Moshe Tatar

Diversity-related burnout among teachers

Abstract “Diversity-related burnout” is put forward as a concept that can add to our understanding of the negative impact of the daily coping with culturally diverse students on teachers. A Principal Component Analysis, based on the responses of 280 teachers working at 30 Israeli schools, showed that diversity-related burnout is empirically distinguishable from, albeit correlated with, the more traditional notion of teacher burnout. Results also revealed that diversity-related burnout is predicted by variables related to the teachers background (grade level and job role), to the degree of school cultural heterogeneity, and to aspects of the school organizational culture related to multiculturalism as perceived by the teacher. The highest levels of diversity-related burnout were found among teachers categorized as assimilationists and who work in schools perceived by them also to be assimilationist. Proactive and reactive approaches for preventing and reducing diversity-related burnout are suggested.

Psychological Adjustment Among Israeli Adolescent Immigrants: A Report on Life Satisfaction, Self-Concept, and Self-Esteem

Our research examined central issues in the psychological adjustment of adolescents who immigrate: self-concept, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Questionnaires were administered to newcomers from the former Soviet Union (n = 119) as well as to their Israeli host classmates (n = 135) attending secondary schools. Our findings indicate that immigrant adolescents as compared to their counterparts express less satisfaction with their lives and report less congruence between their self-concept and the ways in which in their opinion they are perceived by others. The 2 groups do not differ in global self-esteem. Among the immigrants, the length of stay in Israel was related to the extent of their life satisfaction, and to the degree of similarity between the constituents of their self-concept and those of their classmates. Across the sample, gender and age were also related to self-esteem and self-concept. Our discussion highlights the psychological tasks faced by immigrant adolescents and provides possible implications for enhancing their well-being.

Teachers' Attitudes toward Multiculturalism and Their Perceptions of the School Organizational Culture.

Abstract The study examines teachers’ attitudes toward multiculturalism and the extent to which these are related to their perceptions of the school organizational culture. Results based on the responses of 442 teachers, working at 34 Israeli schools, revealed that pluralistic attitudes were higher when referring to the integration of immigrants from the former Soviet Union into the general society, whereas assimilationist attitudes were more predominant when related to the approach toward immigrants in educational contexts. It was also found that teachers’ attitudes toward multiculturalism in schools are related to components at the various levels of their perceived school organizational culture. Implications for pre-service and in-service training of teachers in culturally plural societies are discussed.

Teachers turning for help to school counsellors and colleagues: Toward a mapping of relevant predictors

ABSTRACT Many studies have reported teaching to be a stressful occupation. One of the most valuable coping strategies that teachers may employ is turning for help when pressed. This research is aimed at encouraging a deeper understanding of the factors related to teachers actual turning for help to a school counsellor or to a teacher colleague. 281 teachers working in 16 Israeli schools participated in the study. Our main findings pointed out the important roles fulfilled by teacher colleagues who were identified as teachers main sources of support, and to the contribution of teachers’ burnout and self-efficacy as predictors of turning for help.

Parental choice of schools and parents’ perceptions of multicultural and co‐existence education: the case of the Israeli Palestinian–Jewish bilingual primary schools

ABSTRACT The present research effort aims to better understand parental choice of the Israeli Palestinian–Jewish bilingual primary schools and its implications in contributing (or not) to fostering multicultural and co‐existence educational efforts in conflict‐ridden societies. The manuscript offers a short description of the educational initiative under examination and the socio‐political contexts within which it has evolved. The research was conducted using qualitative methodologies and includes in‐depth two hour interviews which were conducted with 12 parents (six Palestinian parents and six Jewish parents). The parents were from two bilingual schools. The themes identified in the analysis are presented and discussed critically in terms of majority–minority relations. RÉSUMÉ: Cette recherche vise une meilleure compréhension des choix parentaux dans des écoles primaires bilingues, juives–palestiniennes, et de leur contribution (ou non) à renforcer les efforts éducatifs en direction de la multiculturalité et de la co‐existence dans les sociétés tourmentées par les conflits. L’article propose une brève description de l’inititiative éducative en question et des contextes socio‐politiques dans lesquels elle se situe. La recherche a été menée à l’aide de méthodes qualitatives et repose sur des entretiens approfondis de deux heures avec 12 parents (six parents palestiniens et six parents juifs). Les parents relèvent de deux écoles bilingues. Les thèmes identifiés dans l’analyse sont présentés et discutés en termes de relations majorité–minorité. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Die hier vorgestellte Forschung zielt auf ein besseres Verständnis der Entscheidung von Eltern für Palästinensisch–Jüdische bilinguale Grundschulen in Israel und dazu, wie die Implikationen dieser Entscheidungen zur Förderung multikultureller und gemeinsamer Erziehungsbemühungen in konfliktbestimmten Gesellschaften beizutragen – oder auch nicht. Der Text bietet eine kurze Beschreibung der untersuchten pädagogischen Initiative sowie des sozio‐politischen Kontexts ihrer Entstehung. Die Studie nutzt qualitative Methoden und besteht wesentlich aus eingehenden, zweistündigen Interviews die mit 12 Eltern (sechs Palästinensische und sechs Jüdische Eltern) zweier bilingualer Schulen durchgeführt wurden. Die in der Analyse identifizierten Themen werden vorgestellt und mit Blick auf Mehrheits–Minderheits‐Beziehungen kritisch diskutiert. RESUMEN: La presente investigación tiene como objetivo comprender mejor la elección que hacen los padres de escuelas de primaria bilingües Palestino – Judías y sus implicaciones en la contribución (o no) a la promoción multicultural y la convivencia en los esfuerzos educativos de sociedades asoladas por conflictos. El texto ofrece una breve descripción de la iniciativa educativa en curso y los contextos socio‐políticos en los que ha evolucionado. La investigación se realizó utilizando metodologías cualitativas e incluye, en profundidad, dos horas de entrevistas que se realizaron con 12 padres (seis padres palestinos y seis padres judíos). Los padres eran de dos escuelas bilingües. Los temas identificados en el análisis se presentan y discuten críticamente en términos de las relaciones entre mayoría–minoría.

