Israel

Basic Data
Official Country Name:	State of Israel
Region:	Middle East
Population:	5,842,454
Language(s):	Hebrew, Arabic, English
Literacy Rate:	95%
Compulsory Schooling:	11 years
Public Expenditure on Education:	7.6%
Libraries:	1,180
Educational Enrollment:	Primary: 631,916
	Secondary: 541,737
	Higher: 198,766
Educational Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 98%
	Secondary: 88%
	Higher: 41%
Female Enrollment Rate:	Secondary: 87%

History & Background

The history of the Israeli educational system reflects a consistent need to address diversity of population, conflicting points of view, and varying needs, while adhering to essential principles of excellence in curriculum and student development. The State of Israel was founded on May 15, 1948, under the auspices of the United Nations, ending a long period of British Mandate. During the past half century, Israel has fought a number of wars with neighboring countries.

Immigrants have reshaped Israeli society and its educational needs and system. Although Jews have been in Israel for centuries, settlement of the modern state has occurred through six major waves of immigration. The first of these in the late nineteenth century included mostly Jews from eastern Europe, followed by a largely Russian group who went to Israel following the 1905 Russian Revolution, and the pogroms in Russia. These immigrants were particularly interested in establishing a collective and collaborative society, thus, they were the force behind the formation of kibbutzim, or collective settlements.

The first third of the twentieth century also brought additional Jews from Europe, particularly following World War I, as antisemitism there escalated. This immigration was supported by Britain's Balfour Declaration in 1917, which committed Britain to help create a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Britain received a mandate from the League of Nations in 1923 to govern Palestine, further enhancing immigration. However, Arab residents of the area resisted the growing immigration pattern and the British then attempted to limit the numbers of immigrants.

Large numbers of German Jews arrived in Israel in the period immediately preceding World War II, as many sought to escape the Nazi regime and its persecution of Jews. These immigrants were generally wealthier than most of those who moved to Israel before them, and so brought capital, trade, and industry. Modern Israel has considerable ethnic diversity, because current inhabitants consist of both Ashkenazim (i.e., Jews from European countries), and Sephardim (i.e., Jews from the Mediterranean, Africa, and other parts of the Middle East). Additional immigration from a variety of source countries followed the war, particularly after the independence of the state of Israel in 1948. The last major wave of immigrants arrived in the early 1990s, coming from Russia and Ethiopia.

Contemporary Israel is a country of about 8,000 square miles and almost 6 million people. More than 80 percent of the population is Jewish, though they are not homogeneously religious. The rest of the population consists of other groups, mostly Arab. There is a separate Arabic educational system, in which Arabic is the language of instruction.

In addition to the capital city of Jerusalem, there are four other major cities: Tel Aviv, Haifa, Holon, and Petach Tikva. The government, headed by a Prime Minister, is a parliamentary democracy, with leadership in the Knesset (Parliament) achieved through a coalition of various parties and factions. Elections are held every four years unless the government is dissolved and elections occur sooner.

Constitutional & Legal Foundations

The formation of the educational system of Israel has come about through a series of laws setting up the system and making changes within it to address diversity issues and problems. It is a highly centralized system, overseen by the Ministry of Education, and Culture and Sport, including separate schools for the Arab and Druze segments of the population. The school system has two major goals: providing equal educational opportunities to all segments of the population, and integrating the large numbers and varied groups of immigrants into the country and the culture.

The basic arrangement of primary and secondary schools and a variety of institutions of higher education, both academic and vocational, has been in place for most of the twentieth century. In addition, the laws provided structure for compulsory education and unified some aspects of the curriculum. Five major pieces of legislation have contributed to the formation of modern Israeli education, along with a variety of other regulations adopted by the Knesset. In 1949, the Compulsory Education Law provided free and required primary education for children between the ages of 5 and 13, requiring 1 year of kindergarten and 8 years of primary school. It was later amended to expand the program to children beginning at age 3.

Subsequently, the government has extended compulsory education through grade 10 and offered free public education through grade 12. Schools may be state schools or state religious schools, as provided for in 1953, through the State Education Law. Among the state schools are the Arab state schools that use Arabic as the language of instruction. This law also allows for nonstate education, mostly through private religious schools, both Orthodox Jewish schools and Christian schools of various denominations.

In 1958, the Council for Higher Education Law centralized and formalized higher education in Israel through the creation of the Council for Higher Education, the central authority for all forms of higher education. It is chaired by the Minister of Education and Culture. The Council oversees the funding, planning, accreditation, degree offerings, academic freedom, and levels of autonomy for all institutions of higher education in the country.

