Acceso usuarios
Ilham Nasser
This article is based on a study conducted at the first Arabic and Hebrew bilingual school in Israel (Neve-Shalom/Wahat-Alsalam – NSWAS). The article focuses on Jewish as well as Palestinian parents' perspectives and responses to survey questions and interviews conducted at the school. Parents named reasons for choosing the school, satisfaction with the school, concerns, and their visions of the school's peace education goals and mission. The results of the study indicate a level of trust in the school's ability to promote cultural understanding and tolerance among children from both sides. The data analysis also suggests that Jewish parents chose the school mainly because it offers smaller classrooms while Palestinian parents chose it mainly because it is a bilingual school. The article provides analysis of the results, makes recommendations to establish and maintain the bilingual and bi-national nature of such schools in Israel and recommends directions for future research.
