Sara Arnon

Who is the ideal teacher? Am I? Similarity and difference in perception of students of education regarding the qualities of a good teacher and of their own qualities as teachers

This research examines two images of teachers as seen by students of education: the ideal teacher and their own self‐image as teachers. The research compares the students’ perceptions of these two images using two sub‐groups of students of education: students at an academic teachers’ college who will be referred to as student teachers and beginning teachers, who, while teaching, are completing their academic degrees at teachers’ colleges or regional academic colleges. Data were collected from 89 students at the two colleges by means of a questionnaire that included open‐ended questions which were analyzed qualitatively. The findings of the research indicate that there are two major categories that comprise perceptions of the ideal teacher: first, personal qualities; and second, knowledge of the subject taught as well as didactic knowledge. Both groups of students similarly attributed great importance to the personal qualities of the ideal teacher, but there is a difference in their perception of the importance of knowledge: the beginning teachers attributed great importance to knowledge and perceived it as a quality similar in importance to personal characteristics, while the student teachers, who had not begun their teaching careers, attributed less importance to knowledge as a characteristic of the ideal teacher. A quality which was less prominent when profiling the ideal teacher is general education and wide perspectives. The teacher as a socializing agent, a person who promotes social goals, was not mentioned at all. Students maintained that, during their studies, they had improved their qualities as ‘empathetic and attentive’ teachers, ‘knowledgeable in teaching methods’, and in ‘leadership’. But they had hardly improved their knowledge of the subject they taught or their level of general knowledge. The discussion of knowledge and the desirable personal qualities of a teacher is relevant to the current debate regarding the relative merits of disciplinary education in contrast to pedagogical education in preparation for teaching as a profession. The clear preference for disciplinary education by policy makers in Israel and elsewhere in the field of teacher education is contradictory to the emphasis placed on the personal development of future teachers and their pedagogical education by the students of education who participated in this research.

Closed and Open-Ended Question Tools in a Telephone Survey About ``The Good Teacher'' An Example of a Mixed Method Study

Combining diverse methods in a single study raises a problem: What should be done when the findings of one method of investigation conflict with those of another? We illustrate this problem using an example in which three study phases—quantitative, qualitative, and intervention—were applied. The findings coming from the quantitative phase did not fit those coming from the qualitative phase; there were discrepancies within the qualitative phase itself, and the findings coming from single-case evaluations of the intervention using standardized scales did not fit the findings derived from self-made scales. We explain these inconsistencies by way of the complementary approach: conflicting findings should be integrated, and consistency is restored by admitting complexity in the phenomenon under investigation.

Transforming Environmental Knowledge Into Behavior: The Mediating Role of Environmental Emotions

The present study was based on the premise that environmental knowledge can drive environmental behavior only if it arouses environmental emotions. Using a structural equations modeling approach, we tested the direct, as well as the indirect (mediated) effects of knowledge on behavior and assessed the mediating role of environmental emotions. We found that knowledge is an important but distal variable, whose significant effect is fully mediated by emotions. The high explanatory power and good fit indices of the model supported and validated the important role of emotions in the learning process.

A multicultural view of the good teacher in Israel

‘The good teacher’ is an archetypal concept; a topic of discussion in various philosophical and educational theories which expresses an ideal, while in reality is composed of many qualities and a variety of contents. This study is unique in its investigation of the similarities and differences in the perception of the good teacher among a wide population, focusing on two aspects – ethnicity and gender, as outlined by interviewees from four groups in Israeli society: Jewish men, Jewish women, Arab men, and Arab women. The research investigated whether the ethno‐cultural or the gender component better explains the differences in the perceptions of these qualities and whether interaction exists between the two components. Findings obtained from 377 adults born in Israel were analyzed after they had described the preferred characteristics of the good teacher in reply to open questions in a telephone survey which was conducted among a representative sample of the Israeli population. A content analysis of the replies revealed three super categories of qualities attributed to the good teacher: an individual with teaching knowledge, an educator and a person of values who maintains good teacher–pupil relations. The research indicated that perception of the qualities of a good teacher is culturally dependent. The ethno‐cultural origin of the group was dominant in explaining differences in attitudes towards the qualities of the good teacher and not the gender group. While Arab‐Israelis gave clear and quite uniform preference to the ethical character of the good teacher, the Israeli Jews preferred a more heterogeneous image of the qualities of a good teacher with the leading quality of positive interaction with the pupils. The research discusses the implications of the findings regarding the Israeli educational system and its ramifications for the process of teacher training in Israel, as in other multicultural societies in the world.