In 1968, the School Reform Act revised the structure of the education system. This Act was intended to replace the eight years of primary education and four years of secondary education with a new structure. As a result of the change, students have six years of primary education, three years of junior high school or intermediate education, and three years of high school. For various sociopolitical reasons, the new structure has only been partially implemented, so that some students still receive the eight-year primary education before moving to grade 9 in junior high (Iram and Schmida). A second goal of the Reform Act was to provide a secondary education for all, partly through expansion of vocational education. There was also a greater need for vocational training in the areas of technology, mechanics, and related areas (Iram and Schmida).

In 1990, the Long School Day Law extended the school day to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for schools where students were doing inferior work in comparison to students in other parts of Israel. The extended hours made it possible for the schools to provide additional small-group instruction, particularly in Hebrew and in mathematics, to help students learn more effectively.

Educational System—Overview

There are four levels of education in Israel, beginning with a preprimary or nursery school level and continuing through primary and secondary levels to higher education of several different types. Free and compulsory education begins with two years of nursery school starting at age three, and a year of kindergarten at age five. The addition of two years of nursery school was instituted with a change to the Compulsory Education Law in 1984 (Iram and Schmida). Also the primary school years are free and compulsory (grades 1-8). Since about 1963, grades 9 and 10 have also been free and compulsory. Secondary education continues through grade 12 and is free, though not compulsory.

There are three types of high schools: the academic high school prepares students for higher education and culminates in a matriculation certificate; the vocational technical high school prepares students for technical or practical careers in engineering and other fields; and the comprehensive high school offers both types of programs. At the postsecondary level, there are training institutions of several different kinds, offering preparation for primary school teaching, nursing, and other technical and semiprofessional careers. There are seven universities offering bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees. Admission to a university requires that students pass the bagrut, or national matriculation examination.

The academic year runs from September through July, 6 days per week, with about 35 hours per week devoted to school. The language of instruction in Jewish schools is Hebrew; the Arab schools use Arabic. All students study English beginning in the primary school years, either in grade 5 or grade 6. Several strategies have been used to support computer use in the schools, beginning in 1998 with the installation of computers into virtually all primary schools across the country (Schramm). The second step is intended to assist with connections to the Internet and to in-service training for teachers.

The curriculum throughout the Israeli educational system is highly standardized and centralized through the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Ministry over-sees all levels including higher education; the latter is controlled by the Council for Higher Education. The curriculum addresses the diversity of the population in a number of different ways above and beyond the basic divisions among the state and state-religious schools and private schools.

Preprimary & Primary Education

The preprimary educational program developed from the traditional Jewish Heder (translated from Hebrew as room), a form of early childhood education common among Jews in the Middle Ages. In the Heder, boys from age 3 to 13 would study Hebrew and learn religion from a single teacher. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Israeli schools had begun to develop kindergarten and nursery school programs consistent with modern concepts of early child development. These programs entail general preparation for school in three areas: social skills, Hebrew language and cultural study, and some academic preparation for reading and writing. The goal of both nursery school and kindergarten is to help unify the country by offering equal educational opportunities to all students and to help improve children's chances of success in all their education.

The primary school system ranges from six to eight years, depending on whether a particular school has changed from the old (eight/four) pattern of longer primary and shorter secondary schooling to the newer one (six/six). Historically, prior to Israel's independence as a country, there were several competing approaches to primary education. The chief difference among these approaches concerned the amount of time devoted to religious studies as opposed to secular subjects. A secondary issue concerned the use of Hebrew as the language of instruction, a matter settled by the end of World War I with the widespread use of modern Hebrew as the language of instruction in the schools. The State Education Law of 1953 created the configuration of state or state-religious schools, and private religious schools.

The primary schools address issues that arise from the diverse population of Israel and its large immigrant groups. The dual goals of equality of opportunity and integration into Israeli society provide the focus of instruction in the primary school system. Failure to achieve these goals created a need for major reform of the educational system. The reform began in 1968 with the School Reform Act. Parental involvement in the schools has also shifted over time, with some parents seeking a greater degree of choice in terms of their children's enrollment in a particular school. Parents also sought control over curriculum, requesting enrichment in both creative and academic areas. By the 1990s, some specialized schools with enhanced curricula had begun to develop as a result of parental involvement. There was also significant opposition to such arrangements by other Israelis and by professional educator groups, because they were perceived as giving rise to segregated schools and to an elitist form of education; thus, the government provided no additional support for them.

