ALA ELDIN SALHB
Escuela Internacional de Doctorado, Universidad de Murcia, España
alaeldin.salhb@um.es
FUENSANTA HERNÁNDEZ PINA
Departamento Métodos de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Educación, Universidad de Murcia, España
fhpina@um.es
JUAN SOLÍS BECERRA
Departamento Didáctica de la Lengua y la Literatura,
Universidad de Murcia, España
jasolis@um.es
Esta obra está bajo licencia internacional Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0.ABSTRACT:
School violence constitutes one of the central issues on public agenda in Israel and multiple other countries, since the figure of those students involved in such violence is considerable high according to international standards. The aim of this study is to examine the teachers’ perceptions of the impact of educational climate on reducing violence in Arab schools in Israel. The tools used to collect data were a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. 352 teachers participated in the study: the number of participants filling in the school climate questionnaire was 302 and the number of participants in the interview were 50 teachers. All the participants in the study are from East Jerusalem and work in both state and private Arab schools. The findings of the study indicate that, according to the teachers’ opinions, there is a positive relationship between maintaining an optimal educational climate and the reduction of violence in the Arab schools.
KEY WORD: School violence, classroom environment, teachers.
RESUMEN:
El impacto del clima escolar sobre la violencia en centros árabes de Jerusalén: perspectiva del profesorado
a violencia escolar supone uno de los temas principales en la agenda de trabajo de Israel y en otros muchos países puesto que el número de alumnado implicado en estas situaciones es elevado considerablemente de acuerdo a estándares internacionales. El objetivo de este estudio es examinar las percepciones del profesorado del impacto del clima de aula para reducir la violencia en los centros árabes de Israel. Los instrumentos utilizados para la recogida de datos fueron un cuestionario y una entrevista semiestructurada. 352 profesores participaron en el estudio: 302 hicieron el cuestionario sobre el clima de aula y 50 realizaron la entrevista. Todos los participantes en el estudio pertenecen a la parte oriental de Jerusalén y trabajan en centros públicos y privados árabes. Los resultados del estudio indican que según la percepción el profesorado hay una relación positiva entre un clima de aula optimo y la reducción de la violencia en los centros árabes.
PALABRAS CLAVE: violencia escolar, clima de aula, profesorado.
1. IntroducTION
School violence constitutes one of the central issues on public agenda in Israel and multiple other countries. Many researchers emphasize its negative effect on the physical and mental well-being of pupils and as well on the entire pedagogical process when those pupils who are not directly involved in incidents of violence also suffer from the adverse effects (Pellegrini & Long, 2002). Arab education in Israel operates within a state with a Jewish majority. Arab education is part of an education system in a multi-community society that has great diversity. (Abu-Asba, 2007). This study will seek to examine violence that occurs within Arab educational institutions in East Jerusalem. The goal is to see how the school climate affects student violence in these institutions. This question will be examined by the subjective perceptions of the Arab teachers who work in these institutions.
1.1. The educational system in Israel
The educational system in Israel is divided into a formal education system and an informal education system. Formal education is conducted within the framework of educational institutions, with several stages of schooling: pre-primary education for ages 3-6; primary education for grades 1 to 6, and post-primary education, divided into two: middle school for grades 7-9, and upper division for grades 10-12. Non-formal education is conducted outside the school framework and includes activities in the community for young people. (Abu-Saad, 2006).
The education system in Israel is directly subordinate to the Minister of Education and the Director General of the Ministry of Education, and under them several procedures and districts operate. Teacher matters are concentrated in the Senior Division of Personnel in Teaching and in the Administration for the Training, Continuing Education and Training of Teaching Staff (Abu-Saad, 2006).
Schools in Israel include schools in which the language of instruction is Hebrew or Arabic (known as The Arab education system). Bukowski and Schmidt (2005) note that according to surveys conducted in Israel on the power of teaching in kindergartens and schools in the Hebrew and Arab sectors, it has been found that the number of teachers is increasing compared to the number of students, but the ratio between the number of students and a teacher in Arab education is greater compared to the ratio in Hebrew-language schools. The Israeli education system is one that includes the Jewish and Arab sectors, among others. Within the Arab sector, in the field of education there is a wide range of problems related to the lack of resources (Abu-Saad, 2006).
The education system in Israel is characterized by deep gaps between students from different socio-economic backgrounds. One of the most prominent gaps is the gap between the Arab education system and the Hebrew education system. These disparities, therefore, are an integral part of the divide between the Jews and the Arabs that has existed in the State of Israel since its inception. The disparities are expressed in two main areas that are related to each other - budgeting and educational achievements. In terms of the budget, for years Arab education has suffered from discrimination compared to Hebrew education at all stages of study - in elementary schools, middle schools, and even more so in upper schools. Various studies have found that the biggest gaps are precisely between schools attended by students from difficult socio-economic backgrounds (Haj Yahya et al., 2021).
In Arab society, in Arab schools the scene is more difficult - several factors influence the involvement of students in violent behaviours. These factors move in circles, from the circle closest to the adolescent that includes his personal and personal characteristics, to other circles such as the family, his peer group, the neighbourhood and society in general. Personal factors include, among others, gender, age, temperament and other personal characteristics; Family characteristics, that is, the extent of supervision that parents exercise over their children, the structure of the family (Ali, 2014).
