Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute

Policies to Improve the Quality of the Teaching Profession in Palestinian

Territory

April 2006

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FFoorreewwoorrdd The quality of teaching is of course one of the most important factors influencing the quality of education, and thus human capital in general. The need for this research arose from the significant deterioration in the conditions within this profession, including low wages, an increased work load, and society’s perception of teaching as a poor choice of career. These characteristics lead young professionals to avoid becoming teachers, which is witnessed by the low enrolment rates at teacher training colleges and university teaching departments of students with high grades. This study aims to provide practical recommendations that would make the profession more attractive, particularly for promising students. The research analyses public perceptions about the profession, and addresses the underlying reasons behind such views. The quality of the skills of new generations of school graduates and university students, the future labour force, depends very much on the quality of the teachers in basic and secondary education. This study is one of the steps towards constructing a national plan to improve the teaching profession in Palestine, and in fact it was suggested by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. It was sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and supported by the Government of Norway through the Norwegian Representative Office. I would like to thank the research team, who worked so hard in collecting and analysing the information and writing the study, and I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to UNESCO and the Norwegian government. I hope this research will help policy-makers to create policies and incentives to make teaching a more attractive profession for bright school-leavers and graduates.

Dr. Samir Abdullah Director General MAS

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Contents

SSUUMMMMAARRYY V CHAPTER I: THE BASICS 1

Introduction 1 Teaching in Palestine 3 Objectives of the Study 8

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 10

Literature Related to Teaching in the Palestinian Territory 10 Other Countries’ Experiences in Improving the Teaching Profession 11 Shortage of Qualified Teachers 13 Teacher Training Experiments 15 Teachers and the Teaching Environment 15

CHAPTER III: THE STUDY 17

The Sample 17 Research Instruments 22

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS 27

Section I: Teachers’ Perspectives 27 Section II: Tawjihi Students’ Responses 36 Section III: Teaching Students’ Responses 39 Section IV: Interviews with College of Education Teachers 43 Section V: Teachers’ Focus Groups 45 Section VI: Interviews with School Principals 49

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS 53 AND SUGGESTED POLICIES 53

Annex 1: Teachers’ Questionnaire 59 Annex 21: Tawjihi Students’ Questionnaire 63 Annex 3: Teaching Students’ Questionnaire 65

REFERENCES 67

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SSuummmmaarryy

This study explores the Palestinian teaching profession, looking at ways of improving the conditions of teaching and of teachers, understanding reasons for abstaining from joining the profession and explore ways in which better students can be attracted into teaching. It was based on the perceptions of almost three thousand participants, including current Palestinian teachers, secondary school students, education students at colleges and future teachers, and school principals. The national survey covered both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and included government schools, UNRWA schools and private schools. Data was gathered using three different types of research instruments: focus groups, structured interviews and questionnaires. Three separate questionnaires were formulated and administered to 745 current teachers, 1,380 secondary school students and 750 education college students.

Based on the answers of the participants, the following conclusions can be drawn: • About 30% of the surveyed school students were willing to consider the teaching

profession as a possible future career, two thirds of whom were female. In addition, the majority of students who contemplated teaching as a possible future career came from low income families and followed the humanities branch in their secondary education. Meanwhile, the majority of students who studied natural sciences in high school and who came from high-income families were not interested in a job in teaching.

• Parents are identified as a major element in directing their sons not to pursue the teaching profession, while they encouraged their daughters to choose a career in teaching. This can be attributed to Arab culture and stereotypical gender roles in the Palestinian labour market and society.

• The issue about which the teachers who were surveyed were least satisfied with was their financial compensation, including salaries and pension funds, while they expressed most satisfaction with their opportunities for professional development. This included their high valuation of interacting with colleagues of the same educational background, teaching subjects directly related to their specialization, and considering teaching as a catalyst for serving their towns and villages. UNRWA teachers were more satisfied with their financial package than government teachers.

• In general, female teachers were more satisfied with their job than male teachers. Palestinian teachers also preferred to work five days per week instead of six, and would like to see more computer labs and internet services introduced in their schools.

Based on the conclusions of the study, the following recommendations can be made1:

1 More information about how they were reached, and how they could be elaborated, are found in the narrative of

the study.

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1. To improve the financial compensation of Palestinian teachers, especially government teachers.

2. To reduce the teaching load and to consider introducing five-day weeks instead of six-day weeks for teachers.

3. To encourage teachers to join professional unions which seek to develop and improve the teaching profession, in addition to allowing the establishment of professional unions and syndicates for every specialization.

4. To reduce the numbers of students in classes. 5. To provide orientation and on-the-job programs for all new teachers when they

start their jobs, to familiarize them with the specifics of the job, school policies and regulations, teaching and non-teaching duties etc.

6. To establish committees in schools to meet monthly and discuss issues (such as new pedagogical techniques, curriculum developments etc.) which affect the teaching process.

7. To decentralize the decision-making process, giving principals more say in education policy and teachers more influence within schools.

8. To develop programs of awards to outstanding teachers, and to apply such programs to all school stages, districts and subjects.

9. To establish an institution to coordinate between the Ministry of Education and the Palestinian universities in order to determine the minimum academic requirements for admission to the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory for each educational level, including primary and secondary education.

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Chapter I: The Basics

Introduction Various elements must come together to guarantee the success of the teaching process in any given society. A suitable school, educational environment, teachers, administration system, curricula and educational objectives must all be in place. The literature is full of studies which deal with different aspects of the teaching process and its success factors; however, very little of it deals with teachers, their requirements, suitable conditions for their work, and ways to improve their careers. In fact, most studies do not target the teaching profession directly; instead, they deal with other indirect issues such as teachers’ on-the-job and pre-job training, general employment conditions and job-satisfaction levels, and teacher’s relationships with principals and the administration. With this in mind, this study is dedicated to the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory and ways to improve it from the perspective of current teachers and prospective future teachers (current secondary students), in addition to students studying education at Palestinian colleges and universities. The teaching profession has difficulty when competing against other possible careers on the grounds of income, social status, society’s perspective, the length of the educational process, the difficulty of the job, and teachers’ relations with students and their families. Professions such as medicine, engineering, law and accountancy are still seen as more attractive than teaching in terms of flexible work schedule, income and social status. Consequently, academically gifted secondary school students are drawn to such specializations, and students with lower grades are drawn to education. To demonstrate this point, one can compare the minimum required Tawjihi (matriculation) scores for admittance into professional specializations (medicine, engineering etc.) with the minimum scores required for courses leading to teaching posts, such as those in colleges of education at universities. There is a fundamental difference in the minimum scores required; the gap may reach 10% to 25%. This simply means that the choice of the teaching profession is often the result of not being admitted into other more attractive professional specializations. Table 1-1 shows that entrance to an engineering degree requires a 15% higher minimum score than one for an arts or science subject which lead to a teaching job. In fact, education majors have much lower minimum admission scores, which may be only 70% in the tawjihi or the university’s lowest admission requirement.