The curriculum of the primary schools is set by the Ministry of Education and Culture. It includes the usual school academic subjects: science, math, geography, history, and so forth. In all schools, students also study the Bible and Talmud (Jewish tradition), with more time allocated to these subjects in the state religious schools than in the state schools. In language study, children are taught Hebrew language and literature, because among immigrant groups Hebrew may not be the native language. The study of English as a first foreign language is required beginning in grade 5 or grade 6, though in a few schools French is required in place of or in addition to English (Bentwich). Two other areas included in the curriculum are manual training (woodwork or metalwork for boys, domestic science for girls, and agriculture for all) and social education (current affairs, proper behavior, respect for property, etc.). There are additional co-curricular activities such as field trips and clubs to give students opportunities for social education; co-curricular activities thus address the goal of helping immigrants become integrated into Israeli society.

Students generally proceed together through the education system as part of a cohesive group. Each school year, they are not rearranged into different classes, but instead, stay together with the same group through their entire education. Considerable emphasis is placed on making sure that everyone stays with the group (i.e., remediation for slower students as necessary); less emphasis is given to enhancing opportunities for the more able students.

This strategy is used deliberately as a form of preparation for compulsory military service for all Israelis at the age of 18. When young people enter the military, they are already part of a unit with others they have known for many years, creating a sense of equality, community, and mutual responsibility. Once in the army, they will function more effectively as a unit. In addition, and of necessity, primary schools in Israel provide instruction for all students in how to respond to a security emergency (Garfinkle).

Primary education is widespread. It provides students with basic instruction in conventional school subjects, languages, and religious studies while it builds group cohesion. The diversity that is the result of Israel's immigrant population is addressed through the curriculum and supplemental activities, allowing new citizens to be integrated into the society through equality of opportunity within the educational system.

Secondary Education

Prior to Israel's independence and in the first years of its existence as a country, secondary education was funded by tuition and was not mandatory. Following the educational reforms of 1968, all students were required to attend school through grade 10 and there were no tuition charges. These changes came about as a result of a perceived failure of the schools to provide equal opportunity, especially for disadvantaged students, and as a result of the failure of the schools to assist with the integration of the various immigrant groups into Israeli society. Another aspect of the educational reform of 1968 was to abolish a previously used screening test that identified students who qualified for the academic high school. Primary school students were then able to move to one of the three forms of secondary education without any selection process.

The academic high school consists of a three or four year program of study that prepares students to take the Bagrut exam (which translates from Hebrew as matriculation); passing this examination is required for admission to any university in Israel. The curriculum of the academic high schools is highly structured and focused on the subjects and skills needed to perform well on the matriculation examination. The examination system has been revised a number of times and in a number of ways, including changes to the numbers of subjects on which students are examined, the use of term papers in some subjects in place of formal written tests, and the use of varied levels of achievement on the exams instead of a simple pass-fail system. Despite its disadvantages and problems, the system remains in place and is considered to be the highest standard for academic educational achievement. Students who succeed in the academic high school are those most likely to go on to a university and be successful members of Israeli society.

A second type of high school program is vocational in nature. Like the academic high school, students complete a three or four year program of study that prepares them for semiprofessional careers in electronics, other technological areas, practical engineering, data processing, and so on. Because of changes in technology resulting from the development of computers, a special committee recommended substantive changes to vocational education to the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1992 (Iram and Schmida). The proposals include a broader preparation in science, a more academic curriculum to prepare for the matriculation examination, and a general focus on technology for all students.

The third type of high school program is centered in the comprehensive high schools. These schools have developed over time and through a series of reforms and modifications to their structure and curriculum. The present configuration consists of a six-year program of study, including both junior high and high school, and is most commonly found in the new towns and settlements rather than in the major cities of Israel. In these schools, both academic and vocational programs of study are offered, and they are considered to be equal in value. The student population is more heterogeneous, supporting the integrative function of the schools in Israeli society more generally. The comprehensive schools make a concerted effort to prepare all students to pass matriculation exams successfully, regardless of their chosen curricula.

Language & Literacy Issues: Israel's educational system has taken a unique approach to language and literacy learning that arises at least partly from the history of the country and from the history of Hebrew as a language. The development of modern Hebrew results from the efforts of one man to transform the language of rabbis and scholars from a language of prayer and sacred text to a living language suitable for a growing country. Eliezer Perlman, who adopted Ben-Yehuda as his last name, a Russian Jewish immigrant and philologist, took it upon himself to revive Hebrew. In 1881, Ben-Yehuda and his wife emigrated to Palestine; Ben-Yehuda felt that the absence of a national language there was an important problem pertinent to the development of a national sense of identity. Arabic, Turkish, French, Russian, and other languages were used by various groups within the region of Palestine, but no one language was widely used. Ben-Yehuda thus resolved to help develop Hebrew as the national language.