Modernization processes in this society create a transition from a traditional society to a modern society. This transition makes it very difficult for the parents to supervise the children (HajYahia-Abu Ahmad, 2006).
The average investment in a student from a disadvantaged background in Hebrew education is thousands of shekels higher than the investment in a student in Arab education. The fact that the majority of students in the Arab education system come from disadvantaged backgrounds only reinforces the urgent need for budgetary investment that will erase the disparities. Following the policy of the Ministry of Education to expand the differential budgeting, the budget gaps in the elementary schools and middle schools have narrowed somewhat in recent years, but there are still unjustified gaps. Various studies have found in this regard that the budgeting gaps have a social and academic education on both groups, Arab and Jewish together (Haj Yahya et al., 2021).
The gap between the resources invested in Arab education and those invested in Hebrew education is not only expressed in the budgeting of teaching hours. The teaching infrastructure and tools available to teachers and administrators in Arab education also do not allow meaningful learning, especially not for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. There is a serious shortage of classrooms, physical infrastructure and digital equipment for teaching. Also, both the curriculum itself and the ways in which it is implemented do not provide the necessary knowledge and skills for the future integration of Arab education students into Israeli society and the world of work of the 21st century (Haj Yahya et al., 2021).
This fact, of course, expresses a decisive influence on the future of these populations so that it is a situation that perpetuates itself, when the younger generation is one that reaches a similar situation of the previous generation and so on. And if that’s not enough, there are signs that indicate a decline in the level of teachers involved in Arab education, a field in which until recently Arab education was actually stronger, in some respects, than Hebrew education. Of course, these fundamental problems also have consequences for the students’ achievements. In the Mitzvah exams, in eligibility for the matriculation certificate, in the quality of the matriculation certificate, in international tests and in the dropout rates — in all of these the Arab education stands out for the worse (Haj Yahya et al., 2021).
It is true that in recent years there has been an improvement in some of the indicators, and in general it is possible to point to a trend of narrowing the gaps between the achievements of the students of the Arab education and the achievements of the students of the education Hebrew; however, in many of the indicators there are still gaps that sabotage the chances of Arab students to integrate into higher education and quality employment. Some studies have shown that the gaps in achievement are largely due to the socio-economic background of the Arab students, and that given a similar background, the chance of an Arab student to succeed is similar to that of a Jewish student And sometimes even higher than it. These findings highlight the inability of the education system in Israel to provide equal opportunities in education for students from different backgrounds. The disparities in the education system also extend to higher education. The eligibility rate for the matriculation certificate and its quality, and the psychometric test score, are a heavy barrier for many young people in Arab society (Haj Yahya et al., 2021).
And yet, there is a significant improvement compared to previous years, but there is still a large gap between the proportion of Arab students in Israel and the proportion of young Arabs in the general population, especially in advanced degrees. The stagnation in the rate of Arab men applying for higher education in recent years is particularly worrying. Unlike the rate of young Arab women who have been integrated into the higher education system, the rate of young Arab men has hardly increased in the last decade (Haj Yahya et al., 2021).
ֿThe subjects of study that the Arab students apply to are not diverse, which may harm their integration potential in the labor market in general and in quality employment in particular. In professions where employment opportunities are limited and wages are low, such as education and teaching and languages and literature, Arab students are over-represented, while in professions such as engineering and architecture, science and law they are significantly under-represented. The difficulties of the Arab population to integrate into institutions of higher education in Israel, especially in the medical professions, force many to turn to higher studies abroad. According to estimates, almost a quarter of the Arab students who are citizens of Israel study in institutions of higher education abroad, and most of them study medicine or para-medical professions. Besides the formal education system and the higher education system, this study also examined the gaps in early childhood education and informal education (Haj Yahya et al., 2021).
1.2. The school climate
The school climate is a concept that includes many dimensions that are attributed to it in the context of the school classroom and the school as a whole. It is common to call this concept also the school environment or the school atmosphere. The most common definition of this concept refers to the interaction that exists between the various factors that exist in the school, between the teacher and the students and between the students and themselves. In addition, this aspect of the classroom climate refers to various aspects that examine the personal development of each of the students in the school itself. The school climate, in this respect, examines various aspects related to the micro aspects of the school, i.e. the students and the teachers themselves (Reyes et al., 2012). The school climate, in general, is related to the perception of students in their school, their behaviour in their classroom and their attitude towards learning and the activities offered at school (Bar Maoz, 2008).
Various studies done in this regard have seen the importance of the concept of school climate when it comes to aspects that concern the students’ ability to discover abilities that will help them in the learning process as well as in the social process they go through within the school (Shaaf, 2015).
In particular, according to the research literature, it is customary to see the concept of school climate as having a positive effect on social skills, the student’s well-being and his academic achievements. The concept of school climate, in this respect, distills into it all the social and educational processes that take place at the macro level in the school, processes that affect the social skills, well-being and academic achievements of the student, respectively. Another accepted definition of school climate is a view of the latter as an intellectual, social, emotional and physical environment in which students learn (Shaaf, 2015).
