Ways of integrating education-college graduates from the Ethiopian community in the education system in Israel

Abstract

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines the experiences of 22 newly qualified teachers of Ethiopian origin who tried to integrate into the formal educational system in Israel after completing their graduation. Despite the revolutionary change in Ethiopian educators’ inclusion since the 2000s, their number remains low and the difficulty of integrating graduates belonging to this community are routinely reported. The study pointed out that the graduates still encountered manifestations of racism, expressed in a paternalistic and even arrogant attitude towards them, by representatives of the local authorities, school staff members, and students’ parents. Yet, the study identified the universal challenges that every education graduate is facing as well as the ones that are unique to the graduates’ ethnic origin. Parallel to the essential changes required in the field of multicultural education and in eradicating prejudice and racism, the study proposes several ways for immediate improvement.