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Table1-1: A Comparison of the Minimum Scores for Admission to Study Different Subjects

at Bir Zeit University, 2005-2006

Major Minimum Tawjihi Score Professional Specializations: - Computer Engineering 96 - Engineering 90 - Computer 87 - Business 86 - Communication 84 Educational Specializations: - Arts stream 82 - Science stream 80

Palestinian teachers are for the most part graduates of local Palestinian universities, colleges and specialized institutes. In fact, only a small number of Palestinian teachers received their education outside the Palestinian Territory, as the great majority of Palestinians who study abroad seek professional jobs other than teaching. In 2005, according to statistics from the Ministry of Higher Education, there were 11 universities, 13 university colleges and 18 community colleges in the Palestinian Territory, with a student population of 138,139 (see Table 1-2).

Table 1-2: Number of Registered Students at Palestinian Higher Education Institutions

Name of Institute Number of Registered Students

Al-Azhar University, Gaza 11,860 The Islamic University, Gaza 16,678 Al-Aqsa University, Gaza 9,245 Hebron University 4,728 Polytechnic University, Hebron 2,216 Bethlehem University 2,210 Al-Quds University 7,504 Bir Zeit University 7,165 Al-Najah National University, Nablus 11,654 The Arab-American University, Jenin 3,390 Al-Quds Open University, WB & GS 46,453 University Colleges (13) 6,034 Community Colleges (18) 9,002 Total 138,139

Source: Ministry of Education Statistics, Ramallah, 2005-2006. A closer look at the distribution of the Palestinian college and university students reveal that over 88% are enrolled in programs which lead to a Bachelor’s degree, 2% are enrolled in Master’s programs, and 10% are registered for a 2- year diploma program, as depicted in Table 1-3. The table shows that the percentage of those enrolled in teaching-bound specializations reaches over a quarter of the number of students at

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Palestinian higher education institutions. This is mainly due to university and college admission policies and not to student’s preferences, which in fact favor professional specializations.

Table 1-3: Distribution of Students in Palestinian

Higher Education Institutions by Sex, Specialization and Degree

Indicator Percentage 2

Female students 52% Enrollment in teaching specializations 28% Enrollment in medicine, engineering & health 12% Enrollment in other specializations 60% Community college students 10% Bachelor’s and higher diploma students 88% Master’s students 2% Source: Ministry of Education Statistics, Ramallah, 2003-2006.

Teaching in Palestine Teaching in Palestine has passed through several stages. Initially just informal and for children, it has passed through many phases to reach its current format. These stages may be divided in the following fashion: Informal teaching of children Teaching in Palestine was limited to children until 1869, and was carried out in three types of informal schools. One type were Alkuttab schools, which held classes in one room for male and female students and were simply focused on teaching reading, writing, arithmetic and the Koran. These schools would admit students aged 3-5 years old and the duration of study was three years. Alkuttab schools in villages were limited to teaching only during the winter (Awad, 1969). Second were schools affiliated with specific mosques (restricted to boys only) such as Almohamadeya school in Acre (Alasali, 1990). The third type were preaching schools, which increased in numbers towards the end of the nineteenth century. In 1882, the number of female students was 1,378 in comparison to 4,453 male students (Tibawi, 1956). The Ottoman Period The year 1869 is considered the beginning of official public education in Palestine, as the new Ottoman education system was introduced. This new system provided that education should be free and compulsory at the elementary stage. Furthermore, towns with 500 residents should have their own elementary schools, those with 1,000 residents should have preparatory schools, and district centers should have secondary schools. General examinations were held at the end of the school year and the school curriculum covered subjects such as reading, history, the Koran, mathematics and

2 The denominator in all the indicators is total number of registered students.

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Turkish (Tibawi, 1961). Teaching during this stage was restricted to academic subjects however, and excluded any formal or informal professional teaching. The British Mandate During the British mandate the educational system was divided into four phases: kindergarten, which admitted six-year-old children; lower elementary school, which admitted seven-year-old students for a five-year term; upper-elementary school, which admitted twelve-year-old students for a two-year term; and lower-secondary school, which admitted fourteen-year-old students for a two-year tem (Tibawi, 1956). Vocational education was first introduced to Palestine during the British mandate period. In 1932, Al-Khudori Agricultural College was established, which admitted students of fourteen years of age (8th and 9th grade). The Arab Commercial Public school was established in Haifa in 1937, which admitted students at twelve years of age (post upper-elementary schooling) for a three-year term. The total number of Palestinian students reached 83 thousand, of which 20% were female (Tibawi, 1956; Abstract of Palestine, 1943). The Period from 1948 to 1967 In 1949, what remained of Palestine was subjected to two different educational systems: the Jordanian system in the West Bank and the Egyptian system in the Gaza Strip. During the period 1964-1965 the total number of students in the West Bank was 200,070, of which 74,100 (37% of total student population) were girls enrolled in the elementary and preparatory stages (Jordan Annual Statistical Yearbook, 1951-1665). In the Gaza Strip, the number of students enrolled in public and UNRWA3 schools was on the rise. In 1950 there were 19,114 students enrolled in UNRWA schools, which increased to 47,258 in 1958 and finally hit 67,189 students in 1967. The ratio of female students to the total student population equaled 40% in the year 1965 (UNRWA Statistical Yearbook, 1989). The total number of classroom sessions was 35 per week. The Israeli Occupation Period: 1967-1994 The education system remained intact under the occupation, and the Palestinian people struggled to continue the educational process despite the barriers, collective punishment, and frequent closures of educational institutions, especially public schools. This phase witnessed qualitative developments in the educational system, as a number of universities were established under the supervision of national non-profit institutions (Sabri Shakhshir, 1995). The Palestinian Authority Phase: 1994-Present The education system under the supervision of the Palestinian authority witnessed several positive developments, especially in two main areas. The first was the development of the Palestinian school curriculum, school’s textbooks and teachers’ manuals. Amongst the features in the new curriculum is that it includes the outlines of the objectives, content, extracurricular activities and notes particular to every unit in the textbook in great detail. The new curriculum also introduces English language in the first grade, Information Technology (IT) courses, free activities and civic education 3 Founded for refugee students from first to ninth grades.

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(Sabri Shakhshir, 2003). The second area of improvement in the Palestinian educational system was in the fast growth in the number of teachers, classrooms and schools. Indeed, the total number of public schools increased from 1,084 in the school year 1994/1995 to 1,725 in 2005/2006. Likewise, the number of public school teachers increased from 14,938 in 1994 to 35,013 in 2006, and the number of classrooms almost doubled from 11,817 to 22,082 in 2006. From an administrative perspective, the education system in the Palestinian Territory is divided into three sections: public schools, which educate 70% of the number of students; UNRWA schools, which educate 24%; and private schools, which educate 6% of the total number of students. Table 1-4 displays a summary of the number of students, teachers, classrooms and schools in the Palestinian educational system.

