The political education of the Israeli society.
Item
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Title
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The political education of the Israeli society.
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Identifier
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AAI9000031
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identifier
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9000031
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Creator
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Hanan, Nina.
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Contributor
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Co-Advisers: Dankwart Rustow | Marshall Berman
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Date
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1989
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Political Science, General
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Abstract
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Education and politics are interdependent. Education is shaped by social norms, values and prejudices, yet it also provides the means for social control through acculturation and training. Our concerns in this study are: to what extent has education in Israel been affected by political considerations, and what has been the educational impact on political identifications and commitments? Do changes in education correspond to fundamental events transpiring within Israel, or do they mask these changes? Can new educational policies revive or invalidate a society's core values?;Time after time, critics have pointed an accusing finger at the educational institutions as largely responsible for undesirable social phenomena. In the 1970's and 1980's, the strengthening of anti-democratic tendencies--militarism, chauvinism and intolerance--became apparent. These manifestations alarmed educators and public officials who viewed such occurrences as signaling the betrayal of basic humanist and Jewish traditions.;Observers have suggested that this phenomenon is mainly the result of historical turning points, particularly the wars of 1967 and 1973, and the 1977 political upheaval. Although the impact of such events on the Israeli public cannot be denied, our contention is that the newly manifested worldview is part of an ongoing process that began early. In order to understand the striking characteristics of this evolutionary process, we chose to look at the educational institutions as reflecting and affecting a changing political culture. Our purpose was to ascertain the dominant ideas and values found both in educational work and within the political domain.;Our study indicates that the political and educational agenda are interwoven. The prominent elements that have dominated the agenda are nationalism, defense and celebration of war victories. The preoccupation with security has overshadowed other social and political concerns, and the defense ethos has eclipsed previous core values and goals that were set to determine the raison d'etre of Israel. Indeed, Israeli educational resources have been mobilized to magnify and legitimize these priorities. This process was initiated by Labor's leadership soon after the establishment of the state, but the compromise of its propounded ideals had begun earlier. Gradually, the public has succumbed to the leadership's interpretation of its predicament, and eventually gave its support to the opposition party more explicit in its nationalistic intentions and commitments.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