This environment, therefore, is one that has been found by the research literature to have a significant impact on students in many respects. The environment is one that can encourage the students to learn and be an integral part of the process taking place in the school and on the other hand it is an environment that can also stimulate a feeling of rejection on the part of the students and their reluctance to take a significant part in the learning process (Reyes et al., 2012).
The concept of school climate does emphasize the fact of the concept as one that emphasizes the aspects of the interaction between the teacher and the students and between the students and themselves but, according to some interpretations of the research, it also refers to structural aspects of classroom organization, teaching styles, discipline problems, gender and the age of the student. Research done in this regard holds that the school climate is based on four main dimensions. The first dimension concerns the behavioural and mental openness of the teacher and the students. This is an index that expresses a significant effect on the interaction between the teachers and the students and actually expresses its nature. When the nature of the interaction is positive then there is also a positive effect on the students who are more motivated to take a significant part in learning, in practice (Shaaf, 2015).
A second dimension is the teacher’s support for the students and the students’ support for their classmates and the school in general. This fact, when it exists, describes a situation according to which there is support and reinforcement of the students, among themselves, as well as from the teachers. This type of support is one that encourages the students to succeed more than in the case where no one cared about them and no one expressed interest in them, in practice (Shaaf, 2015).
Various studies have shown in this matter the importance that students give to their teachers, as well as their friends at the educational institution, when it comes to their support for them. When this support exists, it is a significantly stronger structure that affects the student’s desire to continue being part of that body that he feels strengthens him (Shaaf, 2015).
In this regard, various studies have shown that the percentage of students dropping out of the educational institution is lower, that is, the more support that the students receive, both from other students and from the teachers themselves, then the percentage of them dropping out of the educational institution and the class is significantly lower. On the other hand, when there is no support, the dropout percentages increase and this is due to the fact that there is no dropout prevention mechanism that exists in a situation where the students support each other and the teachers support them (Shaaf, 2015).
A third dimension that is reflected here is the equal attitude of the teacher towards his students and the equal attitude of the students towards their classmates and the educational institution in general. An equal treatment of students is one that indicates that all students are treated equally, that is, there is no discrimination between students. Preventing the feeling of discrimination between the students is one that allows them to feel that each of them has a real opportunity to succeed and that each of them receives the appropriate tools for success without creating a difference between them, one way or the other. This fact also creates a process of encouraging the students and causes them to become agents who want to take a more significant part in what is going on in the classroom (Shaaf, 2015).
Another index relates to the fact that it was found that the climate of the educational institution is one that promotes order and procedure that are known to the teacher and his students. The same order and procedure is the one according to which the class is conducted at the current level. This is a factor that expresses the removal of the students’ possible confusion from the unknown. Many times, as found by various studies done in the research literature, students reach a situation where they feel that they are not successful in their studies and are not successful socially due to the fact that they do not understand what the order of study is, what the purpose of the study is, what the purpose of the lessons they receive and so on. Promoting order and management, therefore, is in terms of a factor that influences them to understand the orderly process of the learning process, to be aware of the process throughout and to understand what came before what, what will come after what, and this is with the aim of making order in their minds as far as the learning process is concerned and allowing them to follow it from the beginning (Sheaf, 2015).
These dimensions express the fact that the concept of school climate, as well as classroom climate, is one that requires continuous cultivation through systematic and comprehensive educational work on the part of the teaching staff, in particular the head educator of the class (Reyes et al., 2012). Thus, the development of the school climate is not a factor that develops by itself and for the exact same reason, as presented by several studies indicate that the climate has a profound effect on the mental and emotional health of students. It affects self-esteem, the fusion of self-criticism effects (Kuperminic et al., 2001) and a variety of emotional and intellectual products. (Tzafroni, 2008). it is a situation that expresses a direct effect on the students who see the level of effort made by the educational institution and the teachers in order to help the students in various aspects. This fact expresses the mobilization of many of the students towards the teachers as well and the commitment of the students on their part with regards to the learning processes they are required for (Obrennan et al., 2015).
In this regard, it was found that an unequal relationship between students, in the relationship between themselves or in the relationship they receive from the teacher significantly affects the school climate. The school climate, in this respect, expresses the point of balance between the various factors that exist in it. A violation of this balance and a preference for one of the factors present in it over another can lead to a significant damage to the school climate. This fact expresses a central definition of the school climate and is the balance that exists between all the systems and all the factors that this concept encompasses (Obrennan et al., 2015). The balance is one that preserves all the details that exist in this system for those who continue to take a significant part in this system, in this case the education system (Reyes et al., 2012).
The school climate is nothing but a description of the interactions between the students and themselves and between the students and the teacher. Therefore, it refers to the hierarchical status that each student receives in the class and catalogs it according to certain characteristics. Thus, the division of students, mainly among themselves, into the smartest student academically and the most socially acceptable student are examples of processes that develop as an integral part of the school climate and the classroom climate (Barlev, 2007).
