ToC: International Journal of Educational Research 76 (2016); special section on Arabs in Israel

International Journal of Education Research 76 (2016)

Special section on Higher Education in a Transforming Society: The Case of Arabs in Israel; Guest edited by Hanoch Flum and Avi Kaplan

 

Higher education in a transforming society: The case of Arabs in Israel
Pages 89-95
Hanoch Flum, Avi Kaplan

Access to higher education and its socio-economic impact among Bedouin Arabs in Southern Israel
Pages 96-103
Ismael Abu-Saad

English as a gatekeeper: Inequality between Jews and Arabs in access to higher education in Israel
Pages 104-111
Yariv Feniger, Hanna Ayalon

On the meaning of higher education for transition to modernity youth: Lessons from future orientation research of Muslim girls in Israel
Pages 112-119
Rachel Seginer, Sami Mahajna

The paths of ‘return’: Palestinian Israeli women negotiate family and career after the university
Pages 120-128
Lauren Erdreich

The conception of work and higher education among Israeli Arab women
Pages 129-140
Rachel Gali Cinamon, Halah Habayib, Margalit Ziv

Higher education among minorities: The Arab case
Pages 141-146
Alean Al-Krenawi

Report: Bowers and Fuchs, Women and Parents in the Labor Market

Bowers, Liora and Hadas Fuchs. “Women and Parents in the Labor Market – Israel and the OECD.” Policy Brief, Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, March 2016.

 

URL: http://taubcenter.org.il/wp-content/files_mf/womenandparents_eng.pdf (PDF)

 

Abstract
This brief examines Israeli women’s labor market outcomes and how maternity and parental leave laws in the country compare with those in the OECD. In recent decades, there has been an increase in employment rates among women – particularly among mothers with young children. With regard to payment rate and length of paid leave over a woman’s lifetime, Israel performs better than or similar to other OECD countries. However, there is a gap between Israel and the OECD when it comes to leave benefits for fathers and the design of parental leave benefits.

New Article: Mundlak, Comparing Trade Union Strategies in Four Countries

Mundlak, Guy. “Organizing Workers in ‘Hybrid Systems’: Comparing Trade Union Strategies in Four Countries — Austria, Germany, Israel and the Netherlands.” Theoretical Inquiries in Law 17 (2016): 163-200.

 

URL: http://www7.tau.ac.il/ojs/index.php/til/article/view/1376

 

Abstract

The freedom and right to associate carries distinct meanings in different systems of industrial relations, giving rise to distinct institutions. Where bargaining is based on grassroots association, rates of membership in trade unions and coverage of collective agreements are low. Where bargaining is actively endorsed by the state, high rates of membership are matched by considerable coverage. Over the last two decades, some countries, four of which are studied here, have gone through a process that I designate as hybridization, in which a gap emerges between a rapidly declining rate of membership and persistent relatively high level of coverage. The article accounts for the growing gap between coverage and membership and its implications. On the basis of extensive interviews with trade union officials, organizers, works councils’ members, Labor Chamber representatives, academics and journalists in the four countries, the article further seeks to document and explain new organizing practices at two levels. First, why do unions seeks to organize, despite persistent power accorded to collective agreements by the state? Second, which strategies are used for current recruitment and organizing practices? The discussion highlights the ongoing tension that is folded in the meeting of institutions that are aimed at sustaining the centralized system of bargaining and social partnership, with the dynamics that are characteristic of raising membership levels. Some best practices that seek to address this tension are identified, but are also characterized as difficult to emulate and extend as a general practice.

 

 

 

New Article: Shoshana, The Language of Everyday Racism and Microaggression in the Workplace

Shoshana, Avihu. “The Language of Everyday Racism and Microaggression in the Workplace: Palestinian Professionals in Israel.” Ethnic and Racial Studies (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2015.1081965

 

Abstract

Based on interviews with Palestinian professionals in Jewish organizations in Israel, this article discloses a distinctive practice of ‘everyday racism’ and microaggression – a language of everyday racism. This ‘language of everyday racism’ refers to Hebrew words and expressions that are routinely used by Jews in their mundane conversations and that include the word ‘Arab’ when describing a deficiency or defect, some sort of unsightliness, filth, or general negativity (as in the expression ‘You’re dressed like an Arab woman’). This article not only describes the language of everyday racism as a specific form of everyday racism and microaggression (national microaggression), it also illustrates how this language activates the Palestinian professionals in a reflexive manner. The discussion section describes how the internal dialectic between structure and agency is critical to understanding the language of everyday racism, which in turn acts as a mechanism of the inequality that underlies face-to-face interactions.

