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Arab education, covering Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Bedouin students, is one of four streams in the Israeli educational system. The content and administration of Arab education is controversial owing to issues of equality, balance, and the diversity of Israel's population. This entry describes Israel's education system and the Arab sector, and the implications of minority education for other nations.

The Israeli Education System

Israel's education system provides free and compulsory schooling for children from ages 5 to 14. Preprimary schooling begins at age 2, and at age 5 students enter kindergarten. Primary school generally runs from first through eighth grade, and secondary from Grades 9 through 12. Postsecondary education includes vocational and teacher-training institutes, colleges, and universities.

Jews and Arabs have been segregated in the K–12 education system since the Ottoman Empire period. Under the British Mandate (1917–1947), schools for Jewish children remained separate from schools enrolling Christians and Muslims. This practice remains in effect today, with only a few exceptions. Universities are the only educational institutions where integration occurs regularly.

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of 2010, more than 20% of Israel's 7.5 million citizens are Arab, a group that includes Muslims, Christians, Bedouins, and the Druze, an Islamic sect that the Israeli government defines as a distinct ethnic group with its own educational curriculum. Bedouin, Christian, and Muslim students typically study separately from one another.

The Arab Sector: Equity Issues

Significant gaps exist between Arab and Jewish students, especially in terms of secondary enrollment levels. As of 2003, 80% of eligible Arab students were enrolled in secondary educational institutions, while 96% of their eligible Jewish peers were enrolled.

Gaps in achievement are closely linked to equity issues. For example, higher pupil-to-teacher ratios and inferior school buildings characterize the Arab sector. Moreover, in 2006, Jewish schools were allocated an average of approximately US$1,097 per student, while only US$191 was allocated per Arab student. Even in universities there is a wide gap between Arabs and Jews—as of 2006, only 8% of students entering higher education were Arab, although Arabs make up 20% of the Israeli population. Subsequently, when compared with Jewish students, the percentage of Arabs going into the teaching profession is also very low, which also influences Arab education.

Gaps between Arab and Jewish education also exist in terms of school-based services. Psychological and medical services are standard in most Jewish schools, but are rarely available to Arab pupils. Special education programs, advanced classes, and vocational training also do not reflect the proportion of Arab students needing these services. Finally, while Jewish schools offer many social, cultural, and extracurricular activities, Arab schools rarely do.

Curriculum

One of the most serious critiques of Arab education, dating back to the 1950s, relates to the curriculum. Not until the 1970s was any effort made to address deficiencies and inequity in the curricula of Arab schools. Curricula were revised in 1982, but challenges remain. For example, the Arab curriculum emphasizes the importance of striving for peace between Israel and her neighbors, while Jewish texts do not emphasize parallel objectives. Furthermore, the curriculum for Arab students requires Jewish history while Palestinian and Arab history are optional. Similar issues face religious studies—Muslims spend twice as many hours studying Jewish Holy Scriptures as they do Islamic texts, and Christian students receive no instruction in their own religious texts. Paradoxically, Jewish students receive no systematic instruction in non-Jewish texts.

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