Global Rhetoric, Local Policy: Teacher Training Reform in Israeli Education

Gottlieb, Esther E.

doi:10.1177/0895904891005002006

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In a comparative study of papers calling for reforms in teacher education in the U.S. (The National Commission for Excellence in Teacher Education, 1985; The Holmes Group, 1986) and in Israel (Dan, 1983) a common rhetoric was discovered (Gottlieb 1991). This common denominator was an a priori assumption that education improves when teaching improves, and that there is a direct link between teacher education, teaching quality and student attainment (Cornbleth 1989).…”

Section: Reforms In Teacher Educationmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Academization of Physical Education Teacher Training a Discourse Analysis Case Study

Fejgin

1995

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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This article reports a case study of the rhetoric means used to construct and present an "academic" program of teacher training in physical education. It examines the struggle of the physical education teachers in Israel for professional recognition as a discoursive event:The introduction of a new degree, and a new institutional name, together with newly defined goals, entry requirements and curriculum, and the use of new terms, borrowed from the university lexicon, such as "academic", "discipline", "seminar", "methodology", "empirical" "science" etc. -all create a new semantic system which helps to present the physical education teacher training as more academic and more professional. Discourse analysis has been used by sociologists, economists and other social scientists (Hall 1985;Postman 1985; McClosky 1985;Brown 1987;Wexler 1987) to show how language is used to construct social reality. Following text analyses of Wittgenstein (1953), Foucault (1972) and others, these social scientists undertake to understand how discourse constructs knowledge and thus serves a specific ideology. Hall (1985) argues that discourse serves ideology by presenting allegedly necessary relationships among facts or ideas, which relationships have social and political consequences. Kirk (1992) applies this concept to physical education and exercise activities.He argues that in the last decade, a very specific discourse was established, that implied a strong relationship between exercise, health and body shape. This discourse, used in print media, television and exercise videos, becomes part of the culture. It influences peoples' lives, so they invest time, money and energy in exercise. Therefore, the discourse has social and market effects.Kirk suggests using discourse analysis to discover hidden agendas in physical education research, teaching and learning. Such analysis may help us understand possible effects of the &dquo;hidden curriculum&dquo; (see Jackson 1968), not only in terms of the value system which underlies it (Bain 1975), but also in terms of the power relationships which it supports. Such analysis may also help us understand that agenda's consequences for particular individuals and social groups.* The analysis in this paper partially draws on a study

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Section: Reforms In Teacher Educationmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Academization of Physical Education Teacher Training a Discourse Analysis Case Study

Fejgin

1995

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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“…But the social-economic gap, as measured by educational attainment, reappears when we examine the statistics for higher education. In other words, as the Israeli system has approached universal attainment of 12 years of schooling, it is at the higher educational level that intergroup pressures manifest themselves (see Gottlieb 1991).…”

Section: From Homogeneity To Heterogeneitymentioning

confidence: 98%

The visible and invisible crises in Israeli higher education in the 90s

Gottlieb

Chen

1995

High Educ

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This study focuses on the Israeli experience of developing higher education as part of the expansion of a nation-building economic project. Educational development and the current crises are examined in the context of a particular history and a unique socioeconomic, political, and cultural experience. Nevertheless, the purpose of this research is to allow the drawing of meaningful inferences, so that researchers into other national cases might profit from the insight into the sources, both visible and less visible, for the "break in equilibrium" (Bourdieu's term) in the Israeli academy. At stake is the most characteristic feature of the old Israeli academic model, namely the conflation of the missions of teaching and research. To discover the present state of the research-teaching nexus, we examined faculty perceptions as reflected in a recent (1993) survey. This survey was part of the first Carnegie International Survey of the Academic Profession, and its international scope allowed us to undertake some comparative analyses. The Israeli case-study, as well as the analysis of the International survey, shows that devotion to research and meeting teaching obligations, collaboration on research with others, obtaining funds for research, and scholarly publication have strong disciplinary relevance in the day-today shaping of academic life in all post-industrialized countries, Israel among them. A unique small systemEvery higher education system thinks of itself as unique. One of the reasons the Israeli system can claim uniqueness is the disproportionate national and international visibility of the Israeli academic profession relative to its actual size, which can be explained by the vigor with which Israeli academics have participated in the transnational marketplace of knowledge production and dissemination.The philosopher Zvi Lam (1987) has noted that the homogenized and standardized nature of the Israeli academy results from a basic fact -its small size. There are several universities in the world which have a larger student body and faculty than those of all Israeli higher education institutions combined. Israel is not only a small country, it is also a very irregular one. Conflicts and wars, frequent migrations of populations in and out, international involvements, traditional high regard for learning, economic decline and internal political tensions make it an uncommon case. Nevertheless the purpose of this research is to allow the drawing of meaningful inferences, so that other case studies might profit from the precedent of Israeli policies and strategies. Case studies of particular countries (even somewhat anomalous countries) are crucial for anyone engaged in strategic planning and policy making. This is because the basic questions regarding the nature and consequences of educational development are less accessible to scrutiny through macro-educational analysis than they are in specific national contexts.

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Making education world-class: “ThinkGlobalOhio”

Gottlieb

2012

Prospects

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Global Rhetoric, Local Policy: Teacher Training Reform in Israeli Education

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

The Academization of Physical Education Teacher Training a Discourse Analysis Case Study

The Academization of Physical Education Teacher Training a Discourse Analysis Case Study

The visible and invisible crises in Israeli higher education in the 90s

Making education world-class: “ThinkGlobalOhio”

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