 

 

Exchange: Robert Cherry comments on Shalhoub-Kevorkian’s et al, Bedouin Women and Political Economy in the Negev

Cherry, Robrt. “Comment on ‘Funding Pain: Bedouin Women and Political Economy in the Naqab/Negev’.” Feminist Economics 21.4 (2015): 197-200.

 
URL: http://dx.doi.org/13545701.2015.1074263
 
Extract

This is a response to claims made by Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Antonina Griecci Woodsum, Himmat Zu’bi, and Rachel Busbridge in this journal that patriarchal constraints have little to do with the low employment rates of Bedouin women and that their communities suffer from sustained government neglect.

 

 

 

Conference Paper: Kimhi, Is Foreign Farm Labor a Blessing or a Curse?

Kimhi, Ayal. “Is Foreign Farm Labor a Blessing or a Curse? Evidence from Israel”. International Association of Agricultural Economists, August 9-14, 2015.

 

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/211852 [PDF]

Abstract

After Israel became self-sufficient in food in the late 1960s, farmers started migrating out of agriculture while production continued to increase towards export markets. This process intensified considerably when foreign labor became available. Traditional production theory predicts that foreign workers replace local workers, but the number of Israeli hired farm workers has actually increased since the arrival of foreign labor. This paper develops a modified theoretical model in which farm labor is heterogeneous, so that changes in the number of foreign and local hired workers are not necessarily opposite in sign. The results of the model are consistent with the observation that the availability of foreign labor has led to an increase in the production and export of labor-intensive horticultural products. Farms became larger and more specialized, and this has led to labor specialization, with foreign workers doing manual tasks and Israeli hired employees doing mostly managerial and professional tasks.

 

 

 

New Article: Iecovich & Avivi, Agism and Burnout among Nurses in Long-Term Care Facilities

Iecovich, Esther, and Michal Avivi. “Agism and Burnout among Nurses in Long-Term Care Facilities in Israel.” Aging & Mental Health (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2015.1102198

 

Abstract

Objectives: The extent to which agism and professional qualifications are associated with nurses’ burnout in long-term care facilities for older adults has been barely examined. This study is aimed to examine the extent to which agism, professional education, and geriatric training explain work burnout.

Method: The study included a convenience sample of 154 nurses working in 17 long-term care facilities in the Tel Aviv area in Israel. To examine agism, Kogan’s Attitudes toward Old People Scale was used, and to probe burnout, the Maslach Burnout Inventory was used.

Results: Overall burnout was significantly explained by agism, nurses’ professional education, length of working as a nurse, and type of facility ownership. When examining each dimension of burnout, agism was a significant predictor of depersonalization and personal achievement.

Conclusion: Agism plays a role in overall burnout. Therefore, training programs that can combat agism can reduce burnout of nurses in long-term care facilities.

 

 

New Article: Waichman et al, Reciprocity in Labor Market Relationships

Waichman, Israel, Ch’ng Kean Siang, Till Requate, Aric P. Shafran, Eva Camacho-Cuena, Yoshio Iida, and Shosh Shahrabani. “Reciprocity in Labor Market Relationships: Evidence from an Experiment across High-Income OECD Countries.” Games 6.4 (2015): 473-94.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/g6040473

 

Abstract

We study differences in behavior across countries in a labor market context. To this end, we conducted a bilateral gift-exchange experiment comparing the behavior of subjects from five high-income OECD countries: Germany, Spain, Israel, Japan and the USA. We observe that in all countries, effort levels are increasing while rejection rates are decreasing in wage offers. However, we also find considerable differences in behavior across countries in both one-shot and repeated relationships, the most striking between Germany and Spain. We also discuss the influence of socio-economic indicators and the implications of our findings.

 

 

Thesis: Katan, Improving Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel Through Workforce Integration

Katan, Dalia. Building a Shared Israeli Society: Improving Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel Through Workforce Integration, Senior Thesis. Princeton: Princeton University, 2015.