Table 1-4: Statistics about the Palestinian

General Education System (WBGS), 2005/2006

Sex Number of Schools

Number of Students

Number of Teachers

Number of Classrooms

Male 802 536,752 22,700 5,655 Female 786 541,736 25,974 12,736 Mixed 688 - - 12,610 Total 2,276 1,078,488 48,674 31,001

The Significance of Education Over and above the fifty thousand Palestinian teachers already working in the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian educational system annually employs around three thousand extra teachers. Out of these, two thousand receive their wages from the Palestinian budget, in an attempt to meet the great need for teachers in public schools, and the remainder are employed through UNRWA and the private sector. This annual hiring of teachers is because population increase, teachers leaving the profession or retiring, and to resolve the classroom overcrowding problem. This calls for an exploration of the methods and policies to prepare such a number of qualified teachers, to improve their proficiencies and motivate the most qualified students to pursue the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory. Historically, Palestinian teachers’ qualifications have evolved; during the British Mandate, teachers in Palestine were acknowledged as being in need of special academic preparation for the first time. In fact, two teacher training institutes were established. The first was in Jerusalem - the Public Arabic College - established in 1918, where students (after passing the General Examination) were enrolled for a two-year term. The second was also established in Jerusalem for the training of female teachers. This college consisted of five grades, with students enrolling at the age of fourteen (from 8th grade until 12th grade) (Tibawi, 1956 and Tibawi, 1961). In 1952 community colleges (two-year program) were established in Ramallah to teach Arts and Science teachers. These colleges included Ramallah Girls College and Dar Almu’alemin for Boys, in

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addition to UNRWA’s Women’s Community College in 1961/1992 and Al-Najah Teachers’ Institute (private), which was established in Nablus in 1965. In 1958, Al- Aroob teacher’s institute was established in Hebron to prepare elementary school teachers. Graduates of such institutes were entrusted with teaching several school levels - elementary, preparatory, and secondary. (Sabri-Shakhshir, 1994). The Jordanian Education Law for 1964 (No.16), which is still in force in the West Bank, stipulated specific qualifications for teachers according school level. Kindergarten and elementary school teachers were required by law to have finished secondary school and two years of general education or behavioral education. Secondary school teachers were required to have a bachelor’s degree in addition to one year of behavioral education. The law, however, did not elaborate on the behavioral education requirement, and left that up to the availability of such programs. In Gaza, conditions and prerequisites for teaching were specified in the Mandate Education Law for 1933 (No.1). The conditions, according to Code No. 8 of the law, stipulated that it is forbidden for any person to teach without being officially registered and bearing a teaching license issued by the education department director. However, the law did not specify conditions for licensing teachers. As a result of the different laws still being in force, the requirements for teachers in the Palestinian Territory are different. However, a community college degree or even a bachelor’s degree is no longer sufficient for teaching. In fact, teachers need professional and educational training, to explore the theoretical side of teaching by means of studying the fundamentals of education psychology and suitable pedagogical techniques in accordance with student and curriculum levels. In addition, there is a need to be able to teach students current affairs, problem solving and creative thinking. The Jordanian Education Ministry amended the education law in 1994. According to the law (Code No. 3), kindergarten and elementary school teachers are required to have a first-level university degree and secondary school teachers are required to have a bachelor’s degree in addition to one further year (postgraduate) educational credit. The law granted existing unqualified teachers a certain time to comply with law (Ministry of Education, 1997). A look at common teacher hiring practices during the last decade reveals that that the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education uses the following criteria: • Teaching and non-teaching experience. • Educational attainment, weighted according to the degree and academic

achievement. • Personal interview • Written examination (specialization). Educational attainment and the written examination comprise the main factor in the selection of Palestinian teachers (see Table 1-5).

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Table 1-5: Weighting System Adopted for Teacher’s Selection in Public Schools4

Selection criteria Details Points

1. Written examination 15 2. Educational attainment Specialized Master’s and 2-year degree

in education 20

or Bachelor’s degree and 2-year degree up to Master’s degree

16-18

or 2-year diploma (with specialization) 12 3. Working temporarily in

teaching (substitute teacher) Years 2

4. Experience Half a point for every year 3 5. University grades Very Good - Excellent 2-5 6. Personal interview Character and Personality 5

Source: Instructions by the Palestinian Ministry of Education, 2005. Formal licensing of the teaching profession is yet to be endorsed in the Palestinian educational system. It is expected that the Palestinian authority will raise requirements (academic and educational) for teachers according to which level they teach. It is noteworthy to mention that the Palestinian Education Law Project, which was presented to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2005 and was approved on first reading, did not specify any conditions or qualifications for the teaching profession across all educational levels. Article 29 of the proposed law indicated that qualifications for the Ministry of Education’s personnel would be issued in an internal private memo. Article 32 of the proposed law specified moral provisions for the teaching profession. These were related to upholding good values and ethics, following orders and respecting confidentiality. Based on survey results which captured the viewpoints of students, teachers and principals across all governorates in the Palestinian territories, this study may be qualified to provide guidelines for the teaching profession’s prerequisites and working conditions. In addition, it will provide other opinions related to the educational environment and regulating schools in order to incorporate such opinions into the proposed education law prior to the second and third readings at the PLC. This study also sees the need to research other non-financial schemes which may motivate teachers and inspire them to remain in the profession. It is a well-known fact that teachers’ salaries are relatively low. This is due in part to limited public resources; in fact, teachers’ salaries constituted the second largest item in the Palestinian national budget during the last ten years, second only to police and security. The number of teachers represents a third of the total number of public employees, including those working in the security field. It is also well known that the teachers’ movement in Palestine witnessed unionized activities and protests during the occupation period (1978-1986) and also during the PA’s early years (1997-2000), requesting salary increases and better working conditions (Assaf, 2001).

4 The total is multiplied by 2, and the overall score must be over 60%

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Objectives of the Study One of the main problems facing the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory is how to attract qualified and exceptional teachers who would currently prefer to work in other professions such as medicine, engineering, pharmacy, law, accountancy and business administration. In addition, there is the issue of retaining qualified teachers in the field by means of supporting school administrations and providing sound financial support and suitable incentives in order to compete with other professions. Such incentives should encourage teachers to remain in the field of teaching and avoid exhaustion and loss of job satisfaction. In other words, the incentive schemes should stimulate teachers to stay on good terms with their colleagues, students, schools administrations and students’ parents, and these relationships should be based on persuasion, cooperation and understanding instead of bureaucracy and orders. Regulation of parental interference in school affairs and how teachers perform their tasks is also needed. This study will discuss these issues related to the teaching profession and ways to improve them. Following are the general specifications of the study’s objectives: • Specifying the most suitable teaching environment in the Palestinian Territory,

especially relating to finances, health, teaching schedules, teachers’ relation to the administration and the educational system, and the availability of teaching aids that are regarded as satisfactory to teachers.

• Specifying the best conditions for the Palestinian teacher to improve his teaching performance and to encourage him or her to remain in the teaching profession. This relates to the availability of teaching aids, school libraries, science labs and sports and other facilities.

• Specifying the most attractive factors for prospective qualified teachers to pursue teaching and remain in the profession.

• Specifying the factors behind why most qualified prospective teachers refrain from becoming teachers.

• Clarifying the points of view of school principals about issues related to teachers that would help develop their careers and remain in the profession.

• Clarifying the points of view of teachers at colleges of education about how to help teachers to develop their career in teaching and encourage them to remain in it.