Group formation and joint work between students in the classroom, which express an integral part of the school climate, can be damaged due to social processes that take place in the classroom space or in the online space, such as the class WhatsApp group (Hannah, 2013). For this very reason, the school climate is such that it can promote situations of accepting the existing hierarchy in the educational institution and, on the other hand, lead to this hierarchy not being accepted at all (Reyes et al., 2012).
This last fact is one that expresses the ability of the students to be part of the framework of the studies, many times, and to express interaction factors that are affected and influence the school climate in a positive way. The students’ ability to accept the hierarchy of the educational institution over them, especially the teachers, is one that can influence them in regards to the behaviour that can be defined as appropriate in the educational institution aspect (Hannah, 2013).
The acceptance of the hierarchy in the educational institution by the students who exist in this system is a factor that can testify to the fact that the students are those who listen to the teachers and accept the rules of the educational institution and on the other hand those who act against the laws of the educational institution. In cases of this type, therefore, it can be seen that the students take an approach that is contrary to the social and educational concept in the educational institution, i.e. it involves anti-social behavior in front of their friends, failure to comply with the tasks of the educational institution, and the like aspect (Hannah, 2013).
On the other hand, when the students accept the hierarchy that exists over them, they are also those who express compliance with the laws and regulations of the educational institution both in the social aspect and in the educational aspect (Hannah, 2013). Processes such as students boycotting another student in the class express a change and damage to the school climate and the balance of relations between the various elements in the class and themselves. Many times the exclusion of different groups of students, based on different divisions, leads to a change and damage to the school climate, respectively (Hannah, 2013).
Many teachers strive to create a positive school climate that is influenced by all the different processes that take place in the classroom. Various activities that consolidate the class socially and various activities that promote the advancement of all students at the academic level are just a few examples of the ability of the teaching staff to influence the school climate. This is, therefore, a situation where positive behaviour affects a positive school climate and a positive school climate is one that affects the promotion of positive behaviour. Thus, it is a process which is a kind of “snowball” in which one thing leads to another thing, the second thing leads to the first thing and so on (Hannah, 2013).
Thus, as the school climate describes processes that exist between the teacher and the students and between the students and themselves, so also the nature of these relationships, on both sides, express the various factors that can affect the school climate. Thus, teacher-student relationships and student relationships, among themselves, express the school climate in its essence and the nature of these relationships can influence this concept, respectively. A major factor, in this regard, which affects the school climate is expressed in the students’ perception of accessibility to the classroom, both at the social level and at the academic level (Hannah, 2013).
Thus, a phenomenon in which students in the class, some or all of them, feel uncomfortable in the class, directly affects the school climate. This fact indicates that the climate of the school is such that it can make the students who exist there, as well as all the factors that exist in the educational institution, feel comfortable. This feeling of comfort is one that can affect the relationships between the various factors that exist in the educational institution (Hannah, 2013).
Thus, a sense of comfort is one that can contribute to normal relations between the students and themselves and a more positive interaction between the various factors that exist in the educational institution from the beginning. In this case, therefore, one can expect at least different cases which can express a conflict between different factors within the educational institution and a less positive interaction between them (Hannah, 2013).
1.3. Violence
The research literature is one that defines the concept of violence as expressing the use of force towards the other, the use of force that causes damage in one way or another. More simplistic versions of the concept of violence are those that define this concept as extreme physical force that is applied by one agent to another agent. Violence does not have to be directed towards another human factor, but violence can also express a violent act against inanimate products, for example. Many times, therefore, violence is one that pertains to violence against property. Violence, as a rule, does not have to be physical either, but violence can be expressed in a wide variety of ways such as verbal violence, financial violence, mental violence and the like (Henry, 2000).
Violence is one that can also be defined from the perspective of the relationship between the two different factors, one of which applies violence and the other - the violence is applied to him. Thus, violence can be between two students and receive one type of context, it can be between a man and a woman who are in a relationship and receive a second context and so on. Violence, at the level of the result, is not always treated in the same way, but this depends, to a large extent, on the factors in which the violence takes place and on the social perception that exists in that exact place (Henry, 2000).
The violence is one that creates a situation in which there is a violent factor, on the one hand, and a factor that absorbs the violence on the other hand, the victim. Violence is one that has many secondary consequences. Beyond the fact that it causes damage at the time of the injury, i.e. while the injury takes place practically, it is one that manifests a long-term effect in the physical aspect as well as in the mental aspect. Violence is a phenomenon, therefore, which is seen as undesirable in society, but it still exists. For this exact reason, various studies have examined over the years in the research literature which factors lead to violent behaviour on the part of various parties towards other parties (Henry, 2000). School violence is a social problem that causes great concern in Israel and throughout the world, and has significant consequences for the organization and society in general (Cozma; Kukaswadia, 2015., et al., Chester Janssen, Craig, & Pickett, 2015)
Some of these studies focused on the classroom. Violence in the classroom is one that is perceived as having a particularly negative effect on the various factors present in the classroom. Violence in the classroom and school violence in general is one that can arise from a variety of different reasons. Various studies that have been done in this regard have shown that within the framework of studies, violence is common and can manifest itself in physical violence, mental violence, and the like. Especially in the various educational settings where boycotts of other students are a matter of routine, violence can be common. At this age, as well, this is a group of students who compare themselves to their peer group and in order to gain a higher status in the eyes of the school, they often defame other students and behave violently towards them in order to glorify their name (Henry, 2000).