Besides the absence of a national language in Palestine, there were two other problems that contributed to Ben-Yehuda's work. In the developing Jewish community within Palestine, Hebrew was used as the common language among Jewish immigrants from a variety of countries. It was apparently not used in a reduced, pidgin form, because these speakers could use the full form of the language, but it was not yet exactly a common language because it was not being used as the language of government, business, and education. In addition, Hebrew was the ancient language of the region and so had a kind of authority enjoyed by no other language spoken in the region.

Linguistically, the problem with Hebrew was not in the syntax or sentence structure, but in the vocabulary. The syntax did change some as the language was revived, with Ben-Yehuda changing the basic structure of simple sentences so that they began with a verb rather than the subject, following the syntactic pattern of Arabic. The phonology and orthography were also acceptable, though there were some irregularities in the spelling system that Ben-Yehuda tried to address with mixed success. The major need, though, was for a greatly expanded vocabulary that would allow speakers to discuss contemporary issues and various aspects of modern life. By the end of World War I, Hebrew had become the predominant language in Palestine and it would be important in the founding of the independent state as well, including a specific role in the educational system.

Ben-Yehuda was not an educator, but a writer and editor of small newspapers and other publications. His major strategy for enhancing and updating the vocabulary of Hebrew was to research the Semitic roots of words and use those roots to create contemporary forms. In 1904, Ben-Yehuda published the first volume of what would ultimately be a 17-volume comprehensive dictionary of Hebrew (Sachar 83). In order to spread the newly created language, though, Ben-Yehuda needed the help of the educational system in Israel. With intensive efforts he achieved ultimate success.

The various waves of immigration brought speakers of many different languages. The schools they established or attended used the native language of the local immigrant group, German, Russian, and so on. Many of the immigrants spoke Yiddish and it, too, was used in the schools in some places. By 1903, there was a Hebrew Teachers' Association, supporting teachers across the country who wanted to use Hebrew as the language of instruction in the schools. Zionist settlers began using Hebrew exclusively in their schools.

A crisis over the language issue was prompted by the development of the first institution of higher education, the Technion, in Haifa. The Technion's origin was supported by donations from Russian and German sources prior to its official founding, and overseen by German administrators who wanted, naturally, to use German as the language of instruction. Moreover, German had a full vocabulary for dealing with technical subjects, whereas Hebrew's vocabulary was still quite limited. Zionist settlers were dissatisfied, and Ben-Yehuda was infuriated by this move. The Hebrew Teachers' Association went on strike over the issue, and ultimately, the directors of the Technion agreed in 1914 that all courses would be taught in Hebrew (Sachar). By the time of the 1916 census, 40 percent of the population spoke modern Hebrew as their first language (Sachar). The schools and the teachers played a key role in establishing Hebrew as the national language and language of instruction in the schools of Israel.

In modern Israel, Hebrew is the language of instruction and English or French is the required second language in all schools, beginning in the primary years (grade 5 or 6). Literacy rates are very high in Israel; the World Almanac estimates the literacy rate at about 96 percent as of 2001. There are large numbers of publications of all kinds, including more than 24 daily newspapers and many periodicals, mostly in Hebrew (Sachar). Book publishers and libraries abound in the country.

For the purposes of supporting new immigrants and fostering their integration into Israeli culture and society, there are a number of ulpanim or intensive Hebrew language schools. Although there are fewer such schools now than in the late 1970s when immigration to Israel was very high, these programs still offer intensive study of Hebrew, either for six months in a day program or for a year in a less intensive evening program. An ulpan may also be offered on a kibbutz, in combination with a work program or as part of an overall longer residential resettlement program for new immigrants.

Vocational Education: The picture of vocational education in Israel is quite complex, both in terms of the development of the system and its position in the overall educational system. In general, the goal of vocational education is like the goal of the education system overall: to offer equality of opportunity while addressing diverse needs in the population, and in the economy. The complexity of the situation is further reflected in a general trend toward more academic education for all students and a trend away from vocational training of any kind in the schools.