The Study’s Main Questions In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives and build up a complete picture of the teaching profession, the study attempted to answer the following questions by examining the opinions of relevant groups, including teachers currently working in the Palestinian educational system at public, UNRWA and private schools; university, community college, and secondary school students; and school principals: 1. What is the opinion of present school teachers about issues related to their

profession?

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2. Are there differences in teachers’ responses according to their backgrounds (sex, experience, academic achievement, place of residence and supervising authority)?

3. What other issues interest the Palestinian teacher and are related to his profession? 4. How do teachers rank 16 relevant factors which may improve their teaching

abilities? 5. Does the teacher hold a second job? What kind of job is it? Is it related to teaching? 6. What percentage of second-year secondary students are interested in pursuing a

career in teaching? 7. Does gender play a role in question number 6? 8. What factors inspire second-year secondary school students to choose the teaching

profession (sex, specialization, expected general exam score, region, family income)?

9. Are there discrepancies in second-year secondary school student’s responses according these factors?

10. What are the reasons behind students refraining from pursuing a career in teaching? 11. What are the main reasons for students at education colleges having chosen the

teaching profession? 12. Are there discrepancies in responses to question number 11 according to sex,

university year, place of residence, region, family income and Tawjihi scores? 13. What are the other reasons that encouraged students to enroll in colleges of

education and study to become teachers? 14. What are the opinions of teachers at colleges of education in relation to what aids

teachers to develop their careers and remain in the field? 15. What is the opinion of school principals in relation to teachers’ issues? Study’s Hypotheses The following hypotheses were posited and tested in order to answer the teaching-related questions: Hypothesis related to question number 2: • There are no statistically significant differences at α =0.05 among teachers’

response averages across the six domains for the second section of the questionnaire, according to sex, experience, educational achievement, school’s supervising authority or place of residence

Hypothesis related to question number 7: • There are no statistically significant differences at α =0.05 among students’

responses to reasons for choosing a teaching profession, according to sex, specialization, expected Tawjihi scores or family income.

Hypothesis related to question number 12: • There are no statistically significant differences at α =0.05 among average college

of education students’ responses to sections on the questionnaire, according to sex, university year, place of residence, family income, region or Tawjihi scores.

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Chapter II: Literature Review Teaching-related literature is concerned with teaching development, problems and teachers’ concerns such as personal stress, dissatisfaction with the job, and teachers’ relationships with principals, students and parents. It also discusses issues more directly relevant to teaching such as prerequisites for the profession, on-the-job training and other more general topics. The literature also explores other countries’ experiences in improving the teaching profession.

Literature Related to Teaching in the Palestinian Territory There are various studies related to the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory and others related to teaching in general. A study by Assaf (2001) discussed the evolution of the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory and its hardships, including its union history and the struggle to improve working conditions during the second half of the last century. The study revealed that Palestinian teachers were struggling to establish teachers’ unions and demanding their rights. The study points out that the first teachers’ union was founded in 1955, but its activities were prohibited during the Israeli occupation. Teachers strived and struggled to form a new union during the 1970’s and 1980’s in hope of improving their financial conditions, but they were not successful. Strikes and unrest continued even after the arrival of the Palestinian authority as attempts to form a committee for teachers in 1997-2000 resumed, resulting in many strikes which demanded salary increases for teachers (Assaf, 2001). Other studies discussed the degree of job satisfaction of the Palestinian teacher. Alwhaidi (2000) conducted a study which focused on elementary school teachers’ job satisfaction. The study found that Palestinian teachers feel better when working in a school run by an administration characterized by openness, in comparison to satisfaction levels of teachers who do not work in such an environment. Shkair (2005) also attempted to measure job satisfaction levels and their relation to social, economic, professional and political factors. The study revealed that female teachers’ satisfaction levels were higher that their male counterparts’. Furthermore, public school teachers exhibited higher levels of satisfaction in comparison to private school teachers when political factors were taken in consideration. However, the study revealed that private school teachers were more satisfied than public school teachers when social and economic factors were considered. Nabhan’s (2004) study dealt with the psychological stress endured by the Palestinian teacher. The study explained that lack of student motivation, teachers’ earnings, the nature of the new curriculum, unclear relations with parents, the nature of relations with principals, and place of work represent key psychological stress factors. Alnajjar’s (2003) study added that overcrowded classrooms were an additional stress factor for the

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Palestinian teacher. Assaf and Jaber’s (1996) paper gave additional factors causing stress to the Palestinian teacher, which include frequent school closures, lack of security for teachers, and lack of career advancement opportunities. Sabri’s (1995) study explained that the interruption of the teaching process due to closures, the inability to finish the assigned curriculum, classroom overcrowding, and cheating were amongst the main difficulties cited by Palestinian teachers during the Intifada. Other studies explored teachers’ pre-job and on–the-job training experiences. Sabri and Abou-dagga’s (2004) study revealed negative points related to the nature of the educational curricula at Palestinian colleges of education and universities, caused by the fact that such curricula were theoretical in nature and inapplicable in real life. The study also revealed that the sample respondents desired an increase in education-related curricula, teaching aids, computers and professional courses. Relevant university departments should organize the training program, prepare a time schedule, allocate students to schools and provide students with weekly programs and training hours. The university should also coordinate with schools and conduct frequent meetings and ensure effective participation between school and university. Universities should also use small-group tutorials to train prospective teachers on teaching skills and classroom management before the commencement of the professional training. Education students also found it imperative to use school textbooks, study them, and evaluate them during their first year at the university. Alhelo and Abdelmun’m (1993) suggested that the Palestinian teachers’ preparation phase should extend to five years in colleges of education instead of four years, to cover academic, professional and cultural training both theoretically and empirically. Shakhshir (1997) evaluated teachers’ vocational programs and found that trainees valued professional courses and classroom issues higher in comparison with theoretical and educational related issues.

Other Countries’ Experiences in Improving the Teaching Profession Other countries’ experiences in improving the teaching profession were diverse. Some focused on amending teacher training curricula to include behavioral and educational subjects, environmental and social issues, and other issues related to civil society. Others worked on implementing plans aimed at attracting prospective teachers to directing them into specializing in areas characterized by lack of teachers. Still others worked on improving the financial rewards of the teaching profession. For example, the Egyptian Ministry of Education increased the budget designated for education in order to improve the conditions of teachers and provide financial incentives in addition to annual increases. The Ministry also increased the salaries of teachers and school administrative staff and increased the daily bonuses for teachers grading the final general examinations. Last, the Ministry also introduced a ‘model teacher’ competition at the directorate and national levels and rewarded the winners (Alsharqawi, 2003). Some counties sought to reduce teachers’ training time and attempted to introduce flexible working hours. Others focused on improving the teaching environment by means of providing administrative support for new teachers until the teacher safely