The definition of Benbenisti, Zeira and Astor (2005) for “school violence” – a behaviour which purpose is physical or emotional damage to the person or property (including school property) within school grounds. This definition includes within itself, verbal-social violence (such as cursing, humiliation, boycott), threats (direct, indirect, extortion, intimidation), physical violence (pushing, kicking, punching, beating), theft and damage to property, use of weapon (carrying, threatening, using) and sexual harassment (Reis et al., 2000).
School violence is one that receives a specific definition in the research literature. This fact stems from the fact that all violence, as mentioned, is seen as expressing a different process which must be examined in a completely different way as well. School violence is defined as the threat or use of physical force with the intention of causing physical injury, harm or intimidation of another person. The consequences of school violence have been found, according to various studies, to be particularly severe and this is due to the fact that this is a young group at an age that violence can affect in a more significant way compared to adults who suffer from violence (Sezer, 2021).
Also, various studies have shown that violence at school age is one that can express a more significant effect due to the fact that it is an age period in which students shape themselves in terms of their cognitive ability, in terms of their social ability and so on. When violence occurs in this case precisely those who experience the violence are those who can be significantly negatively affected by that violence precisely when the violence in this case can harm them significantly in terms of their ability to develop in the present as well as in the future. Violence in the educational institution is such, therefore, that has been examined in many studies in order to examine the various sources it can have and what possible solutions can be offered to it (Sezer, 2021).
Violence can arise between students and themselves, between students and teachers and sometimes also between teachers and students. The violence is one that can be the result of various difficulties that the students go through in their home, in their personal experience, in their development process. It is, therefore, a process that can express a significant difficulty that the student experiences in the anger that he takes out on others in the form of violence. For this very reason, various studies have testified that violence is a factor that should be treated as a red light. That is, the various factors that lead to that violence must be examined and the various reasons behind it must be understood (Sezer, 2021).
Many times, therefore, according to this very concept, the violence is one that expresses a significant difficulty that the student hides and that he is not exposed to other factors. Either way, various studies have testified to the significant difficulty in managing the classroom when there is a violent element in it. The violent factor is not alien to the hierarchy that exists in the educational institution and is one that seeks to release every burden. The violent factor is one that harms the social fabric and this is due to the fact that it creates unrest about violence which often also creates different camps within the class. This, in contrast to a positive process which expresses the creation of a single texture of the educational institution and the students existing within it with processes of a sense of mutual guarantee among them (Sezer, 2021).
In this case, therefore, it is a particularly negative process that affects not only the violent student himself but many times the entire class. The environmental context for student violence is one that has been examined according to various studies. In this matter, therefore, the claim was made that the environment of the studies is one that affects the discovery of violence by the students, many times. An environment that is considered more stressful or one that shows less understanding and inclusion of the students is one in which the students show more violence, in a significant part of the cases (Sezer, 2021).
On the other hand, an environment that instills an atmosphere of calmness in students is one that promotes positive interaction between students and themselves, between students and teachers, and so on. This fact creates a more positive interaction between the various factors that exist within the framework of studies and thus enables the development, at the macro level, of various aspects that relate to both educational development and social development (Henry, 2000).
Some studies (Shadmi, 2004) have shown that violence is one that can harm an individual’s sense of belonging or his desire to belong and be part of a group, to be loved and to be loved is also defined in the research literature as the degree to which he feels being accepted, respected, contained and supported in his social environment. Various studies (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Have developed the sense of belonging as an integral part of Maslow’s pyramid of needs. In fact, not only is this matter established as part of Maslow’s pyramid of needs, but there were those who claimed that the sense of belonging should be placed in the line of the more important human needs (Henry, 2000).
Several studies have testified that a sense of belonging is not a permanent thing, but a static perception and feeling that does not preserve itself. Thus, some studies (Benbenisht & Astor, 2005) claimed that this is an important need of the individual, but this n eed depends on time, context and different circumstances and on the space such as a university, it is more important that the individual gives when it comes to the sense of belonging that he wants to feel and this is a more significant nee d than usual. This fact is due, for example, to the perception that this is a space that has a lot of dominance in terms of social interaction, and therefore the sense of belonging in that institution is also important as part of the perception that it is the ability to succeed in a significant way in this period from both the social and academic point of view (Sezer, 2021).
A sense of belonging has consequences both on the micro level, on the individual, and on the macro level. Thus, a sense of belonging can also be expressed in a group, that is, in the desire of a certain group to feel belonging. This sense of belonging seeks to create a supportive environment, an environment where there is unity when it comes to beliefs, opinions, symbols and the like. In the sense of belonging, both at the micro level and at the macro level, there is a significant reference to the existing framework which is seen as the one that creates the sense of belonging. Sometimes this framework is the one that actually creates a higher pressure and need among the factors that belong to it to feel they belong, thus increasing the desire for a sense of belonging in general (Henry, 2000).