The vocational schools have a mixed sponsorship and an assortment of different configurations in their programming. Some schools are sponsored by voluntary organizations such as the Organization of Labor and Vocation (ORT) or the Women's Organization for Israel and Torah (Amit). Others are sponsored by the cities or by the government. Although the curriculum is under the control of the Ministry of Education and Culture, some programs are overseen by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. There are also the comprehensive high schools within the state system, which offer vocational programs in combination with more traditional academic programs.

There are four different arrangements of vocational programs. The first of these leads to the matriculation exams and certificate described above, with qualifications in technological subjects. Students who successfully complete the matriculation exams of this kind are eligible for higher education. A second arrangement leads to a final certificate and trade diploma. Students who complete this course are then qualified to work in their specialized field. A practical vocational course comprises the third plan; this type of study leads to certification by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. The last possibility is a "guidance" course for the least able student population. The most sophisticated technological training is available only to the students in the higher levels of the system. Increasing numbers of students have been enrolling at this higher level of study and very few students now enroll at the lower levels.

In addition to these varied arrangements within the regular secondary education program, there are part-time vocational schools. These are closer to an in-service kind of program, offering practical occupational training without the academic preparation. A different approach is offered by the industrial schools, jointly run by the government and individual industries. The courses of study in the industrial schools provide a form of on-the-job training but lead to certificates at three levels: technical, regular, and practical tracks.

The net impact of the vocational system has been to separate the more academically talented students, who are generally of European/Ashkenazic background from the Oriental/Sephardic students who tend to be less talented academically and less capable as students, according to Daniel Elazar. At the same time, offering universal secondary education opened the door to greater equity of treatment of the two groups, giving rise to the expanded curricula that lead to the matriculation exams and opened the possibility of higher education to this segment of the population. Increasingly, students with vocational interests are enrolling in comprehensive high schools where vocational and academic preparation are combined; these programs enable more students to succeed in the matriculation examinations and then to proceed to higher education.

The vocational education offered in Israel continues to struggle with the various competing needs of students and society, attempting to offer a variety of kinds of programs and situations to respond to changing needs.

Arab Education/Multicultural Issues:

Arab Education: One of the key problems facing Israel's educational system is addressing the needs of its Arab students. On the whole, the schools that Arabs attend are not as good as those that Jewish students attend in Israel, resulting in fewer students in the preschool and kindergarten classes, lower overall attendance rates, and fewer graduates. According to Schramm, the enrollment of Arabs in the twelfth grade is 57.8 percent compared to an 87.5 percent enrollment among Jews. Arab education is one area where Israel has not met the needs of a diverse population very effectively. Although the government has made some effort to improve the Arab schools, they lack services considered routine in Jewish schools such as psychological counseling and routine medical services, extracurricular activities of various kinds, library facilities, and additional instruction in reading.

Part of the difficulty with Arab education lies in the teaching staff. The teachers in Arab schools are not nearly as well trained as those in Jewish schools. Their preparation was generally shorter than that of Jewish teachers. The teacher training institutions for Arab teachers did not have as high a level of expertise as the Jewish teachers' colleges. One result of these weaknesses has been that there has been a teacher shortage in the Arab schools. The weakness in teachers and their training plays out in the schools, in that the student/teacher ratio is higher than it is in Jewish schools and Arab schools are also larger in terms of total enrollment than Jewish schools.

Another aspect of the difficulty in Arab schools has to do with relationships within the school itself. Teachers have absolute authority, so that students seldom express views different from those of their teachers. The teachers are locked into an authoritarian hierarchical structure, supervised by inspectors who ultimately report of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Teachers have little incentive for creativity because of the controlled structure in which they work. Their relationship outside of school to a hamula (Arab kinship group) may affect their work. The tensions between or among different kinship groups of this kind also sometimes carry over into the schools and impinge on teachers' effectiveness.

The Arab schools underwent major curriculum review and reform from the mid-1970s to about 1990. Among the changes put into place were additional attention to Arabic language and literature along with Hebrew language and literature, study of the history of the state as well as its culture, and more focus on religious studies including the history of Islam and its key beliefs. However, Arab education still falls far behind Jewish education in Israel and requires additional reform and improvement.

Multicultural issues: The Arab group within Israel is not the only significant group in the total population. As a result of the various waves of immigration both before and after Israel's independence, its society is highly diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity, and national origins. The schools are the major resource for integration of these diverse groups into Israeli society, particularly through the teaching of Hebrew and through the mandatory curriculum followed in the primary schools. Since the early 1980s, the school system has taken a multicultural approach to fostering integration of diverse groups.