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passes the critical period in their professions. Some saw the need to reduce bureaucracy and extend more autonomy to schools and local government, as opposed to central government represented by the Ministry or the regional educational management (McKay, 1994). Others focused on improving teacher training programs, regarding teachers as a contributing factor in the country’s economic growth and focusing on the productivity of teachers (Ludke and Moreira, 1999). Still others suggested that teachers should be seen as managers, because what a teacher does is not very different from what an executive manager does in an economic establishment. Both use limited available resources in an optimal way. There are many similarities between teachers and managers in such issues as conveying knowledge, research, training, and being wise and diplomatic in dealing with society (Analoui, 1995). Some counties have raised the qualification standards for new teachers, in addition to introducing conceptual training and special licensing. The licensing protects teachers from arbitrary firing under the pretext of not being qualified (Bales, 2005). Li (1999) explained China’s experiment in modernizing teacher training. China’s efforts included improving current teachers’ skills and attracting new teachers to fill the gap which resulted from China’s decision to make nine years of schooling obligatory. China reopened six types of universities and colleges, including traditional and vocational universities and colleges and private teaching schools. China also increased teachers’ salaries and implemented training programs for existing teachers. According to Ratnavadivel (1999), Malaya organized the teaching process into seven elements: teacher, school, student, teaching technique, teaching assessment, improving the skills of special students, and self-satisfaction. Other studies handled teachers’ attitude towards schools and the classroom environment. Genger and Cakiroglu (Forthcoming) examined physics teachers’ beliefs about class management and the success factors required to create a better teaching environment and foster a better student attitude. Teachers generally favor students who do not interfere in the teaching process and prefer a strict class management style. Among the important issues related to teachers’ preparation is the tendency of many countries to amend their educational systems, which created additional demand for teachers with exceptional abilities which suit the newly-adopted changes. For example, Malaya increased the years of obligatory schooling and introduced a free secondary schooling system (Ratnavadivel, 1999). Other counties (Cyprus, for example) have changed the nature of the teaching philosophy, such as switching to the comprehensive/collective educational system which requires re-preparation of teachers. Cyprus adopted the concept of comprehensive teaching, which means that school is for everybody regardless of differences in students’ abilities (Angelides et al, forthcoming). According to Angelides, the Cyprus experiment faced problems in preparing teachers for the new teaching concept in terms of the curriculum and the notion of collective teaching itself. There are many studies concerned with which educational environment leads to improving the teaching profession and encouraging teachers to remain in the job.

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Pang’s (1996) is one such study, and was conducted on school teachers in Hong Kong. The study covered 14 secondary schools and attempted to examine ways to improve the school environment and relationships between school staff. It stresses the need to change the interschool relationship from a bureaucratic model to a cultural one instead. The bureaucratic model, on the one hand, relies on strength of management, ability to execute instructions and the chain of command. The cultural model, on the other hand, is based on persuasion and participation in executing schools’ objectives in a collective manner. Singapore school teachers showed that the implementation of the cultural model encourages - and positively values - a sense of job satisfaction, social responsibility and general school order. Relationships based on bureaucracy increase the feeling of job dissatisfaction and the lack of a sense of social responsibility. Sachs and Smith (1999) discussed Australia’s experiment in improving teaching by means not only of focusing on the teacher but also on all aspects of the educational process as a whole, including the teacher, the career, the educational system, working conditions and continuous teachers’ improvement. In Jordan, a teaching improvement program commenced in 1987 which granted universities the right to license teachers and teacher training by connecting schools and universities and adopting the so-called preliminary teacher training (Alkhwaldah and Kwalter, 2004). Musonda (1999) discussed Denmark’s teaching profession reform which started in 1998. The Danish government changed the curriculum for teacher training including the content and required knowledge, classroom management, and student evaluation and communication skills. The new curriculum included environmental subjects and combating AIDS and other social issues. Dahlstrom’s (1999) study discussed Namibia’s experiment in teaching profession reform.

Shortage of Qualified Teachers Teachers’ rejection of the teaching profession in favor of other professions is considered one the key problems faced by the education system. The evolution of other professions which closely compete with the teaching profession has created shortages in the number of teachers and discouraged others from joining the profession. There are great number of teachers who commence their career as teachers and then leave. An American study (Rowan et al, 2002) discovered that one quarter of teachers quit the teaching profession during the first four years of their career. Tye and O’Brien (2002) explained that the return of investment for teachers is relatively low, as teachers’ salary and financial returns are low when compared to the time it takes a teacher to complete his education. This is considered one of the main reasons for teachers’ high drop-out rate, in addition to problems of class management and other social and parent-relation factors. Bukely et al. (2004) added another reason, explaining that teachers were quitting the profession because of the quality of school facilities. The study concluded that improving school facilities may have a better effect on reducing teachers’ leakage in the United States than a salary increase.

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The shortage of teachers may be concentrated in certain specializations or in certain geographical regions. Sadker (1999) observed that despite advancements in female education, with girls outperforming boys during the education process and being on equal grounds (administratively) with males in American schools, female specializations are still confined, for the most part, to languages, music, education and arts. On the other hand, male teachers largely concentrate on computers, engineering and sciences. Moreover, males start school having more computer experience than females who, by the way, consider themselves as having less computer competency than males. Even when females consider a computer specialization, they concentrate on areas such as data entry while males concentrate on advanced computer topics. In addition, female enrollment in sports and sport teaching is still lower than males’. The researcher concludes that discrimination still exists in the education system and calls for increasing focus on the issue. Factors leading to teachers’ quitting in favor of other professions are varied. In most cases, family considerations, financial reasons, problems with the school administration and classroom management are at the top of the list. Teachers’ early withdrawal from the teaching profession creates an urgent need for substitutes for retired and resigned teachers. Kersaint et al (2006) conducted a study on Floridian (USA) teachers5 who quit the profession, aimed at understanding the factors which caused them to do so. For this purpose, the researchers prepared a 36-question survey to understand which questions were relevant for teachers in making their decision. The results placed family factors (for example, staying with kids for female teachers) as the most important reason for quitting the profession. The second most quoted reason for leaving the teaching profession was the lack of administrative support at school. This factor was more relevant for secondary school than elementary school teachers. The third reason was related to the lack of financial incentives in the teaching profession. Homework grading and other duties that teachers have to perform were also a key factor for teachers who quit; however, this factor was more relevant for male teachers than female teachers. A study by White et al. (2006) discussed the shortage of secondary school teachers in Great Britain and explored the underlying reasons. The researchers observed shortages in specific specializations such as mathematics, sciences, technology and languages. They attributed this shortage to the smaller number of students who were enrolling in these specializations at colleges and universities. The study stressed the need to improve ways to draw teachers into fields which suffer serious shortages, especially in secondary school mathematics and science subjects. The researchers also suggested increasing the number of students who attempt such specializations in colleges and universities through counseling and programs aimed at attracting teachers into these specializations. Taylor (Forthcoming) attempted to examine the factors and obstacles which teachers consider when choosing their profession. The study was conducted in Great Britain on a sample of 140 teaching college students. The study concluded that traditionally quoted factors for quitting the profession were not significant for that particular sample.

