic instruction in Israel's Jewish school sector is unsatisfactory by both objective and subjective measures. This is surprising given that Arabic is an official language, that Arabs have a substantial presence in the country, and the powerful forces that support Arabic instruction. The rationale of Arabic instruction is linked to the needs of the Zionist project of Jewish sectarianism. Ironically, it is this very project as a set of ideologies and social practices, and the institutional forces that embody it, that subvert Arabic instruction. Too few students study Arabic, mostly as a result of the poor value of Arabic as linguistic capital. Here, the linguistic political economy reflects the physical, social, political, economic, and ideological segregation and marginalization of Arabs in Israel. The quality of instruction is further eroded by the very powerful stakeholders that militate for expanding Arabic instruction-namely the security apparatus, academia, and Arabic teachers-all of whom are served by a curriculum that devalues creative proficiency and cultural skills and reduces Arabic to a dead foreign language. To improve Arabic instruction, its underlying rationale should change and Arabs should be integrated into curriculum development, teaching, and teacher training. This is entirely possible, yet the threat such steps would pose to the currently dominant stakeholders renders them improbable.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97–105
Number of pages9
JournalHuman Organization
Volume70
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Arabic instruction
  • Israel
  • curricular policy
  • schooling
  • linguistic capital

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