Dilemmas and strategies in the counselling of Jewish and Palestinian Arab children in Israeli schools

Jewish and Palestinian Arab school counsellors in Israel face increasing demands to respond to the challenges posed by the current armed conflict in the region. In semi-structured interviews, 37 Jewish and Palestinian Arab counsellors were asked about their views regarding the role of the educational system and of counsellors vis-à-vis the ongoing conflict. While all respondents argue that schools and counsellors need to address the conflict and its consequences, Palestinian Arabs and Jews differed in their views as to the appropriate strategies and foci. Major dilemmas emerging from the counsellors’ reports are discussed.

Wellness of children in Israel and the United States: A preliminary examination of culture and well-being

Several studies have stressed the importance and relevance for understanding the impact of culture in shaping adolescents’ world and well-being. This study was undertaken as a preliminary cross-cultural examination of wellness in two samples including 629 children in the United States and 240 children in Israel. The Indivisible Self, an evidence-based, multidimensional, holistic wellness model by Myers and Sweeney was chosen as the conceptual foundation for the research. The two groups differed significantly on three of five second-order factors, with Israeli students scoring higher on Coping and Social Self factors and US students scoring higher on the Essential Self. Significant main effects were observed for differences in gender but not age. Follow-up analyses revealed age differences among the Israeli students on three factors (Creative, Essential, and Physical Self) plus Total Wellness, with younger students scoring higher, and gender differences among the US students on three factors. Implications for counseling services and for further research are discussed.

The concept of culture in the contexts and practices of professional counselling: a constructivist perspective

In this paper we first describe two approaches to the concept of culture as they relate to counselling: the first approach emphasizes the organizational culture of the institution where the counsellor works; the second - the multicultural approach - calls for the recognition of the variety of ethnic cultural backgrounds of those involved in the counselling situation. Then, we present recent developments in the understanding of culture within constructivist perspectives. Last, we suggest a new orientation for counselling training, that of the professional counsellor as a cultural agent, one attentive to context and practices in all their complexities.

The potential impact of counsellors on school prestige

Abstract The prestige of a given school is based on the publics perception of the institution. Every school has a reputation that reflects its inherent qualities with at least some degree of accuracy. In this respect, prestige is a dimension that may directly or indirectly affect the success of a school. School counsellors, who usually hold key positions in the Israeli educational system, have the power to affect a schools prestige. Indeed, many of the counsellors activities, such as student placement and referral and flow of information, have an effect on school prestige. Some implications for counsellor practice, within ethical boundaries, are presented, taking into account recent trends in educational systems.

Strategies for Coping with Career Indecision

The goal of this study was to develop and test a theoretical model of Strategies for Coping with Career Indecision (SCCI). The proposed model consists of 14 categories that represent three major coping clusters—Productive coping, Support-seeking, and Nonproductive coping. The major concepts of the model were adopted from coping theories (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993; Skinner, Edge, Altman, & Sherwood, 2003) and adapted to the context of career decision making. To test the proposed model, the SCCI questionnaire was developed and refined using data from 10 samples (N = 3,081). Study 1 reports the development of the SCCI and its psychometric properties using an additional sample of Israelis young adults deliberating about their career decisions (N = 460). Study 2a presents the results of a confirmatory factor analysis, based on American (N = 386) and Israeli (N = 819) samples of young adults. Study 2b tests the concurrent validity of the SCCI. The results from both the American and the Israeli samples supported the hypothesized distinction among the three major coping clusters; however, Support-seeking was associated partially with Productive coping and partially with Nonproductive coping. The implications for future research and career counseling are discussed.