 

Advisor: Dancygier, Rafaela

 

URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01sq87bw961

Abstract
Integration is one of Israel’s greatest challenges, as Israeli Arabs, comprising 20 percent of the Israeli population, are still a segregated minority. After an incredibly violent summer for both Israelis and Palestinians, it has become more important than ever to find a solution to this issue that involves building a shared Israeli society. I argue that because the workforce is the last place where segregated societies can come together, it presents a critical opportunity to integrate. Driven by intergroup contact theory, this thesis demonstrates that (1) the workplace environment is optimal for positive intergroup contact, (2) integration in the workplace produces more positive outgroup opinions and (3) positive outgroup opinions can could withstand pressure from ethnic conflict. This is supported by 47 interviews and surveys, and guided by preexisting frameworks on intergroup contact. With this research, I hope to contribute to the literature on intergroup contact, which has yet to explore workforce integration in Israel and link it to intergroup contact theory. The findings of this thesis will be beneficial for private and public sectors to consider in order to maximize the benefits of intergroup contact and work toward a shared society.

New Article: Moore, Israeli Women—Changes and Their Consequences

Moore, Dahlia. “Israeli Women—Changes and Their Consequences.” In Psychology of Gender Through the Lens of Culture. Theories and Applications (ed. Saba Safdar, Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka; New York: Springer, 2015), 113-46.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14005-6_7

 

Abstract
Structural, macrolevel factors (e.g., education level, the degree of sex-segregation in the labor market, availability of child-care facilities, tax exemptions for working mothers or dual-worker families, and other measures of industrialization) should be included in the analysis of changes in the lives of women as they contribute to our understanding of differences among societies. The impact of these macrolevel changes is not uniform across all groups and categories within societies. In order for these changes to be effective and change society, a supportive—humanistic and/or egalitarian—ideology is necessary. However, egalitarian and equal-worth ideals are not spread evenly. In Israel, as in all western societies, some segments maintain more traditional beliefs concerning the social roles of men and women and the division of labor between them, while others are more egalitarian. The main cultural areas in which changes may have occurred and are examined in this chapter include self-attribution of traits and locus of control, gender identities, the gendered division of labor, perceptions of family and work roles, and stereotypes against women. This chapter examines these issues in the diverse Israeli society.

 

New Article: Jabareen, Reducing Poverty among Arab and Muslim Women

Jabareen, Yosef. “Reducing Poverty among Arab and Muslim Women: The Case of Arab Women in Israel.” Journal of International Women’s Studies 16.3 (2015): 117-36.

 

URL: http://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol16/iss3/9

 

Abstract

The international experience suggests that work is the best way of lifting families out of poverty. Thus, this paper assumes that one crucial policy, among many others, aimed at poverty reduction is to increase the women’s participation in the labour market and their access to decent work. This issue is critical among Arab and Muslim women around the world in general and among Arab women in Israel since the participation rate of women in the labour market is quite low and about 55% of the Arab families live under the poverty line. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the reasons behind the low rate of Arab female participation in the labor market, and based on that to propose a framework for increasing their participation rate and reducing poverty among them and their households. An empirical study, based on 574 personal interviews, was conducted among unemployed Arab women in Israel. This paper identified four major domains that affect the level of employment participation: the socio-cultural domain, the ethno-political domain, the personal domain, and the spatial domain. Eventually, the paper proposes interference policies based on these domains in order to reduce poverty among Arab minority women in Israel.

 
 
 
 

New Article: Sharabi, Social Changes and Their Impact on Work Outcomes

Sharabi, Moshe. “Social Changes in Israeli Society and Their Impact on the Importance of Work Outcomes.” Social Change 45.1 (2015): 81-94.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0049085714561842

 

Abstract

Over the last 30 years, Israeli society has undergone dramatic social, political and economic changes, and this study examines changes in the importance of the valued work outcomes between 1981 and 2006. Results are reported for cross-sectional studies conducted in 1981 (n = 973) and 2006 (n = 909), which were drawn from representative samples of the Israeli workforce. The samples allow us to examine the cohort effect/generational differences and the ageing effect. The findings reveal substantial differences in work outcome importance over the course of time. Between 1981 and 2006, there was a decrease in the importance of the intrinsic outcome of interest and the social outcome of serving society while the importance of the extrinsic outcomes of income, status and prestige increased. This trend reflects the transformation from a collectivist and altruistic society to an individualist and materialistic society, and can be explained by the generational/cohort effect and ageing effect. The changes in work outcomes over the course of time are explained by political, social and economic factors.

