This article focuses on the methodological challenges in one interview of the 60 in-depth interviews that comprise a research study of Israeli Druze currently underway. The study is being conducted by a pair of researchers, one a Canadian living in Israel, an English and Hebrew speaker, and one an Israeli Druze woman, a Hebrew and Arabic speaker. The interview examined here involves two interviewers, two interviewees, three languages and at least two cultural frameworks. The analysis treats the interview as an intrinsic case in order to expose the various contexts of the interview and how they affect the construction of meaning in this complex research situation.

This study investigated how two Israeli Druze high schools shape the identity and citizenship of adolescents through curriculum, teaching, discourse, social activities and national ceremonies. Data were collected through interviews with teachers, the two school principals, policymakers for Druze education in the Ministry of Education, and students, as well as through observations and document analysis. The research found that the Israeli Druze school system plays a significant role in shaping students’ identity and citizenship in the difficult Israeli context, developing adolescents who are firmly rooted in both Druze and Israeli identity. Four central mechanisms were found to infuse the schools in order to accomplish these goals. These were characterized as multi-faceted values education, multi-faceted development of students’ identity and citizenship, meaningful learning and the community good. The commitment of Druze educators to building strong Druze-Israeli identity in their students was seen to spring from Druze religious beliefs and from the unique position of the Druze among other Arab groups in Israel.

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This research examined Druze adolescents’ perception of their relationships with parents in Israel. Israeli Druze is a small group accounting for only 2% of Israel’s population. The Druze society is patriarchal; it demands absolute loyalty to the values of religion, family, and clan. Our goal was to explore the impact of increasing intercultural contact with modern Israeli society and the outside world on parent-child relationships in a traditional society that demands absolute loyalty and obedience to elders. The researchers used the phenomenological approach to understand parent-child relationships from the perspective of the adolescents themselves. Twelve Druze adolescents, six females and six males ranging in age from 16 to 18, completed a semi-structured interview in which they were asked to describe their relationships with parents. Participants were prompted to describe a recent conflict, if any, and the way in which the conflict was resolved, as well as a positive and a negative interaction with parents in the past year. Thematic analyses revealed intergenerational conflict related to perceived acculturation gaps. Other consistent themes portrayed supportive parent-child relationships and the adolescents’ commitment to Druze heritage. Overall, findings suggest that although increasing exposure to modern society may lead to intergenerational conflict, Druze adolescents remained grounded in supportive family relationships and their religious heritage.

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