CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION SYSTEMS

Ministry of Education Headquarters (https://en.wikipedia.org)

Challenges•Before the establishment of the state (1948), a fully functioning education system existed, developed by the pre-state Jewish community.

•After the establishment, the education system has faced the challenge of integrating a large influx of Jewish immigrants from 70+ countries.

IMMIGRANT STATUSWhen From Where Why1950s Postwar Europe & Arab countries  

To fulfill Israel's raison d'être as the homeland

1960s North Africa

1970s~

the Soviet Union (Millions)

  the Americas & Western countries

 Ministry of Education Faces Urgent Demands I •Develop special tools and methods for youngsters from various cultural backgrounds

•Design special programs including appropriate curricular aids and short-term classes, such as the Hebrew language and Jewish history.

•Initiate special courses to train teachers to deal with immigrant pupils, & to retrain immigrant teachers.

 Ministry of Education Faces Urgent Demands II •Bring educational standards in line with modern pedagogic practices: mandating gender equality, upgrading teacher status, broadening humanistic curricula, & promoting scientific/technological studies.

•Provide equal opportunities in education for all children and to increase the number of pupils passing matriculation examinations.

Enrollment and Expenditure•Elementary students 80,000 (1949): 120,000 (1950) 150% ↑•Enrollment (2014): Total 1,445,555 (Primary 828,732, Secondary 259,139, Tertiary 357,685) •Diploma (2012): Secondary 85% Tertiary 46% (tied with Japan, after Canada: the OECD average of 32%)

•Expenditure on education (2014): 10% of its GDP (the fifth among OECD countries)

Administration and Structure

•The Ministry of Education is charged with school curricula, educational standards, supervision of teaching personnel, and school buildings.

•Local authorities are charged with maintenance & equipment/supplies. •Teachers (the kindergarten to 6th grades) are ministry employees, while

those in the upper grades are employed by local authorities. •The government and local authorities finance 80% & other sources 20%.•ETV: produces educational programs for classrooms & common people.

Israel Education System (Since 1975) age Grade Level

26-27   Doctorate (2-3 years)24-25 19-20 Master’s Degree (2 years)21-23 16-18 University (3 years)

20 15  18-19 13-14 Compulsory Military-Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)

(2 years for women & 3 years for men)

15-17 10-12 Senior High School (3 years)12-14 7-9 Junior High School (3 years)6-11 1-6 Primary School (6 years)

5   Required: 1 year/Kindergarten2-4   Optional: 1-2 years /Day Care

Schedule for Primary Schools (Grades 1-6)Average Number of Hours Per Week

 Subjects Hebrew Arab/Druze Subjects Hebrew Arab/Druze

Reading/Writing/ Literature 7.7 10.3 Art 2.0 2.0Mathematics 6.0 6.0 Physical Education 2.0 2.0

Science & Technology 3.0 3.0 Religious Studies 2.3 2.3Social Studies * 3.3 3.3 Other (life Skills) 1.0 1.0

Foreign Language 2.0 2.0 Compulsory Flexible 2.0 1.8

TOTAL Hebrew 31.3 Arab/Druze 33.8

•History, Geography, Civics, & Road Safety

Schedule for Lower Secondary Schools (Grades 7-9)

 Subject State State-Religious  Arab/Druze Education

Reading/Writing/Liter 6.0 5.7 9.3-9.0Mathematics 5.3 4.3 5Science & Technology 5.7 4.7 4.7Social Studies * 5.7 5.7 5.7Foreign Language 7.0 6.0 4.4Physical Education 2.0 2.0 2.0Religious Studies 3.0 7.0 2.0 Other (life Skills) 0.3 0.3 0.3Compulsory Flexible 0.7 0.7 2.7TOTAL 35.7 36.4  

 

Average Number of Hours Per Week

 Schedule for Upper Secondary Schools (Grades 10-12)

  Average Number of Hours Per Week

Subjects Hebrew Education Arab/ Druze Ed

  State State-Religious  Reading/Writing/ Liter- 4.0 4 10-9

Mathematics 5.0 5 5Science & Technol. 2.0 2 2Social Studies * 5.3 5-3 6-5Foreign Language 6.0 5 5Physical Education 2.0 2 2Religious Studies 2.0 10 2Compulsory Curriculum 5 7-5 5 7-5 5 7-5Non-compulsory Curri-   7-5 5 7-5 5 7-5TOTAL 36.3 38.3-36.3 43.3 45.3-43.3 42-40 46-40Track Academic Technology Academic Technology Academic Technology

  Average Number of Hours Per WeekSubjects Hebrew Education Arab/ Druze Ed

Types of School

•Schools are divided into five groups: State, State religious, State Arab/Druze, Independent religious schools, and Private schools

•State Schools/Public Schools: majority of youth attend.•State-religious schools (Orthodox) Jewish studies programs,

emphasize tradition and observance.  •Arab/Druze Schools: emphasizes Arab history, religion & culture.•Independent Schools (ultra-Orthodox): almost entirely on Talmud

Torah; partially supported by the State (55% of state school).•Private schools are run mainly by Catholic and Protestant groups.