New Article: Yonay et al, The Impact of Christian Neighbors on Muslim and Druze Women’s Participation in the Labor Force

Yonay, Yuval P., Mair Yaish, and Vered Kraus. “Religious Heterogeneity and Cultural Diffusion: The Impact of Christian Neighbors on Muslim and Druze Women’s Participation in the Labor Force in Israel.” Sociology 49.4 (2015): 660-78.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0038038514547898

 

Abstract

This study exploits the unique demographic structure of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel and their geographical immobility in order to help resolve the riddle why women in the Middle East and North Africa are less likely to participate in the labor force than women elsewhere in the world. We show that, controlling for economic variables, Muslim and Druze Arab women are more likely to enter the labor force if they live in a locality where Christian Arabs live as well. A possible explanation of this finding is the impact of social interaction among people who have different cultural schemas. Female labor force participation is rising throughout the Middle East, including among Arab-Palestinians in Israel, but the tempo of this transformation depends on various local variables, and in this article we identify one such factor, namely, the ethno-religious composition of a community.

 

New Article: Marcus et al, Access to Academia for the Ultra-Orthodox Community

Marcus, Shelley, Naomi Josman, and Sharon Zlotnik. “Affirmative Action in Israel: Access to Academia for the Ultra-Orthodox Community.” Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 62.1 (2015): 21-26.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12161

 

Abstract

Background/Aim

This article explores the development of a unique, culturally sensitive, designated academic occupational therapy programme for the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) minority in Israel. This normative university environment did not provide the opportunity for Haredi participation due to the lack of consideration of the strong commitment to a modest way of life of this community. This prevented their participation in academia and resultant employment that are necessary for economic advancement of the community.

Method

A follow-up survey that tracked the programme’s graduates’ participation in the workforce was used to determine the success of the initial goal of the establishment of the designated programme.

Results

Slightly above 97% of the respondents worked as occupational therapists during the first year after completing their bachelor’s degree. The employment data obtained from the graduates showed that the central goal of the Council of Higher Education has been achieved. The designated culturally adapted occupational therapy programme has provided varied employment opportunities for its graduates in diverse professional environments.

Conclusion

With the implementation of this programme, the occupational therapy department of the University of Haifa has created greater accessibility of the profession to both the occupational therapy providers and the recipients of occupational therapy intervention as well as serve as a model for other communities.

New Article: Keshet et al, Underrepresentation of Arab Physicians in Israel

Keshet, Yael, Ariela Popper-Giveon, and Ido Liberman. “Intersectionality and Underrepresentation among Health Care Workforce: The Case of Arab Physicians in Israel.” Israel Journal of Health Policy Research 4.18 (2015): 13pp.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13584-015-0004-0

 

Abstract

Background

An intersectionality approach that addresses the non-additive influences of social categories and power structures, such as gender and ethnicity, is used as a research paradigm to further understanding the complexity of health inequities. While most researchers adopt an intersectionality approach to study patients’ health status, in this article we exemplify its usefulness and importance for studying underrepresentation in the health care workforce. Our research objectives were to examine gender patterns of underrepresentation in the medical profession among the Arab minority in Israel.

Methods

We used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The quantitative data were obtained from the 2011 Labor Force Survey conducted by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, which encompassed some 24,000 households. The qualitative data were obtained through ten semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted during 2013 with Arab physicians and with six nurses working in Israeli hospitals.

Results

The findings indicate that with respect to physicians, the Arab minority in Israel is underrepresented in the medical field, and that this is due to Arab women’s underrepresentation. Arab women’s employment and educational patterns impact their underrepresentation in medicine. Women are expected to enter traditional gender roles and conform to patriarchal and collectivist values, which makes it difficult for them to study medicine.

Conclusions

Using an intersectionality approach to study underrepresentation in medicine provides a foundation for action aimed at improving public health and reducing health disparities.

 
 
 
 

Report: A Picture of the Nation, 2015; Taub Center for Social Policy

The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel Presents:

A Picture of the Nation: Israel’s Society and Economy in Figures, one of the Center’s most popular publications, provides concise and thought-provoking information on Israel’s long-run economic and social trajectories.  Each page of this booklet contains a single graph and short, accompanying text that, when combined, provide the reader with a broad and comprehensive understanding of key socioeconomic issues in Israel today.  Policy makers, the media, the general public, and the global Jewish community look to the Picture of the Nation as an invaluable and highly accessible resource on topics ranging from the labor market to education, poverty and much more.

For the English page, including PDF and PPT versions of the report, as well as previous reports (2002-2014), click here.

For the Hebrew page, click here.

PDF version in English: Picture of the Nation, 2015.

