Legal Socialization in Schools of Enclave Communities: The Case of Ultra-Orthodox Schools' Compliance With the Coronavirus Closure Regulations

• In Event: Education in the 21st Century: Evaluation, Engagement, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examines how schools in enclave ultra-Orthodox communities in Israel decided whether to follow COVID-19 closure regulations or defy them. We employ legal socialization theories to explore the interaction between legal and extralegal norms in schools’ decision-making processes and examine the relation between the principals’ perceptions of law and their legal behavior. The data include semi-structured interviews with school principals, various documents, and a field survey. We find substantial variation in schools’ compliance with COVID-19 regulations—and in whether the state chooses to enforce the regulations on defiant schools. These findings expose the bi-directional process by which the State socializes the community and the community socializes the State, placing enclave communities outside the law and vulnerable to the pandemic.

Authors

• Netta Barak-Corren, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• Lotem Perry-Hazan, University of Haifa