5 Independent teachers in Florida represent six percent of the total teachers’ population in the state (20,000).

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Teacher Training Experiments There are a group of studies which discuss general topics related to professional training. Hammond’s (1998) view was that teaching students are better trained when theoretical and professional courses are combined. Such training provides students with an opportunity to share knowledge and expertise with fellow students and teachers alike. Some Arab studies found that vocational courses focus on the theoretical knowledge and ignore developing skills and interpersonal abilities (Kandil, 1991). There are many studies which discuss teachers’ depth of knowledge and ability to stay current with issues within his specialization. In fact, many teachers become disconnected from trends and new happenings in their particular field of specialty shortly after graduation from college. For example, a study6 in Singapore demonstrated that teachers failed to use school libraries properly and there was no cooperation between school teachers and librarians at school (Mokhtar and Majid, 2005). A study by Romano et al. (2004) set out to evaluate teacher training programs at universities. The study targeted teachers with a lot of experience (on average 22 years) and found, contrary to general belief, that teachers benefited from training programs despite their extensive knowledge. A study by Blaisdell and Cox (2004) on University of Miami professors reaffirmed the fact that teachers need continuous training, including those who posses extensive experience in teaching. There are also many research papers that discuss different training models for teachers and their preparation before and on the job. A study by Butler et al. (2004) suggested ‘cooperative models based on common teaching’. According to this model, teachers work individually and in teams to develop new methods for teaching, and assess the model’s effectiveness through empirical testing and group evaluation. Students undergoing training often face administrative problems. For example, the school principal may regard classroom discussion as a waste of time or may feel disrupted by trainees. Furthermore, trainees face the problem of classroom management: students do not interact with the trainee and he may have trouble controlling them. Last, the trainee may face problems with a direct supervisor who focuses on the trainee’s weak points (Albabtain, 1995).

Teachers and the Teaching Environment There are many studies that depict the teaching profession as a stressful one, McCormick (1997) and Leach (1984) amongst them. These studies explained that the degree of stress varied according to the teacher’s personality, sex, age and school level. More experienced teachers and elementary and kindergarten school teachers were less vulnerable to work-related stress in comparison to less-experienced secondary school teachers. Another study showed that teachers who displayed most signs of stress in the workplace were more likely to have poor job satisfaction and exhibit frequent absences.

6 The study was conducted on 76 teachers with different experience levels across 7 schools.

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Above all, such teachers were less likely to give teaching a second chance once they quit (Borg and Riding, 1993). Oshagbemi (1997) examined job satisfaction levels in university professors in Great Britain.7 The researcher divided the sample into three different groups: very satisfied at work, satisfied at work and dissatisfied at work. The reason for being unsatisfied was related to their relatively low salaries and their bosses’ attitudes. Koustelios (2001) examined the job satisfaction of elementary and secondary school teachers at 20 Greek public schools. The study revealed that Greek teachers are generally satisfied with their profession and administrative supervision; however, they were unsatisfied regarding their salaries and career advancement opportunities. The relationship between teacher and school principal is considered the most important factor in determining whether the teacher will continue in his profession, his level of job satisfaction and his willingness to improve his teaching skills in order to become a better teacher. The school principal could be a positive influence which encourages new entrants to remain in teaching, or a negative and off-putting factor for the teacher. A study by Pashilardis and Orphanou (1999) explained that education in Cyprus is still characterized by centralization and bureaucracy.8 The study also pointed out that teachers are not comfortable with school principals personally and in terms of career development issues. Another Cyprus study carried out by Menon (2002) on elementary school teachers surveyed existing teachers currently receiving training and prospective teachers at colleges of education on features of leadership at schools. The responses of the two groups were different, each group ranking principals’ weak points differently. Despite the fact that both groups expected to encounter administrative problems with current school principals or future ones, it was found that current teachers were less worried about problems with the principals in comparison to future teachers. Another study was concerned with investigating the effect of school principals’ leadership role on the development of teachers’ commitment and teachers’ attitudes towards change. The study found that they have a positive role in the development of teachers’ commitment, although this effect was lower than that found in the United States. Regarding the teacher-principal relationship and the role that the principal plays in improving teachers’ skills, an American study (Blasé and Blasé, 2000) asked teachers to explain principals’ traits that contribute to improving teaching in their classrooms. Responses highlighted that amongst principal’s best features were their adoption of strategies related to career development, skills improvement, new teaching tools, and constant communication with teachers. Finally, a study conducted by Shum and Cheng (1997) to examine the relationship between teachers and female school principals found out that there is a statistically significant correlation between work attitudes and teachers’ feelings towards female school principals.9 Furthermore, the study demonstrated that female school principals used a feminine administrative style.

7 The survey covered 554 professors teaching at 23 different universities. 8 The study covered 115 teachers and asked them to evaluate school principals based on nine criteria. 9 The study was conducted on 77 secondary school teachers managed by female principals. Ten male and female

teachers were chosen to evaluate their school principals on the need to train female principals in a different fashion than male principals.

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Chapter III: The Study Introduction This studied examined the opinions of current and future teachers in an attempt to determine and convey their views about the conditions and requirements of the teaching profession. The aim is to present the findings to stakeholders including education administrators, the education system, government, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the executive branch, and all interested stakeholders responsible for determining education policies and financial and in-kind compensation. By researching teachers’ job and career satisfaction, this study aims to explore ways in which better students might be attracted to the profession and examine policies and develop recommendations to improve the quality of the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory, and therefore the overall level of education in the country. To achieve its goals, the study conducted a survey which is regarded as the first in the Palestinian Territory in terms of sample size and coverage. It covered all governorates and all educational sectors, and included segments connected to the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory in terms of supervising authority. The study was a descriptive survey which included qualitative and quantitative analysis of the sample.

The Sample The sample consists of the following categories distributed across Palestinian governorates in the Palestinian Territory:

• Male and female secondary school teachers (Private and public). • Male and female UNRWA teachers. • Students majoring in education at colleges and universities. • Tawjihi students (final-year secondary school students). • Education teachers at universities’ and colleges’ education departments. • School principals.

The sample was distributed across all education directorates in the West Bank (13) and Gaza Strip (4). Table 3-1 shows the number of one-shift secondary schools in the Palestinian Territory according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (2005-2006). Additionally, Table 3-2 shows the number of private schools according to directorate and sex.

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Table 3-1: Number of Secondary Schools in the

WBGS According to Directorate

Directorate Number of Schools Jenin 47 Nablus 82 Qalqilya 30 Tulkarem 46 Ramallah 101 Salfit 32 Jerusalem- Suburbs 29 Jerusalem 23 Bethlehem 53 Jericho 8 Hebron 46 Hebron- South 38 Qabatya 40 Total 575 Gaza 26 Gaza- North 5 Khan Younis 12 Rafah 3 Total 46

Table 3-2: Number of Private Schools in the WBGS According to Directorate and Sex

Directorate Male Female Mixed Total

Jenin 1 - 9 10 Nablus 2 1 17 20 Salfit - - 2 2 Tulkarem 2 - 8 10 Qalqilya 1 - 5 6 Ramallah 3 1 29 33 Jerusalem- Suburbs

2 1 27 30

Jerusalem 6 6 28 40 Bethlehem 3 2 23 28 Jericho - - 3 3 Hebron 6 3 29 28 Hebron- South 1 - 6 7 Qabatya - - 6 6 Total 27 14 192 233 Gaza 2 - 9 11 Gaza- North - - 5 5 Khan Younis 3 3 2 8 Rafah - - 1 1 Total 5 3 17 25 Source: Ministry of Education and Higher Education, General

Education Statistics in Palestine (2005-2006)

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Table 3-3 shows the distribution of public school Tawjihi students and male and female teachers according to educational stream, directorates and sex.