Presently, the schools focus on trying to find common ground between Jews of the Orient and Jews from the West, between religious and nonreligious Jews of various types, and between Arabs and Jews. Although promoting integration and unity, school programs also support individual preferences and recognition of each distinct group's contribution to the society. Parents have also been granted the right to choose schools for their children, and some distinctive schools that offer specific experimental or diverse curricula are available.

As with the Arab schools, some problems persist. The government has attempted to address some of the difficulties through additional funding, focused in part on bringing Oriental Jews' socioeconomic conditions closer to those of European and Ashkenazi Jews. Neighborhood renovation projects and additional funding for the schools have been only partly successful in addressing the persistent inequities between these groups. Efforts to address the differences between the religious, and notably the ultraorthodox groups and nonreligious Jews have also been problematic. One example of the kinds of problems that persist is reflected in the continuing use of ability grouping in the junior high school level; this strategy resegregates classes, a move contrary to the goal of building an equal and cohesive group of students. Thus, as in the Arab schools, much work remains to be done.

Higher Education

Higher education in Israel consists of universities, other degree-granting institutions, teacher-training institutions, regional colleges, and academic institutions from abroad that offer programs but confer degrees in their country of origin. The universities have an independent legal status as mentioned previously, under the administration of the Council for Higher Education.

There are seven major universities in Israel. The first three of these were founded before Israel's independence as a nation in 1948, including the Technion or Israel Institute of Technology founded in 1924 in Haifa, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, founded in 1925, and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot founded in 1934. Since 1948, four other institutions have been established: Bar-Ilan University in 1955, Tel Aviv University in 1956, Haifa University in 1963, and Ben-Gurion University in 1969 (Iram and Schmida).

In addition to the universities, there are other types of higher education in Israel, including an Open University, teachers' colleges, vocational institutions, and other tertiary educational institutions. The universities form a separate and distinct category from the "other" institutions. The distinctions are made in terms of the degrees offered by the various institutions and in terms of how each type of institution is funded. Thus, the seven universities grant bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in a variety of areas, including humanities, social sciences, law, medicine, engineering, and so on. They are funded exclusively by the Council of Higher Education.

The Open University offers only the bachelor's degree in humanities, social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences. It operates under the authority of the Council for Higher Education and, according to the Council, enrolls more than 30,000 students (Schramm). The programs include individual study through written textbooks and other media, or alternatively, group study. Under the individual study approach, students work on materials as convenient and attend tutorial sessions every three weeks at centers located throughout the country. Under the group study approach, students do a considerable amount of work on their own using Open University texts and materials, but also attend weekly meetings at regional and municipal colleges or at sites associated with the seven major universities. The Open University draws students from every age group and sector of the population.

The Open University also offers college-level courses to students still in high school. A program approved by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1999 allows high school students to enroll for university courses leading to an advanced high school diploma (Watzman). The additional work yields college credit and will demonstrate a student's ability to do college work. For this reason, advanced courses through the Open University may be used in place of the national Bagrut examinations for college admission. An important advantage to this program is that courses from the Open University do not require computer access as they are completed through special materials and telephone connections or the periodic meetings described above. Thus, these courses are available to everyone and offer equal opportunities to students regardless of their socioeconomic background. Moreover, there is financial aid available to high school students for enrollment in Open University classes, both through the Ministry of Education and Culture and through private foundations supporting the program.

The rest of the nonuniversity category, in addition to the Open University, includes seven institutions of higher education that award professional bachelor's degrees. There are also nine teachers' colleges, accredited by the Council for Higher Education, that offer the bachelor's degree in education. These two types of institutions are funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture, like the state and state-religious schools at the primary and secondary levels. Finally, there are 11 regional colleges supervised by the Ministry and the Council for Higher Education.

These regional institutions offer bachelor's degrees in particular areas of study. Their academic offerings are the parts of their programs supervised by the Council. They are intended to be centers for adult and continuing education and are part of an attempt to make higher education more accessible to the entire population of Israel. They are funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture, by local authorities, and by the Ministry of the Interior. From outside the country, there are extension programs offered by at least three institutions under the auspices of the Council for Higher Education. These programs award degrees outside Israel and are not essentially part of the national system of higher education.

The whole of the Israeli system of higher education cannot be easily compared to the systems of most western countries because of the nature of the student population and because the way programs are structured. Most students attend an institution of higher education after they serve in the military immediately following the completion of secondary education; the compulsory military service entails a term of three years for men and two years for women. As a result, typical undergraduates at colleges and universities in Israel are in their 20s. Almost half the population in this age range enrolls in some kind of higher education, a higher rate than that of many developed countries according to Iram and Schmida.