Operation of Schools •Most schools are subsidized by the state (10% of GDP (2014). •Compulsory education: kindergarten to 12th grade.•The language of instruction Hebrew (Jewish schools); Arabic (Arab

schools). Arabic is an optional language in Jewish schools, while Hebrew is taught in Arab school from the 4th grade.

•According to their worldview, different sectors attend different schools, resulted in little contact among the sectors.

• In 1984 the first integrated schools which had both Jewish and Arab students in a classroom were built by Neve Shalom, a cooperative village.

•As of 2010, there were five integrated schools in Israel in total.

Higher Education I•Higher Education plays a pivotal role in the economic and social development of the country.

•Before 1948, Technion/Israel Institute of Technology (1924) & the Hebrew University (1925).

•In 1948, enrollment at the two universities: about 1,600. •Currently, there are nine universities and numerous colleges. •In 2009-2010, 280,000 students attended the higher institutions (38% university, 41% college, 21% Open University).

Higher Education II•The Council for Higher Education awards accreditation, degrees, advising the government on development, financing & scientific research. 

•Until the early 1960s, the goal of higher education mainly to acquire knowledge, since then more career-oriented.

•At present, over half of the 20-24 age Israelites are enrolled in one of the country's institutions of higher education.

Issues Arab Sector Faced I

•The Jewish education system gets more resources, and drop-out rate for Israeli-Arab students is 12%; that of Jewish students ( 6%).

•In 1999 in attempt to close the gap between Arab and Jewish education sectors, the education minister announced an affirmative action policy, promising that Arabs would be granted 25% of the education budget.

•In 2001 a report stated that Arab schools have fewer teachers, inadequate school construction, and lack of libraries and recreational space. 

•In 2007 the Ministry announced a five-year plan to close the gaps and raise the number of students eligible for high school matriculation.

Issues Arab Sector Faced II•In 2009 a report showed that over 5000 Arab students moved to Jordan for higher education.

•In 2010 number of teachers rose: computer (50%), technology (165%), mathematics (171%), physics (25%), chemistry (44%) biology (81.7%).

•In 2012 report showed that a shortage of 6,100 classrooms 4,000 teachers.

•Israel was amongst the top-ranked nations in the world for science and mathematics in the 1960s, but dropped to 33 out of 41 nations in the 2002 survey. 

Matriculation Exams (Bagrut) •In 2006/7, 74.4% of Israeli 12th graders took the Bagrut exams,

but 46.3% were eligible for a matriculation certificate. In the Arab and Druze sectors: 35.6% and 43.7% respectively.

•Christian Arabs tend to have had the highest rates of success in the bagrut exams, in the entire education system. 

•In 2014, students from Orthodox schools (22%) take bagrut tests.  •Bagrut certificate and its scores often determine acceptance into

elite military units, academic institutions, and job prospects.•After secondary education, students are generally conscripted into

the Israel Defense Forces. 

References & Resources• Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/education/pages/education-

%20primary%20and%20secondary.aspx  (retrieved Oct. 29, 2015)• PDF] The Education System of Israel – AACRAO http://

handouts.aacrao.org/am08/finished/T1100a_T_Schumacher.pdf (retrieved Nov. 03, 2015)• List of Israeli universities and colleges https://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_universities_and_colleges (retrieved Nov.13, 2015)• 국가 수준 교육과정 국제 ( 이스라엘 ) 비교 연구Ⅱ . 연구책임자 : 정 선 영 ( 국민대학교 ). Ministry of Education• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Education_(Israel) (retrieved Nov 24, 2015)• http://data.worldbank.org/topic/education (retrieved Nov 24, 2015)• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html (retrieved

11/24/15)• PECD Country Note (retrieved 23 Nov. 2015) http://www.oecd.org/edu/Israel_EAG2013%20Country

%20Note.pdf• The Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (retrieved 23 Nov. 2015) http://

www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/cw_usr_view_Folder?ID=141• [PDF] Source: OECD (2015), Education at a Glance Interim Report

http://www.oecd.org/edu/EAG-Interim-report.pdf