The Role of Future Orientation in Environmental Behavior: Analyzing the Relationship on the Individual and Cultural Levels

The concept of sustainability includes a personal and societal imperative to assume responsibility for the future outcomes of present actions, to look forward, or in other words, to have a future orientation. Future orientation is both a personality trait and a cultural characteristic that strongly influences behavioral decisions on the personal and societal levels, respectively. This research addresses the relationship between future orientation and pro-environmental behavior on both levels. In a representative sample of the population (n = 1216), we found that individuals with developed future orientation demonstrated more pro-environmental tendencies. On the cross-cultural level we also found that in countries that conduct future-oriented practices in general the environment benefits, because the citizens tend to behave more pro-environmentally. The parallel between factors that affect future orientation and environmental behavior and the implications for promoting pro-environmental practices in the social and personal levels are discussed.

Environmental literacy components and their promotion by institutions of higher education: an Israeli case study

The recognition of the key role and moral responsibility of higher education institutions (HEIs) in cultivating the environmental literacy (EL) of their students is growing globally. The current research examined the contribution of HEIs to their students’ EL by focusing on an Israeli college as a case-study. A survey was conducted among a representative sample of 1147 students from all departments in four phases of their academic studies. A moderate level of EL was found. The college’s green agenda attracted more pre-environmentally literate students, but its contribution to the development of students’ EL throughout the learning years was minor. Variation in pro-environmental behavior was better explained by students’ environmental values and attitudes than by their environmental knowledge. It seems that a combination of knowledge, values, and attitudes is needed in order to instill EL among students in HEIs. Commitment to environmental education must be translated into effective contents (what) and ways of teaching and learning (how) EL, which should be adapted to the varied populations of HEIs’ students in the various faculties and departments. Some recommendations are detailed.

Seeing the Forest as Well as the Trees: General vs. Specific Predictors of Environmental Behavior.

The domain of environmental protection is comprised from many sub-domains as recycling, conserving water, or reducing the consumption of energy. The attitude–behavior gap is partly explained by the gap between the specificity levels of the particular measured behavior and of its antecedent(s). The present study aimed at assessing the effects of general vs. domain-specific behavior’s proximal antecedents included in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model (intentions, attitudes towards the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) on performance of specific environmental behaviors (EBs) in five environmental sub-domains. We found that in all of the environmental domains examined, a specifically worded TPB model predicted specific behaviors better than a generally worded TPB model did. However, the magnitude of the improvement varied among behavioral domains and the improvement did not arise from the same TPB elements in every domain. The implications for environmental education and for EB research are discussed.

Comparison of very small businesses of Arabs and Jews in the North Israel periphery

Very small businesses owned by Arabs and Jews in the north of Israel are compared and discussed along several dimensions: education and experience of the entrepreneurs, field and location of businesses, business success, formal and informal support of businesses, and strengths and weaknesses of the businesses. The main finding of the study is the contrasting tendencies of small businesses in the Arab and Jewish sectors: the majority of Arab entrepreneurs reported a decrease in profit while most Jews pointed to a profit increase. We relate this to differences in the structure of the business fields that in turn depend on targeted market segments and product characteristics.

Pro-Environmental Behavior and Its Antecedents as a Case of Social and Temporal Dilemmas

Aims : Greater global and local responsible environmental behavior requires the considerationof future consequences of todays choices and decisions. As such, much pro-environmental behavior might be defined as cases of environmental social and temporal dilemma.The goal of this research was to assess the direct contributions of future orientation, subjective knowledge, and trust in people to environmental behavior, and their indirect contribution through their effects on willingness to sacrifice. Study Design:Survey study.This survey was a part of an International environment quantitativesurveyproject of ISSP (International Social Survey Programme). Place and Duration of Study:The research is based on survey data c ollected in Israel