Table 3-3: Numbers of Students and Teachers in the Directorates of the Sample

Number of Tawjihi Students Number of Teachers

Directorate

Number of academic students

Number of vocational students

Male Female

Ramallah 3,882 111 1,198 1,418 Nablus 4,533 474 1,503 1,548 Qalqilya 1,428 169 551 553 Qabatya 2,276 201 845 833 Hebron 5,099 501 1,583 1,730 Total 17,218 1,456 5,680 6,082 Gaza 8,723 53 1,746 1,831 Khan Younis 4,885 5 68 902 Total 13,608 58 1,814 2,733

Sample Selection Clustering was the adopted technique for the selection of the secondary school teachers’ and students’ sample. Five directorates representing the West Bank were selected, representing the northern, middle and southern regions. These directorates were Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Qalqilya and Qabatya. Two directorates from the Gaza Strip were selected: Gaza City and Khan Younis. Data from the Palestinian Ministry of Education were used regarding school numbers, distribution according to directorates, school level and supervising authority. Boys and girls public secondary schools10 were selected, and from every school one class for every academic stream was selected (literature, scientific and vocational). The same selection procedures were applied to private schools. Table 3-4 shows number of selected secondary public schools according to sex.

Table 3-4: Number of schools for public school

sample according to sex

Directorate Male Female Number of teachers Ramallah 3 3 150 Nablus 1 1 50 Qalqilya 2 1 75 Qabatya 2 2 100 Hebron 1 1 50 Gaza 1 1 50 Khan Younis 1 1 50 Total 11 10 525

10 Only schools which have Tawjihi-level class were included.

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The sample for UNRWA schools included only teachers because the highest class in UNRWA schools is 9th grade. As a result, 25 teachers were randomly selected from the teaching staff of each UNRWA school in Ramallah and Khan Younis. Two boys’ schools and two girls’ schools were selected from Ramallah, and one of each was selected from Khan Younis. Table 3-5 shows the distribution of UNRWA school teachers according to sex and directorate.

Table 3-5: Number of UNRWA School Teachers and the Sample According to Directorate and Sex

Number of UNRWA Teachers Sample size

Directorate Male Female Male Female Ramallah 127 167 50 50 Khan Younis 504 563 25 25 Total 631 730 75 75 Grand Total 1361 150

Source: Ministry of Education and Higher Education, General Education Statistics in Palestine, 2005-2006.

Table 3-6 shows numbers of private school teachers according to sex and directorate. 70 teachers from private schools were selected.

Table 3-6: The Number of Private School Teachers and the Sample According to Directorate and Sex

Number of Private school Teachers Sample Size Directorate Male Female Male Female

Ramallah 308 674 20 30 Qabatya 15 49 10 10

Total 323 723 30 40 Grand Total 1,046 70

Source: Ministry of Education and Higher Education, General Education Statistics in Palestine, 2005-2006.

Regarding the student sample,11 60 students were selected from academic (literature and scientific streams) and vocational specializations from every school, in addition to 25 teachers. Three private schools were also selected, two in Ramallah and one in Jenin (Zababdah), adding an extra 120 students to the sample size. With 1,260 students from the 21 public schools, this brought the total number of secondary school students who participated in this study to 1,380 as shown in Table 3-7.

The sample of trainee teachers was 750 students selected from eight universities and colleges which offer education courses. Four universities are in the West Bank were chosen: Bir Zeit University, Bethlehem University, Al-Najah University and two branches of Al-Quds Open University in Ramallah and Qalqilya. Two other universities were in Gaza; the Islamic and Al-Aqsa universities. In addition, two UNRWA community colleges located in Ramallah were selected: the College of Educational Sciences and the Women’s College of Educational Sciences. Furthermore, 16 11 Class-type sample selection measure was applied.

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university college teachers were interviewed. Table 3-8 summarizes the universities and university colleges included in the sample.

Table 3-7: Student Sample Size according to Directorate and Sex

Directorate Male Schools Female Schools Number of Students

Ramallah 3 3 360 Nablus 1 1 120 Qalqilya 1 2 180 Qabatya 2 2 240 Hebron 1 1 120 Gaza 1 1 120 Khan Younis 1 1 120 Total 10 11 1260 Private 120 Total 1380

Table 3-8: Name of Institution and Number of Students

Institution’s Name Number of Students Sample Size Al-Najah University 1,771 100 Bir Zeit University 52 50 Bethlehem University 221 100 Islamic University 5,475 100 Al-Aqsa University 3,778 100 Al-Quds Open University/ Ramallah 2,691 50 Al-Quds Open University/ Qalqilya 883 50 Women’s College of Educational Sciences 328 100 College of Educational Sciences/ Boys 300 100 Total 15,499 750

Source: Ministry of Education and Higher Education, General Education Statistics in Palestine, 2005-2006

The study also included focus groups which consisted of 90 male and female teachers from 15 different schools and 15 school principals. Table 3-8 presents a summary of the number of participants in the study and the number of respondents.

Table3-8: Summary of Sample Groups and

Response Rates for Each Group

Sample Groups Sample Size Actual numbers of respondents

Response rate

Tawjihi Students 1,380 1,238 89% Teachers 745 542 73% University college students 750 618 82% Focus group: teachers 90 90 100% School principals 15 15 100% Total 3,020 2,483 82%

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Research Instruments After reviewing some studies (Oshagbemi (1997), McKay (1994) and Charles (1991)), three questionnaires were prepared in order to collect quantitative data. Focus groups were conducted to gather qualitative data; hence, questions for male and female teachers participating in focus groups were prepared in addition to questions for school principals and university college teachers (personal interviews). Following is more details on the research instruments: 1. Teachers’ Questionnaire: This consisted of 3 main parts. The first section was

devoted to gathering demographic data such as sex, experience, education, place of residence, type of work, and school supervising authority. The second section included 45 points divided into six groups according to the Likert Scale (5- Strongly Agree, 4- Agree, 3- Neutral, 2- Disagree and 1- Strongly Disagree). Following is a review of to the main domains according to their codes on the questionnaire:

• First: Economic Group: 1,2,3,4,5,6. • Second: Job features: 7,8,9,10,11,12,13. • Third: School Administration:14,15,16,17,18,19,25,32,33,34. • Fourth: Work Environment (School):22,23,24,26,27,28,29,37. • Five : The Teaching Profession:35,36,38,41,20,21,30,31. • Six: Career Development: 39,40,42,43,44,45.

This section was followed by an open question to allow teachers to add other issues which were not included in the questionnaire. The third section included 16 points and teachers were asked to rank the highest five factors which help them perform better at work (see Annex No.1).

