Yaacov Iram

Centralization trends in higher education: Israel's Planning and Grants Committee

Israels Planning and Grants Committee (PGC) was formed in 1974 to function as an intermediary body between the higher education system and the government in financing of higher education institutions. The PGC is largely composed of academics from universities. It was meant to guarantee both academic freedom of the higher educational system while providing for greater accountability. However, the PGC has increased its involvement in higher education and assumed also the role of planning the system as a whole and regulating the development of individual universities.This article analyzes the effects of PGC policies on Israels universities in general and specific acts which have restricted institutional autonomy and might further limit their academic freedom.

Higher education in transition - the case of Israel - a comparative study

This comparative study examines the impact of the conflicting higher education traditions of Germany, Great Britain and the United States on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in particular, and higher education in Israel in general.The basic differences of these traditions concerning the aims of higher education - research, instruction and service - and their effects on higher education in Israel are evident in major decisions made by the Hebrew University at three critical stages in its development: (1) its initial organization into research institutes rather than into teaching faculties or departments (1925); (2) its decision to undertake teacher training and the inclusion of education as a scientific discipline (1935); (3) “The Reform” - introduction of undergraduate studies and the adoption of the three level degree structure (1950). These decisions were influenced simultaneously by the changing needs of the growing Jewish community in Palestine and by major events that affected the course of the Zionist movement.This study has shown that higher education in Israel was shaped in its initial stages of development by the elitist European (especially German) tradition. Gradually, however, the American populistic tradition became the dominant influence, broadening the curriculum and the function of the university to meet the scientific developments as well as the needs of the individual and the society in a newly born country.

College–University Dialogue: From Confrontation to Cooperation

A historical review of the development of Israeli institutions of higher education from statehood to the present attests to the dialogue between universities, on one hand, and the colleges that were established and developed under their influence. Development trends, reflecting diversification, and distinctiveness on the one hand, and uniformity and imitation on the other, indicate that the Israeli higher education system is progressing toward a monistic structure in which academic institutions of both types are converging, drawing closer to each other, and becoming more closely integrated in a single system of higher education (Davidovitch and Iram, 2005). Herein we examine the openness of the higher education system, its willingness, and ability to contain a university institution that was originally established as a regional college. At the establishment of statehood in 1948, the higher education system was a dual system: several non-university institutions operated alongside the two university institutions (Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion). Mass immigration and socioeconomic developments in the 1960s and 1970s led to an increasing demand for higher education, and demands to expand access of new population sectors to higher education emerged, specifically to make higher education accessible to underrepresented sectors of the population in peripheral areas (mainly Jews of North African or Asian origin, as well as Arabs and other minority groups) (Iram, 1996). These nascent needs were addressed on two levels. On the university level, Haifa University, Ben Gurion University, and the Open University were established in 1970, 1972, and 1976, respectively. Although Haifa University and Ben Gurion University were founded as regional universities and were therefore expected to serve the special needs of the peripheral areas of the north and south, respectively, they effectively embraced the elitist ethos of the veteran research universities (Ben David, 1986, cited in Iram, 1996). In the 1960s, relatively few students graduated from high school and obtained a matriculation certificate, and thus few programs and faculties required a selective admission process. The introduction of free compulsory high school increased the matriculating student population and the number of potential university candidates. Chapter 21 College–University Dialogue: From Confrontation to Cooperation

Collapse of Monopoly Privilege: from college to university

This article focuses on the erosion of the monopoly by universities of the higher education system in Israel. The hegemony of the universities, the major player in the academic field, has been shattered by the development of the regional colleges that unsettled the preconceptions concerning the higher education system in Israel, including the goals, student profiles, curricula and organizational structure of the various types of academic institutions. This article examines how colleges and universities, the two major types of higher education institutions in Israel, were affected by enhanced access to higher education in the past decade.

Paradoxes in Higher Education: Universities versus Academic Colleges.