The structure of the programs also makes comparison difficult. Most bachelor's degree programs require three years of study and involve study in two departments selected by the students, providing they are admissible by department criteria. Professional studies in fields such as law and medicine begin immediately in the undergraduate program and require three to five years for completion, with the master's degree requiring three additional years, and the Ph.D. three years beyond that. Students seeking doctoral degrees typically plan their own programs of research and study.

There are a number of changes occurring in the system of higher education in Israel, focusing on the key issues confronting the other levels of education: equality of opportunity, excellence, and diversity. On the one hand, the goal is provide high quality of education and to have a structure that is efficient and effective. Both internal and external reviews have suggested the need for reform and rethinking of programs, as well as changes to the funding structure and control by the government. On the other hand, the goal of higher education in Israel is to make advanced education available to as much of the population as possible, a shift from a view of higher education as properly "elite" to a more egalitarian view of universal access to postsecondary education. This newer view requires changes in the government's role in higher education, the types of institutions that exist or that can be started and supported, and the amount of autonomy various institutions might have within the system. A number of proposals to address both goals are under discussion.

Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

The diversity of Israel's educational system is further reflected in its overall structure and financing, which allows for centralized leadership and structure balanced by some aspects of local control. Thus, the Ministry of Education and Culture establishes the curriculum, oversees most aspects of the system of state and state-religious schools, and pays teacher salaries. Local authorities supervise buildings, equipment, and maintenance, and can impose a local tax for particular services they provide.

The local authorities provide some financing; they also enforce the compulsory education law. They see to the construction and maintenance of school buildings. They also provide equipment and whatever support services are needed. The state does not impose an education tax, though local authorities may do so. Israel spent 7 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on education in 1999 (Schramm).

The Ministry divides its work into two parts: a pedagogical secretariat that controls the curriculum and policies and that supervises the system, and a pedagogical administration that implements policy for teachers and staff, students, and that deals with buildings and financial matters. The structure is tied to the various levels within the overall system: preprimary, primary, secondary, and higher education. In addition, the country is divided into six regions and a nationwide rural region for the purposes of overall administration.

Nonformal Education

Nonformal education includes both activities outside of school programs and unrelated to them, and those sponsored by the schools in addition to regular instruction, for instance, extracurricular activities. Israel's informal education outside of the schools consists mainly of the youth movements sponsored by the various political parties. These youth groups are funded and supported by the parties who provide the national leadership that keeps them unified. These are not educational groups in the academic sense, but do encourage knowledge of national and international issues as well as political ideology. Youth who join are usually older children and teens. The youth movements offer a variety of activities and programs including games and sports, arts activities, and social events. Some movements also offer academic support programs for students who need help with school work. There are some nonpolitical youth movements along with other informal educational programs targeting youth who get in trouble with the law, those with special health needs, and similar groups.

Extracurricular activities are sponsored by the schools to offer students enrichment beyond the academic curriculum. These activities allow students to develop their interests and talents in areas beyond academic subjects. The activities offered do not presume any political affiliation; their unstructured nature offers students opportunities to excel in areas other than the strictly academic ones offered in the formal school programs. There are clubs for arts, entertainment, student councils or committees, newspapers, and yearbooks.

According to Cohen and Schmida, the schools' programs of "complementary education" were developed to address the increasing diversity of the student body after the founding of the state of Israel. In addition, the schools developed informal programs as part of their overall goal of helping large numbers of immigrants feel comfortable in Israeli society. A variety of different agencies within the Ministry of Education and Culture oversee the programs that are offered in conjunction with the schools.

With respect to distance learning, the major developments in Israel have been in higher education. Bar-Ilan University offers courses through its Virtual Jewish University via the Internet. These courses are part of the regular credit offerings at Bar-Ilan, but are also open to students around the world through the World Wide Web. Bar-Ilan is working to also offer these courses through universities in both the United States and Canada.

The Open University has been the other main source of distance learning in Israel, offering courses through computer connections since 1994, according to Sopova. The Open University uses satellite connections, video systems, and computers to offer courses across Israel. Its course materials are developed by faculty of the Open University and other institutions, and its regional or local study centers are located in public schools across the country, making it a highly cost-effective and efficient system. The further advantage of distance education of this kind that makes use of interactive computer technology (chat rooms, bulletin boards, and other similar devices) is that it allows students in various countries and across otherwise closed borders to meet and exchange ideas, albeit in a virtual setting.

