COMPUTER INTEGRATION IN PALESTINIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: THEORY AND PRACTICE

The overarching exploratory question that guides this study is: “How can Palestinian secondary schools move forward and integrate computer technology effectively into education?” For the purpose of this study, computer technology integration is defined as the use of computing devices such as desktop computers, laptops, software applications and the Internet, and peripheral devices, such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, and overhead projectors for instructional purposes in Palestinian secondary schools in the cities of Ramallah & Al Bireh and Qalqilia & Azoon. The purpose of this study is to identify ways to help teachers working at the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) integrates computer technology into their teaching. This study will explore how teachers use computer technology in schools as well as how the Palestinian MoEHE stance computer integration into schools. The study also provides recommendations for ways to help close the gap between the vision and practice. To achieve the above, a Triangulation mixed method design was used to converge both quantitative data from surveys and qualitative data in the form of interviews and document analysis. Although the Palestinian MoEHE sees computer technology the primary means of improving the educational process and moving toward a student-centered approach, this study has found that integration of technology into Palestinian schools is still oriented toward a traditional approach. This study presents some recommendations to help break that disparity between the vision and the real practice of computer integration

Developing Teaching Practice in Computational Thinking in Palestine

Sporadic efforts have been made to introduce computational thinking methods into K-12 education in Palestine, but these have been held back by the challenging educational environment. However, a recent in-service training initiative, funded and organized by the Ministry or Education of Palestine, constitutes a significant effort to embed computational thinking in K-12 practice. The middle school teachers who participated in the training course were invited to participate in the present study, and 38 did so. A qualitative approach involving both interviews with teachers and classroom observations was used in data collection. All the teachers agreed to be observed in their classrooms, while 20 of the 38 also agreed to participate in the interviews. The findings showed that teachers of a range of topics, including social sciences and languages, employed computational thinking skills in teaching their students, but they were confronted by a number of challenges, including technical infrastructure and support, and a lack of time to prepare CT classes and space in the curriculum to deliver them. The results indicate that the most appropriate action to support teachers' delivery of CT would be to provide peer exchanges and expert coaching in the integration of CT in the curriculum

Digital Role-Playing Games as Means for Dialogue and Change for Marginalized Teachers

This study presents a theoretical model that incorporates the theories of Paulo Freire, Augusto Boal and Amartya Sen and uses their ideas to create an innovative digital role-playing game for teachers on ‘To-Be-Education,’ a platform originally designed for teacher-student role-playing . We then demonstrate how Sen’s ‘capabilities approach’, Freire’s ‘pedagogy of hope’ and Boal’s ‘theatre of the oppressed’ are adapted to tools of empowerment for Arab-Israeli teachers, who belong to a community marginalized by State policies. The teachers design their own games and base the scenarios on their own real educational and professional dilemmas. They then re-enact these situations to “rehearse reality,” and debate possible outcomes

Copyright for education: a case study of Palestine

Palestine is a poor and disrupted territory and education is vital to its future prosperity and wellbeing. Copyright—which regulates access to information—can at times have a negative effect on education; even more so in least developed countries like Palestine. The aim of this thesis is to explain how copyright and education can function more effectively in the Palestinian context to bring about transformational change and meaningful development. To this end, the thesis (after explaining the Palestinian legal and social context) highlights the common ground between copyright and education and challenges them to work together, rather than against each other. It analyses copyright law in Palestine and how it might be reformed to provide better educational outcomes. Acknowledging that law reform is difficult to achieve, the thesis suggests that a more pragmatic and viable option is to employ strategic copyright management, or what is known as voluntary mechanisms (meaning the copyright owner agrees for various reasons to their material being shared through open access). In outlining this option the thesis provides a detailed roadmap for how Palestine can reap the rewards of voluntary mechanisms