PDF version in Hebrew: תמונת מצב המדינה, 2015.

New Article: Bodankin & Semyonov, High-Skilled Immigrants in Israel

Bodankin, Moran, and Moshe Semyonov. “Geo-Cultural Origin and Economic Incorporation of High-Skilled Immigrants in Israel.” Population, Space and Place (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/psp.1934

 

Abstract

The present study focuses on differential modes of economic incorporation and economic success of highly skilled immigrants in Israel. Data were obtained from the 2009–2011 Labor Force and Income Surveys. The analysis pertains to recent immigrants aged 25–64 years who attained academic education prior to migration. Three major geo-cultural groups of immigrants are compared with Israeli-born. The groups are as follows: Europe and the Americas, the Former Soviet Union, and Asia and Africa. The multivariate analysis (conducted separately for men and women) reveals significant differences across geo-cultural groups in labour-market performance (i.e. economic participation) and in economic outcomes (i.e. attainment of professional occupation, occupational status, and earnings). An ethnic hierarchy is observed with Israeli-born at the top, followed by immigrants from Europe and the Americas; the groups of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and from Asia or Africa are placed at the bottom of the hierarchy. Although all high-skilled immigrants are disadvantaged when compared with Israeli-born, all tend to improve their labour-market status with the passage of time in the country. However, only immigrants from Europe and the Americas are able to reach economic assimilation with high-skilled Israeli-born. Asian–African immigrants and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union are less successful in converting skills into economic success; they remain economically disadvantaged even after 20 years of residence. The impact of geo-cultural origin on differential ability of immigrants to transmit credentials from one country to another is discussed.

 
 
 

New Article: Cinamon et al, Work and Higher Education among Israeli Arab Women

Cinamon, Rachel Gali, Halah Habayib, and Margalit Ziv. “The Conception of Work and Higher Education among Israeli Arab Women.” International Journal of Educational Research (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.04.004

Abstract

The current study focuses on the conception of work and higher education among ten Israeli Arab women, enrolled in an undergraduate program of early childhood education. This qualitative study aims to explore the gap between women’s career development in under-investigated cultures and career development assumptions traditionally reported in the literature. We explored the contextual aspects within Arab society that shape women’s career development, as well as their own candid conceptions of their development. The content analysis of the interviews revealed various aspects of a long and arduous journey to the desired goal of becoming an educated working mother. Six domains were identified: studies, interpersonal relations, conflicts and difficulties, resources, decision-making processes, and future perceptions. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

 

New Article: Ida and Talit, Migrant Workers’ in the Construction Sector

Ida, Yoram and Gal Talit. “Regulation on Migrant Workers’ Employment in the Israeli Construction Sector.” International Migration (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/imig.12194

 

Abstract

This article deals with a reform in the regulation on employment of migrant workers which was implemented in the Israeli construction industry from 2005. This corporations-based arrangement replaced a restrictive employment arrangement which tied the employee to a specific employer. The new regulation of work conditions and wages, coupled with a significant reduction in the number of work permits issued to construction, has improved work conditions and wages paid to migrant workers, and made their employment less attractive to employers. The reform also included elements designed to reduce the illegal employment phenomenon and to encourage migrant workers to leave the country at the end of their contracts. However, the new arrangement still restricted the mobility of migrant workers to some extent and had negative consequences such as a significant rise in the broker fees demanded of workers.

New Article: Stier and Endeweld, Age and Gender in the Israeli Labor Market

Stier, Haya and Miri Endeweld, “Employment Transitions and Labor Market Exits: Age and Gender in the Israeli Labor Market.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2015.01.002

 

Abstract

This study focuses on the employment difficulties of older workers in the Israeli labor market. Using administrative panel data for the years 2005–2010, it traces the employment transitions of workers and their consequences, focusing on age and gender differences. The findings show that in Israel older workers, men and women alike, are indeed less likely to leave their jobs. However, once out of the labor force, they face difficulties in finding new employment. These difficulties are severer for women than for men. Male workers who experience high instability experience job losses, with no substantial age differences. The wage penalties for women are much lower, probably because of their limited opportunities in terms of earnings.

Highlights

 

• Older workers in Israel have higher job stability compared to younger workers.
• Once leaving a job, older workers have more difficulties in finding new employment.
• Women are more likely to experience difficulties in regaining employment compared to men.
• Job transitions are associated with a loss of wage but older workers are not losing more than younger ones.
• Job transitions are less costly for women than for men, probably because of initially lower wages.