The lack of feeling of belonging can create a feeling of alienation of the individual in the environment in which he exists and lead him to a feeling of alienation from it. Therefore, the element of belonging is critical due to the fact that through it the individual or the group feels that they identify with the goals and with the processes they carry out in that space out of a sense of their connection to that exact space. In other processes, as an example, where the individual does not feel a sense of belonging, then he can still exist in the same space, although his level of participation in the processes taking place there and his level of motivation to take an active and real part in it will significantly decrease (Henry, 2000).
The connection of a sense of non-belonging to violence is due to the fact that violence is one that can cause a sense of non-belonging in the students, the victims who experience violence in the classroom, and also that violence by students towards others is one that can also stem from a sense of not belonging to what is happening in the classroom. In both cases, therefore, it is a negative effect on the macro class (Henry, 2000).
I wanted to examine whether teachers in the Arab society perceive the school climate as having an effect on the violence on the part of students in the Arab sector in East Jerusalem. The goal was to examine their subjective perception and thus strengthen the hypothesis that arose in this regard from the research literature which hinted at this exact matter
To what extent do the teachers think that there is a positive relationship between maintaining a positive school climate and preventing violence in educational institutions, in addition, do the elements of the climate have the same effect on reducing school violence?
2. METHODOLOGY
The goal was to examine the teachers’ perception of the effect of the school climate, the educational climate on the students themselves and their manifestations of violence in particular.
Is there an impact of the administrative side in the school on the school climate in reducing school violence?
Is there an impact of the Belonging to the crew on the school climate in reducing school violence?
2.1. Method
This study was conducted in an integrative approach that includes qualitative and quantitative analysis (Method Mixed), the current study relies on two tools: a qualitative in-depth interview, and a questionnaire relating to the perception of climate in the eyes of teachers. The educational climate questionnaire for teachers was developed by The National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education - Ministry of Education Israel in 2018 and consists of 33 statements, the dimensions of which in the questionnaire consist of seven dimensions, the perception of the school management, the perception of violence in the school, social relationship capabilities, task capabilities, belonging to the team, identification with the profession, identification with the school.
2.2. Participants
The present study had significance for the use of a purposive sample, which focused on selecting interviewees that represent the surveyed population. Therefore, in the selection of the various teachers and educators, several important parameters were taken into account:
- The location of the school — it is important to combine representatives from different schools and different neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, in order to stand up for the differences between them (if any), and to get results that characterize all types of schools in East Jerusalem.
- Variety of roles — in the current sample, educators were chosen to play different roles in the schools (teachers, educators, centers, consultants, advisors), in order to emphasize the differences between them in terms of their disabilities and their different ways of coping.
- A wide range of professional seniority — on the one hand, relatively young educators with different seniority were selected. In the current study, 50 teachers participated in the interview, see an Arabic-speaking table from East Jerusalem. Work in both official and private Arab schools.
Tabla 1. Profile of the educators who were interviewed.
| Independents variables |
The class | Frequency |
| Job title |
Class educator\ nanny | 20 |
| Teacher for a subject | 20 | |
| Owner of a job (centre, consultant, administrative Staff member) | 10 | |
| Total | 50 | |
| Gender |
Male | 25 |
| Female | 25 | |
| Total | 50 | |
| Academic level |
First nickname | 20 |
| Second nickname | 26 | |
| Third nickname | 4 | |
| Total | 50 | |
| Years of experience |
Less than 5 years | 12 |
| From 5 to 10 years | 14 | |
| More than 10 years | 24 | |
| Total | 50 | |
| The stage of education in which I work |
Primary | 10 |
| Preparatory | 20 | |
| High school | 20 | |
| Total | 50 | |
| School location |
Northeast jerusalem | 25 |
| Southeast jerusalem | 25 | |
| Total | 50 |
There were 302 participants in the study who work in Arab public and private schools in East Jerusalem 302 teachers by filling in a questionnaire. Tables 2 show the profile of the participants accordingly.
Tabla 2. Profile of the educators who were interviewed.
| Independents variables | The class | Frequency | Percent |
| Job title |
Class educator\ nanny | 99 | 32.8 |
| Teacher for a subject | 120 | 39.7 | |
| Owner of a job (center, consultant, administrative staff member) | 83 | 27.5 | |
| Total | 302 | 100.0 | |
| Gender |
Male | 83 | 27.5 |
| Female | 219 | 72.5 | |
| Total | 302 | 100.0 | |
| Academic level |
First nickname | 135 | 44.7 |
| Second nickname | 155 | 51.3 | |
| Third nickname | 12 | 4.0 | |
| Total | 302 | 100.0 | |
| Years of experience |
Less than 5 years | 45 | 14.9 |
| From 5 to 10 years | 75 | 24.8 | |
| More than 10 years | 182 | 60.3 | |
| Total | 302 | 100.0 | |
| The stage of education in which I work |
Primary | 107 | 35.4 |
| Preparatory | 79 | 26.2 | |
| High school | 116 | 38.4 | |
| Total | 302 | 100.0 |
2.3. Data collection instruments
To verify the validity of the tool and that all the paragraphs and dimensions of the questionnaire were valid, this was verified using structural validity, as the correlation coefficients were found between each dimension of the school climate, and the total score for all items of the school climate, The analysis showed that there is a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between the total score of the school climate and the total score for each dimension of the school climate, where the values of the correlation coefficients ranged between (.663) for the ability to perform a task and (.852) for the view of the administrative side of the school, and these values indicate a high validity of the research tool and that it measures What it was set for, as shown in Table 3:
Tabla 3. Reliability.