This article deals with paradoxical relationships between Israeli universities and colleges and their effect on the system of higher education. The article analyzes the history of the higher-education discourse, ranging from patronizing and domineering relations to collaboration based on the recognition that Israels entire system of higher education is headed in the same direction. Dialogue between the different types of academic schools in Israel is examined in light of the historical-organizational evolution of both universities and colleges. Paradoxical relationships are examined in light of the goals of the various schools, distinctive features of their student populations, their curricula, and their organizational structure. The article illuminates one of the most dynamic and paradoxical dialogues in Israel in the past decade and suggests a potential scenario encompassing the impact of this dialogue on Israels entire system of higher education. The authors believe that the case of Israel can contribute to at least two important discussions in the field of international and comparative education: (1) the influence of local and global forces on education policy; and (2) policy implementation and the connection between policy and practice. Discussion of the case of Israel and the paradigmatic transformation of higher education may shed light on implications for the field of higher education worldwide.

The Struggle for Legitimacy: Academic Colleges on the Map of Higher Education in Israel.

This article addresses a unique relationship evolving between the two major categories of higher learning institutions in Israel: the countrys universities, and the colleges that were established in their shadow. The history of higher education is outlined, stressing the initial dominance of the research universities, and explaining the gradual transformation of its elitist orientation into a more populist one. The article further explains how that transformation led to the establishment of colleges as affiliates of their ‘parent’ universities, functioning under their full supervision, describing how that model eventually led the Council for Higher Education (CHE) to encourage (in 2000) the development of non-university higher education institutions to secure equal opportunities to broad groups of population. The article goes on to analyze the methods of curricula and teaching development in the colleges, touching upon the development of graduate programs in non-university institutions. It concludes that the initial intention of the CHE to establish a dual system of research universities and popular colleges is developing into a monistic system following the research university concept and model.

The Right to Education for Multicultural Development: Canada and Israel

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the right to education for multicultural development. The right to multicultural development is accepted to a greater or lesser extent in many countries. The history of worldwide migration in the past several millennia, and more notably in the past two centuries, has resulted in a mix of peoples of various cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds within the boundaries of many modern nation-states. An overview is given of the ethnic and linguistic diversity of each nation, and this is linked with specific problems that have been addressed in educational programs devoted to the teaching of languages and to multicultural education in the broader sense. The achievements in allowing for multicultural development in Canada have taken a number of forms. The new Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrine group and individual rights to education in one or both of the official languages. In spite of continuous efforts on the part of the educational system of Israel to cope with problems of multiculturalism, none has been resolved satisfactorily. As these problems are of a political, social, and cultural nature and have implications beyond those of education, they cannot be expected to be solved by the educational system alone but with the active support and involvement of other social institutions as well.

Early Childhood Education of the Basques in Spain and the Druze in Israel: A Comparative Perspective.

Both the Basques and the Druze have maintained their uniqueness and ties to their past in spite of the press of the modern nation-states in which they find themselves today. In the case of the Basques, this uniqueness finds expression in culture and language, while, in the case of the Druze, religion is a strong factor. For both, education is a crucial factor in maintaining their cultural uniqueness. This article examines educational policies and practices of both groups with particular focus on early childhood education.RésuméLes Basques et les Druzes ont tous les deux maintenu leur caractère unique et leur attachement à leur passé malgré la presse dans leurs nations modernes respectives d’aujourd’hui. Dans le cas des Basques, cette particularité trouve son expression dans la langue et la culture alors que dans le cas des Druzes, la religion constitue un facteur prépondérant. Pour tous les deux l’éducation est un facteur crucial dans le maintien de la singularité culturelle. Cet article examine les politiques et les pratiques éducatives des deux groupes en mettant un accent particulier sur l’éducation préscolaire.ResumenTanto los Bascos como los Drusos han mantenido su carácter singular y sus lazos con el pasado, a pesar de lo que se publica en sus respectivas naciones modernas de hoy en día. En el caso de los Bascos esta ideosincracia encuentra su expresión en la cultura y en el idioma mientras, en el caso de los Drusos la religión es un factor preponderante. Para ambos, la educación es un factor crucial en el mantenimiento de una especificidad cultural. Este artículo examina las políticas y prácticas educativas de ambos grupos y focaliza principalmente en la educación preescolar.