Should bible studies remain in Israeli public schools? Teachers' attitudes towards bible teaching as a mandatory subject

Religious Education, Spring 2003 by Idalovichi, Israel

Of the 64 bible teachers:

* 48 teach in nonreligious (secular) state public schools. The individual religiosity of these teachers was measured by asking a number of questions that use their degree of religious observances (mitzvoth) and religious practice in generally as the yardstick for categorizing the respondents as religious or secular. Religiosity is strongly tied to family and local communities in Israel; thus, there is a close association between religiosity and ethnic background.

* 16 teach in religious-oriented state public schools. The religious teachers practice religious commandments, pray on regular basis, and declared themselves to be more orthodox in recent years.

* 30 teach in kindergartens and primary schools.

* 16 teach in junior high schools.

* 18 teach in high schools.

* 31 are relatively new teachers (1-5 years of teaching).

* 9 are relatively experienced teachers (6-12 years of teaching).

* 24 are veterans in the profession (13 or more years of teaching).

* 75 percent are nonreligious (chi-square 1 = 16.0, p

Most of the 64 bible teachers (67 percent) in the sample represent the new generation of teachers in Israel:

* 67 percent are the first generation to have acquired higher education in Israel;

* 73 percent of the teachers or their parents are of Sephardi ethnic origin (Jews who emigrated from African and Asian countries);

* 100 percent are teaching (part-time or full-time) bible studies in schools.

Methods

The study combined quantitative and qualitative analyses, examining the positions of 64 bible teachers, through a semistructured questionnaire in which the respondents were asked to answer my questions-first responding yes or no and then substantiating their position in writing. The yes-no responses made it possible to carry out a quantitative analysis of the responses, while the explanations served as the basis for qualitative analysis. The data analysis was carried out in three stages, according to the method developed by Strauss and Corbin (1990).

Integration of quantitative and qualitative analyses allowed us to examine the interrelationship between the variables. This was followed by in-depth interviews, conducted in an unstructured manner with sixty-four participants, in order to examine the social and cultural attitudes held by the teachers. In examining levels of correlation between the questionnaires and input from the open interviews, the research team found they support and reinforce one another.

Findings

Teachers' attitudes toward bible teaching as a mandatory subject are on the whole, positive throughout the country (Almog et al. 1998; Leibowitz 1992; Levi et al. 1993). This general attitude was expressed over and over when the Ministry of Education tried to introduce certain reforms in the Israeli high school matriculation system, including suggestions that bible study be dropped as a mandatory subject to lighten the burden of too many examination subjects. Countrywide protests among both teachers and parents who opposed any reduction in the status of bible studies have kept Bible a mandatory subject for every Jewish student.