This article examines the political socialization of young children who live under conditions of intractable conflict. We present four premises: First, we argue that, within the context of intractable conflict, political socialization begins earlier and faster than previously suspected, and is evident among young children. Second, we propose that…

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has deleterious effects on children. Our research observed mothers' conversations with their 5-7-year-old children about the conflict during shared book reading (SBR) of a fiction book, indirectly depicting the conflict. Using a mixed-methods study, we compared the SBR of secular and religious Israeli Jewish…

The aim of this research has been to evaluate the contribution of the emerging Israeli genre of bilingual literature, Arabic and Hebrew, to peace education. Since Israeli society is a multicultural one comprised of two nations, Arabs and Jews who live in an environment of conflict, one must regard those textbooks as political socialization agents.…

This article deals with the nexus between biographical experiences in political extraordinary times of crisis, disaster and terror and their influence on political orientations. At the centre of interest is the reconstruction of political orientations related to two different historical-political groups of Jewish Germans who had immigrated or…

The violent and protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues, and Jewish Americans play a significant role in influencing related US foreign policy as well as in promoting positive interactions with Palestinians globally. Diaspora populations have played an important role in international peace processes and American Jews are actively…

Among 734 Israeli high school students, political involvement, sense of political efficacy, and support of freedom of speech were more strongly related to students' political socialization experiences in school than to their social and ethnic backgrounds or academic/vocational school placement. Schooling effects were stronger for males than…

This paper discusses a survey undertaken to determine how children of different sexes and of different religious/ethnic groups in the Middle East form political attitudes. In this survey, special emphasis was placed on the rate of development of the assumed political attitudes, the age and grade level of the emergence of clear political…

Discusses the role of television in constructing social reality and teaching children to participate in society, examining Israeli research on the role of television fiction and news in parent-child interactions. The article notes how family cultures affect the way television is incorporated into the socialization process in all households. (SM)

Suggests that the mass media serve as socializing agents by providing direct linkage to media and contents which are essential for the development of political values, and by contributing to the structuring of social contexts in which adolescents may exercise such value orientations and reinforce ties with primary socializing agents. (JMF)

Survey of Israeli parent-child pairs revealed portraits of moderate parents and radical children, but follow-up of family conversation while watching and discussing television news suggested harmony and unity in Israeli living rooms. Reconceptualization of the theoretical canon of political socialization analyzes the conversation as a moment of…

Describes a survey of Israeli high school students to determine the books they considered most impressive in developing national and civic values. Reports that the majority of books selected were fiction and were perceived as very useful in developing national knowledge and less useful in developing civic values. (MKM)

Purpose: This study aims to explore the conception and construct of ideological leadership (IL) as it relates to public organizations, such as public schools, and to validate a tool for its measurement in this setting. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected from 633 teachers working at 69 randomly-sampled Israeli public schools. In each…

This study aims to understand the process of collective identity, self-concept, and political development of the individual Palestinian student activist within the context of collective action in Israel. The paper addresses the complexity of the issue with the terminology for the non-Jew in Israel and the conflicting beliefs which see Israel as a…

This study outlines the current and recent "state of play" in Israeli and Palestinian schools concerning the education of students about "the Other". This is seen to be far from satisfactory. An examination of the complexities involved in learning about "the Other" and of education programmes in other countries that…

This article explores ways of improving peace education, placing emphasis on peace education programmes in Israel that use dialogue to foster mutual understanding and respect. This article offers a critical assessment of contemporary Israeli peace education initiatives, emphasizing that current peace education programmes in Israel have failed to…