Shmuel Shamai

Critical Theory of Education and Ethnicity: The Case Study of the Toronto Community.

In contrast to the voluminous (and separate) literature on ethnicity and on education there are few attempts to deal at the theoretical level with education and ethnicity in combination. The article reviews some of the main theories regarding education (consensus, conflict, and critical sociology in education) and ethnicity (consensus, conflict, and pluralism) and evaluates them with regard to a specific case study: the Toronto Jewish community. The article outlines an alternative theoretical framework which is particularly appropriate to nondominant minority communities. The article points to the need to break down such general concepts as cultural resistance and reproduction into smaller “units,” thus creating new classifications, concepts, terms, and typologies. This article advocates the use of “relevant” culture, “relevant” resistance, etc. and uses these concepts in a more pluralistic version of the critical sociology in education.

Fr om Home to Community and Settlement: Sense of Place in Different Scales

Abstract This research disassembles the factors included in the concept of sense of place into its components. The study took place among 120 evacuees from both Gaza and northern Samaria. The research investigates what factors affect the creation of an attachment to place and what characterizes each level separately. It was found that the physical landscape is important both for the new place and the previous place and along with the landscape, there are different specific aspects: the attachment to home is primarily connected to the basic family circle, attachment to settlement is primarily formed by attachment to the community circle, and the attachment to the region is ideological.

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.

Logo and Computers as a Subject of Study

AbstractThis research probes into the question of whether the content of computer studies and the students’ gender influence the way sixth-grade students in Israel perceive computer studies in comparison to other studies. Gender differences were not found in regard to students’ perceptions of the computer. However, in the case of using the computer for “fun studies,” the more stereotypical view emerged: boys viewed computers more seriously than did girls. Also, the study found that the different content of computer instruction significantly influenced attitudes toward the computer as a subject of the curriculum. Thus, it may be concluded that the perception of computer study is determined by the use made of the computer.

Multicultural Intensity: The Case of Jewish and Arab Students

This paper introduces a new methodology for measuring multicultural levels/intensity based on a study on attitudes towards multiculturalism conducted among college students in Israel. We developed an innovative methodological tool, “multicultural intensity,” that is composed of 8 different scales: the presence of two nationalities and cultures in the college; social friendships between Arabs and Jews on campus; studying in joint classes; ways of providing assistance to students for whom Hebrew is not their mother tongue; legitimization to deal with political and social topics within the academy; classroom curriculum; multicultural tools; reality and political views toward the Arab minority in Israel. We found that Arab and Druze groups manifested more support for multicultural policies than Jewish groups. The paper suggests that “multicultural intensity” will enable researchers and practitioners to collect knowledge as to the success/failure of multicultural policies and programs among various audiences and subsequently could improve their implementation.

“Ethnic Schema Typology”: A Bidimensional Model

ABSTRACTThe paper deals with the re-construction and re-formation of ethnic identities during the acculturation process. “Ethnic identity schemata” have been developed to characterize four types of...