| Correlations | |||
| |
The field | Pearson correlation | p-vale |
| School climate |
The view of the administrative side of the school | .852** | .000 |
| The ability to build social relationships | .709** | .000 | |
| The ability to perform a task | .663** | .000 | |
| Belonging to the crew | .672** | .000 | |
| My opinion about my current school | .670** | .000 | |
To verify the reliability of the search tool, the reliability coefficient of Cronbach’s alpha was calculated, the reliability coefficient value for all paragraphs is (.925), and this value indicates that there is a very high reliability for the paragraphs as shown in Table 4:
Tabla 4. Cronbach’s Alpha.
| Reliability statistics |
||
| The field |
Cronbach’s alpha |
N of items |
| The view of the administrative side of the school |
.932 |
8 |
| The ability to build social relationships |
.891 |
7 |
| The ability to perform a task |
.677 |
4 |
| Belonging to the crew |
.827 |
4 |
| My opinion about my current school |
.877 |
2 |
| School climate |
.925 |
25 |
3. results
Q1: Is there an impact of the administrative side in the school on the school climate in reducing school violence?
To answer this question, A simple linear regression was used, and it was found from the analysis that the square value of the correlation coefficient is (.726), This value explains that the administrative side explains about 73% of the variance in the school climate, and it was also found from the analysis that there is an a positive impact of the administrative side on the school climate in reducing school violence as shown in Table 5, The mathematical formula that expresses this impact, and the graphic Figure 1: school climate = 2.005 + .531*The view of the administrative side of the school.
Tabla 5. Research Question 1.
| Model |
Unstandardized coefficients |
Standardized coefficients |
t |
p-vale |
|
| B | Std. error | Beta | |||
| (Constant) | 2.005 | .073 | .852 |
27.308 | .000 |
| The view of the administrative side of the school | .531 | .019 | 28.183 | .000 | |
| r square = .726, f= 794.288, p-value for f=.000 | |||||
| a. dependent variable: school climate | |||||
Figure 1. View of the administrative side of the school.
Q2: Is there an impact of the ability to build social relationships in the school on the school climate in reducing school violence?
To answer this question, a simple linear regression was used, and it was found from the analysis that the square value of the correlation coefficient is (.503). This value explains the ability to build social relationships explains about 50% of the variance in the school climate, and it was also found from the analysis that there is an appositive impact of the ability to build social relationships on the school climate in reducing school violence as shown in Table 6, The mathematical formula that expresses this impact, and the graphic Figure 2: school climate = 1.335 + .642* The ability to build social relationships.
Tabla 6. Research Question 2.
| Model |
Unstandardized coefficients |
Standardized coefficients |
t |
p-vale |
|
| B | Std. error | Beta | |||
| (Constant) | 1.335 | .156 | .709 |
8.563 | .000 |
| The ability to build social relationships | .642 | .037 | 17.414 | .000 | |
| r square = .503, f= 303.240, p-value for f=.000 | |||||
| a. dependent variable: school climate | |||||
Figure 2. Ability to build social relationships.
Q3: Is there an impact of the ability to perform a task on the school climate in reducing school violence?
To answer this question, a simple linear regression was used, and it was found from the analysis that the square value of the correlation coefficient is (.439). This value explains the ability to perform a task explains about 44% of the variance in the school climate, and it was also found from the analysis that there is an appositive impact of the ability to perform a task on the school climate in reducing school violence as shown in Table 7. The mathematical formula that expresses this impact, and the graphic Figure 3: school climate = 1.651 + .607* the ability to perform a task.
Tabla 7. Research Question 3.
| Model |
Unstandardized coefficients |
Standardized coefficients |
t |
p-vale |
|
| B | Std. error | Beta | |||
| (Constant) | 1.651 | .156 | .663 | 10.558 | .000 |
| The ability to perform a task | .607 | .040 | |
15.335 | .000 |
| r square = .439, f= 235.161, p-value for f=.000 | |||||
| a. dependent variable: school climate | |||||
Figure 3. Ability to perform a task.
Q4: Is there an impact of the Belonging to the crew on the school climate in reducing school violence?
To answer this question, a simple linear regression was used, and it was found from the analysis that the square value of the correlation coefficient is (.452). This value explains the Belonging to the crew explains about 45% of the variance in the school climate, and it was also found from the analysis that there is an appositive impact of the Belonging to the crew on the school climate in reducing school violence as shown in Table 8. The mathematical formula that expresses this impact, and the graphic Figure 4: school climate = 1.892 + .508* the Belonging to the crew.
Tabla 8. Research Question 4.
| Model |
Unstandardized coefficients |
Standardized coefficients |
t |
p-vale |
|
| B | Std. error | Beta | |||
| (Constant) | 1.892 | .137 | S.672 | 13.764 | .000 |
| Belonging to the crew | .508 | .032 | |
15.718 | .000 |
| r square = .452, f= 247.055, p-value for f=.000 | |||||
| a. dependent variable: school climate | |||||
Figure 4. Belonging to the crew.
