Instructional practices of science teachers from the Arab community in Israel

Abstract

A significant amount of research is invested in examining instructional practices for science education. Many countries around the world have established reforms in science education, including how the sciences are taught. For instance, in 2013, many states in the United States established new standards for science education, the next generation science standards (NGSS). Similarly, in 2018, Israel's Ministry of Education published a "Portfolio of Lesson Plans" that emphasized the development of students' scientific skills and establishing a new era of instructional strategies in the sciences. In Israel's Arab community, science is considered an important discipline and it holds an important place in the educational system. Previous studies have shown that Arab teachers regularly use teacher-centered teaching strategies. The present study sought to identify instructional practices used by Arab science teachers, comparing these to the NGSS, and understand the beliefs underlying the choice of methods. It also examined how these practices are related to the teacher's years of experience. The study employed mixed methods. The quantitative portion was based on the science instructional practices survey. In accordance with teachers' self-reports, the results indicate that Arab science teachers in Israel primarily use traditional, non-NGSS instructional practices such as direct instruction; NGSS teaching practices, such as empirical investigations and critique, explanation, and argumentation, are used much less often. Novice teachers reported significantly more use of NGSS teaching practices than did experienced teachers. This difference was attributed to the hours of professional development dedicated to science instructional practices that novice teachers participated in as part of their in-service period. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight teachers to gain further insight into the beliefs and motivations underlying their choice of teaching methods. The findings highlight the teachers' belief that their main role is to transmit scientific knowledge to students, who should acquire the knowledge in a passive manner.

The reification of identity narratives in teacher–student discourse during an inquiry project

“…Arar and Ibrahim (2016) argued that this complex, conflicting situation has led Arab teachers to focus solely on the subject matter and class management (Arar & Ibrahim, 2016). Thus, it is unsurprising that students in Arab schools are not encouraged and often even discouraged from enacting agency and critical thinking (Abu-Asbah, 2007;Dkeidek & Issa, 2021;Seif, 2019).…”