Teaching Profession

Teachers in the state schools are generally trained in teachers' colleges. The state hires and supervises primary school teachers, while at the secondary level, teachers may be hired by the state, by local authorities, or by public agencies. All teachers are supervised by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Teachers in the state-religious schools are supervised by the state's religious council. Increasing numbers of teachers at the preschool level have certification through training programs at the teachers' colleges. Relatively few teachers lack certification at the primary level and beyond.

Summary

Despite the clear goals for education established by Israel's founders, the system has not been very successful in achieving either the high level of excellence in curricular achievement or the full integration of a diverse population into a cohesive society. There are still strong divisions between Ashkenazi and Sephardic segments of the population, between religious and nonreligious Jews, and between Jews and non-Jews. There are also increasing differences and tensions across socioeconomic classes as Israeli society becomes more segregated and socially stratified. Widespread agreement within a pluralistic and democratic society has been difficult to achieve. Although the central Ministry of Education and Culture has responsibility for all the schools, local authorities, more responsive to needs of particular groups, do not always comply with Ministry programs and reforms.

The difficulties are particularly clear with respect to vocational education. In vocational education, there are competing needs: first, to serve a population of students who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and who are not strong students; second, to provide a solid academic preparation in addition to vocational training; and third, to prepare students to work in a variety of settings in the absence of on-the-job training in Israeli industry. These competing needs have resulted in greater distinctions and separations among groups, rather than greater integration. The system of tracking students into vocational or academic education has not promoted the greater social integration that is the overall goal of the education system. A number of recommendations have been made for reform of the vocational system, including moving all vocational training to business and industry, allowing the schools to focus on academic preparation of students.

One set of developments in the educational system in Israel is a byproduct of the work of a committee appointed by the government and chaired by Professor Aliza Shenhar of Haifa University. The committee was established in 1991 in response to two general trends observed in the matriculation examinations and subsequent studies of university students; the trends entailed, first, a decreasing number of students taking exams in any area of Jewish studies, and second, a similar declining number of students preparing to teach in these subject areas. The committee is referred to as the Shenhar Committee after its chair. It was broadly constituted, including people from all levels of the education system as well as those outside it, providing a range of viewpoints. The findings and report of the committee, entitled "A Nation and the World: Jewish Culture in a Changing World," were presented to the government in 1994.

According to Walter Ackerman (Making Jews, 1997), the report makes recommendations that address the fundamental goals of Israeli education. In particular, it suggests new curricula in four areas: Jewish culture in a universal context, Hebrew, Zionism, and study of the land of Israel. In making these recommendations, the report supports the key concepts of identity, pluralism, interdisciplinary study, and culture. Among other developments, the report has spawned changes within the Ministry of Education and Culture and in new programs offered by outside groups, including interaction with Jewish studies departments of universities, development of Internet sites, and connections between Israeli schools and other Jewish schools worldwide. There is also now an ongoing in-service program for teachers in the area of Jewish studies through a center established in 1995. The report and changes in curriculum seem also to have changed student behavior, resulting in larger numbers of students preparing for Jewish studies subjects in the matriculation exams and then enrolling in courses in Jewish studies at universities.

Further changes are difficult to predict because of Israel's internal and external political situation. Within the government, internal changes in the coalitions of parties holding a majority in the Knesset (parliament) inevitably have an impact on the Ministry of Education and Culture. Frequent changes in leadership lead to changes in programs. Externally, until Israel makes peace with its neighbors, there will always be a threat to its overall security. Educational goals are necessarily affected by the pressures of external forces. In general, the diverse demands of immigration, ethnicity, socialization, and religion all compete for attention in the educational system in the primary and secondary schools.

In higher education, some of these problems also exist. However, one general trend that is clear is that increasing numbers of Israeli students are going on to some form of higher education. According to Iram and Schmida, 90 percent of students were attending through grade 12 in high school. Increasing numbers of these students take the Bagrut exams; the percentage of such students eligible for college has also been growing. In response to this trend, Israel has been creating a system of regional colleges to cope with the growing demand for higher education. There were 22 such colleges in 1999, according to Schramm. Many students also attend foreign universities awarding academic degrees in Israel. These trends all contribute to the increasing democratization of higher education, enhancing the equality of education, one of the key goals of the system.

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——. "A Virtual Jewish-studies Program Attracts Students of Many Faiths." Chronicle of Higher Education 46 (28 April 2000): A 51.

—Alice S. Horning