Title: Bridging Divides: Language, Identity, and the Integration Challenges of Arab Female Teachers in Jewish Educational Institutions

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Contemporary Issues In Education

Abstract

This mixed-methods study investigates how Arab women teachers working in Jewish schools in Israel navigate language use, identity, and professional affiliation. Drawing on Allport's Social Contact Theory, the study probes the affective, cultural, and institutional tensions Arab women teachers experience in navigating Hebrew-dominant professional spaces and their Arabic linguistic and cultural attachments. Quantitative questionnaire responses from 159 teachers were cross-referenced with qualitative information from two focus groups and 20 in-depth interviews. The findings offer linguistic compartmentalization patterns where Arabic is linked to the expression of emotion and cultural authenticity, and Hebrew is compartmentalized into occupational spheres, typically in conjunction with stress, alienation, and performative accommodation.

Author

• Eman Abo-Zaed Arar, Texas State University