Distance education under oppression: The case of Palestinian higher education

© 2023 The Authors. Published by MDPI. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070729This paper draws from both empirical research on an EU-funded project in Palestine and from the lived experiences of Palestinian HE educators. The geopolitical situation is precarious at the best of times in Palestine, where Israel monitors and controls the Palestinians’ right to travel, live and work—even more so if they wish to accomplish these activities abroad—and their access to the internet is never free from surveillance. In these circumstances and under these conditions, distance education has played a crucial role in supporting Palestinian students to develop a global voice. This paper captures some of the educational challenges encountered by Palestinian students and teachers generally in their daily contexts and, more specifically, in their experiences of learning and teaching, and the methods used to overcome these barriers. It draws on multiple sources and on studies re-cently carried out in the field by Palestinian colleagues and will discuss the challenging aspects of learning online from a range of perspectives in each of these studies before offering conclusions and recommendations/implications for other areas of study in situations of oppression. Initial findings indicate that distance education enables a form of continuity in regions exposed and accustomed to extreme and regular disruption. We were also inspired to see throughout responses the values at-tributed to pursuing education by Palestinian educators and their students. The persistence and perseverance reflect a determination that underlines the importance of education as a fundamental human right, national identity and sovereignty, personal source of hope and strength, and oppor-tunity to open one’s world. In our conclusions, we argue for the importance of digital literacy among educators to facilitate the continuity of distance education and finish with some recommendations as to how technologies can ease disruption to ordinary educational service.This research received no external funding

Leadership and resilience at the Islamic University of Gaza, 1978-2012

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017Leadership in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in turbulent times has been undertheorised. A qualitative case study based on document analysis of 70 documents, 39 interviews and 2 focus groups was the vehicle for examining the role of the leadership at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). IUG has operated under complex conditions of occupation and ongoing turbulence from its inception in 1978 to the present. This study examines the period 1978-2012. In this time the university grew from 25 men studying Sharia in a tent to 20,000 students (63.7% female) studying across 11 faculties and 112 different specialisations. The study documents and labels four phases of development of the university. The patterns of leadership uncovered in the study include transformational, transactional, heroic, post-heroic and on some specific occasions authoritarian styles, with transformational being the most important. The way in which the leadership resolved short term crises, as well as their long-term and big-picture focus, shaped the development of the university. Resilience theory was applied alongside leadership theory to analyse the responses of IUG leadership. Resilience was taken beyond surviving to capitalising on disruption. Twenty three markers of resilience were found which worked independently and interactively to support resilient responses to the challenges IUG faced. These factors were initially developed from the literature, and new factors were added based on this research. The relationship between leadership styles and the promotion of resilience was examined. The thesis describes a mutual shaping and supporting role between university and society in Gaza, and discusses some of the paradoxes of help and harm coming from players and belief systems external to the university. The paradox of faith which can provide a cohesive, binding set of beliefs to support staff and students, as well as being the source of conflict and harm, is also discussed. A definition of a university as an educational community functioning beyond place, buildings, external recognition, or physical destruction was developed.GR201

Towards a pedagogy of forgiveness: lessons from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

This study explores forgiveness as human behaviors as opposed to an emotional response following perceived wrongdoing. Focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the purpose of this study is to critically investigate the concepts of forgiveness through philosophical, religious, historical, and practical lenses as understood by those who are intimately involved in the conflict’s resolution. The aim is to determine how the application of forgiving behaviors may be effective in creating and sustaining moral relations and social justice consciousness whether or not an offense has occurred. Forgiving behaviors are defined as those human capacities, such as empathy, sympathy, love, benevolence, and trust, that are referenced as ethics of forgiveness, and are determined to be essential to humanitarian practices among local and global communities. Through a qualitative case study methodology, testimonies by twelve participants (four Israelis, four Palestinians, and four Americans) provide insight into the deeply embedded conflict and share their views on the role that forgiveness and ethics of forgiveness play in its resolution. Four research questions frame the study as a whole and are the basis of the participant interview questions, which are reported and analyzed in Chapters IV and V. Additionally, five challenges to forgiveness have been identified and explored that contribute to its effectiveness in conflict resolution. The greatest challenge is the military occupation of Palestinian territories by the Israeli government that purposefully denies basic human rights and daily living needs such as water and electricity to Palestinian people. As well, the taking of Palestinian land to build Israeli settlements results in displacement of Palestinian families into refugee camps and the increased building of a constructed wall further divides Palestinian territories and Israel. This study also includes description of efforts by participants and others to bring resolution to the conflict. Key findings offer possibilities for change based on the necessity for practices of ethics of forgiveness which reflect humanitarian interactions among perceived enemies. The environment that can best create these practices is the educational setting, thus a pedagogy of forgiveness is highlighted as providing hope for conflict resolution and demand for human, moral treatment of all people

2003-2007 Report on Hate Crimes and Discrimination Against Arab Americans

Analyzes rates, patterns, and sources of anti-Arab-American hate crimes and discrimination, including detainee abuse, delays in naturalization, and threats; civil liberties concerns; bias in schools; and defamation in the media. Includes case summaries