Q5: Is there an impact of My opinion about my current school on the school climate in reducing school violence?
To answer this question, a simple linear regression was used, and it was found from the analysis that the square value of the correlation coefficient is (.449). This value explains that My opinion about my current school explains about 45% of the variance in the school climate, and it was also found from the analysis that there is an appositive impact of My opinion about my current school on the school climate in reducing school violence as shown in Table 9. The mathematical formula that expresses this impact, and the graphic Figure 5: school climate = 2.236 + .421* My opinion about my current school.
Tabla 9. Research Question 5.
| Model |
Unstandardized coefficients |
Standardized coefficients |
t |
p-vale |
|
| B | Std. error | Beta | |||
| (Constant) | 2.236 | .116 | .670 | 19.195 | .000 |
| My opinion about my current school | .421 | .027 | |
15.640 | .000 |
| r square = .449, f= 244.616, p-value for f=.000 | |||||
| a. dependent variable: school climate | |||||
Figure 5. Opinion about current school.
5. CONCLUSIONS
This study dealt with the violence that takes place in the school. In particular, in the violence that takes place in the Arab sector. As it could be seen, this topic is very busy in the research literature as well as the teachers who were asked in the method part of this study. As you could see, this is an issue that various studies have raised the importance of and this is due to the fact that violence has an effect on various aspects that take place in the classroom. It is, therefore, about aspects that relate to both elements that relate to educational processes and to processes that relate to educational aspects. As could be seen from the research literature, violence is a factor that can cause significant damage to the learning space and the school space.
This is a factor that can affect the interaction between the existing factors in the educational institution. As could be seen from the research literature, this interaction is very important in order to manage learning processes and teaching processes effectively. When violence occurs, a situation arises according to which there is a significant difficulty in managing the class and leading to processes that strive to realize the educational goals. For this very reason, various studies sought to examine the causes that lead to school violence and, if necessary, to prevent them so as not to damage the existing student structure.
It could be seen that violence is a phenomenon that exists in different spaces as well as in the school space. Violence at school is one that can indicate negative processes that the attacker goes through as well as a difficult situation that the victim can reach. It is precisely for this reason that school violence is seen as particularly destructive and as something that can harm many factors that are in this exact space. The purpose of this study was to see how the teachers in the Arab society, in the Arab education sector in East Jerusalem perceive the violence. In this case the goal was to examine the school climate. As could be seen the last concept is one that affects many aspects related to learning and social processes within the educational institution.
When the school climate is positive then various processes that take place in the educational institution are those that are considered more positive. From the research literature it could be seen that there is a possible connection between the school climate and violence and this is due to the fact that a positive school climate is one that has been found according to the various studies to promote social behaviour and more positive interaction between the individuals present in the classroom. The meaning here is both the teachers and the students and the students in front of themselves. In general, this factor has been found to promote a more positive interaction between individuals in educational institutions in general.
The findings regarding the interviews that were conducted are those that indicate a significant connection between the violence that occurs in Arab society in general and the violence that exists within the Arab school.
As far as the core of the research is concerned, which is the topic of the educational climate, it could be seen that most of the interviewees are those who perceive the educational climate as having a positive effect on the aspects related to the reduction of violence in the Arab school. This fact is directly related to the importance that the Arab society, and especially the teaching staff in it, has on the impact on the students. Most of the interviewees, therefore, are those who saw the promotion of a positive educational climate as significantly expressing aspects related to the reduction of violence in educational institutions.
As part of this research, in the method part, I wanted to examine whether teachers in the Arab society perceive the school climate as having an effect on the violence on the part of students in the Arab sector in East Jerusalem. The goal was to examine their subjective perception and thus strengthen the hypothesis that arose in this regard from the research literature which hinted at this exact matter. As part of the research, 352 teachers participated when it was a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. In the qualitative method, in the interview, 50 teachers took part, while in answering the questionnaire, in the quantitative approach, 302 teachers took part. The participants were those who attend both private and public schools in East Jerusalem.
The goal was to examine the teachers’ perception of the effect of the school climate, the educational climate on the students themselves and their manifestations of violence in particular. In this regard, the research findings were unequivocal when it was found that the teachers think there is a positive relationship between maintaining a positive school climate and preventing violence from students in the educational institutions they took part in. This fact came up both in the questionnaire and in the interviews. In both cases, therefore, the teachers claimed that they see the development of the school climate as a central key factor in order to lead to the prevention of violence within the classroom and to lead to a more positive interaction between the individuals who take part in the learning process.
As far as future research is concerned, there is room to examine the topic examined here not only from the teachers’ side but also from other parties who take part in the education system in one way or another and witness the behaviour of their students. For example, it is possible that the violence is one that takes place mainly in the home space and therefore the examination of the effect of the school climate should be examined in a more inclusive way and not only in the way it expresses the effect of the students within their studies. Due to this fact, future research should also examine this issue from the perspective of students, parents, social workers, and the like. This fact will make it possible to get a more comprehensive answer to the question we dealt with in this study.
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