2. Tawjihi Students’ Questionnaire: This questionnaire consisted of two sections: the

first contained demographic information: sex, place of residence, region (West Bank and Gaza) Tawjihi specialization (literature, scientific or vocational), expected Tawjihi scores and average family income. The second section consisted of a question on whether the students would chose the teaching profession in the future. If the answer was positive, then the student was asked to continue and answer the next 25 questions which related to the reasons why he had decided to do so. On the other hand, if the answer was negative the student was asked to specify the reason for electing not to become a teacher in the future (see Annex 2).

3. College and university students’ questionnaire: this questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first contained demographic information: sex, place of residence, region, Tawjihi scores and average family income. The second section initially consisted of 25 points related to their reasons for selecting the teaching profession. However, two questions were omitted (family encouragement and average Tawjihi score) based on Factor Analysis these two questions did not belong to any of factors listed in Table 3-9.

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Table 3-9: Factor Analysis for the Second Section’s Two Domains (from the questionnaire of university

and college students)

Domain Questions Professional Material

Contributing to serving the country: teaching and productivity .776 Self-satisfaction and respect .714 Related to humanitarianism .697 The love of teaching .671 Teaching allows me to interact with others .641 Achieves my dream of becoming a teacher .600 To become acquainted with new scientific developments in education .588 Teaching helps bring out my leadership qualities .582 Scientific & technological advancement in computers .569 I was influenced by an exceptional teacher .477 Teachers’ social status .476 .360 Society’s appreciation of this profession .452 Teacher’s salary compensates for the efforts exerted .616 Teacher’s salary is comparable to other professions’ salaries .615 Fringe benefits (in-kind and financial) .609 I expect the salary to fair in comparison to living expenses .524 Work stress in the teaching profession is less that the other professions’ .503 It is a stable job that provides health insurance and a retirement package .450 The independent nature of the job .411 It allows me to take a second job in the afternoon (moonlighting) .397 Long annual and seasonal vacations .392 A family member works in this profession .387 Working hours are suitable in comparison to other professions .374 My Tawjihi Score - - Family encouragement - -

The 23 questions were distributed into the two domains, every one included a number of questions according to their order in the questionnaire. Answers were based on the Likert scale (5- Strongly Agree, 4- Agree, 3- Neutral, 2- Disagree and 1- Strongly Disagree). The questions were organized under each domain according to their order in the questionnaire:

• Vocational (professional): 3,5,7,10,11,12,13,16,17,18,22,23 • Economic (material): 1,2,4,6,8,9,14,15,19,20,21.

These questions were followed by an open question to add other reasons not included in the questionnaire (see Annex 3).

4. Focus group questions: These questions were based on the main sections

highlighted in the teachers’ questionnaires, and included the following:

A. Administrative and professional performance: How would you evaluate your students in terms of behavior, academic performance, protecting and keeping school property clean? Why do you think so? When you have an

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academic problem who to you turn to in order to resolve it? Does the academic advisor play any role in that? If you face a behavioral problem who do you turn to? Does the social counselor play any role? What is the role of the school principal?

B. Assessment of the profession: How do you evaluate the teaching profession? Do you consider it a profession just like medicine and engineering? How would you compare your own performance today with your early years? What helped you reach this stage? In your opinion, what is needed to improve this profession? If you were given an option to change professions would you do it? If yes, which profession would you go to? If a friend or relative asked for your opinion on the teaching profession how would you advise him? Why? What incentive schemes would you recommend to reward good teachers?

C. Professional development: Have you participated in any training course for the new Palestinian curriculum? Could you specify the course’s positive and negative points? If you were responsible for this course what would you do?

D. Technology: Let’s assume that your school / classroom is supplied with advanced technological teaching aids: how would this affect your students? What are the main changes that would affect you as a teacher? And the teaching process?

E. Teaching performance: how do you manage student boredom inside the classroom? What do you know about classroom time management? What is the best teaching technique you use? Do need to know other ways? Who could provide you with other teaching techniques? What do you think about coordination amongst teachers who teach the same subject in school? Or different subjects? In your opinion how that could be better accomplished?

5. Questions that were used for the interviews with teachers at university

teaching colleges: How do you select students in this college? What are the selection criteria? What other criteria could be used to select the most appropriate students for teaching? Why do students choose to enroll in your college? Does the student desire to join the teaching profession after graduating? How many hours are required for training? How closely the student is observed during training? How does the student feel after finishing his training and knowing that he has become a teacher? Why? How could the teaching profession be improved? What advantages do you have in preparing teachers? Where do your students work after graduation? Does their performance level allow them to compete with teaching graduates of other institutions? Give examples. What specializations does your college does not offer? Why?

6. Questions used in school principals’ interviews: What are the numbers of teachers who take time off (for example maternity leave) and how do you deal with that? How would you deal with teachers who perform poorly? How do you receive new teachers? What is the advice and guidance you give them? Are there written administrative instructions that could be distributed to teachers, students and parents? How do you reward exceptional teachers at your schools? How do you judge what is exceptional? Do you evaluate teachers? How? How do you allocate

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the budget to improve the school? What are the priorities? Do you involve teachers in the planning? How and when? Finally, how could this profession be improved?

Table 3-10 shows a summary of the instruments used in the study.

Table 3-10: A Summary of the Study’s Instruments and Participating Groups

Participating Groups Questionnaires Focus groups Personal interviews

School teachers X X Tawjihi students X Teaching students X School principals X College teachers X

The Validity and Reliability of the Research Instruments The three questionnaires were reviewed independently by specialized arbitrators who amended some questions and added a few others. The reliability of data was tested through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (see Table 3-11).

Table 3-11: Alpha Coefficients for the Questionnaires

Questionnaire Alpha( α) Coefficient Teachers 0.85 Tawjihi students 0.84 University and college teaching students 0.86

The Study’s Procedures The questionnaires were distributed by the senior and associate researchers along with a team of research assistants. The distribution and collection process in the Palestinian Territory lasted for about four weeks. Focus groups were divided into 15 different groups; every group consisted of 5-6 teachers. Personal interviews covered 15 school principals and 16 university and community college teachers. The senior researcher with the help of the research assistant conducted the interviews in the West Bank, while the Gaza interviews were conducted by the associate researcher. Data collection pertaining to focus groups and personal interviews also lasted for four weeks. Statistical Treatment After collecting the data, it was entered into SPSS and the following statistical tests were run on it: 1. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of data. 2. Factor Analysis was used for data reduction.

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3. Response means, variances, and percent frequencies were calculated for students and teachers.

4. t- tests and single tale variance test were calculated to unveil discrepancies in means between the different groups participating in the study (teachers, professors, students) which refer to the following variables:

• Sex • Specialization • Education • Supervising authority • Residency • Region • Tawjihi specialization • Average monthly family income • Educational institution • School level • Tawjihi average score

5. Scheffe test was used to specify discrepancies in ONE-WAY ANOVA tables and

specify groups and segments causing statistically significant differences in the test groups mentioned above.

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Chapter IV: Findings

Introduction: This chapter is organized into six sections to present the research findings according to participating groups and research methodology. Following is an outline of this section: Section I: Results of the questionnaire of current teachers:

a) Teachers’ evaluation of different aspects of the teaching profession b) Differences in teachers’ evaluations of different aspects of their profession. c) Open section related to discussing issues important to teachers. d) Findings of the section related to factors for improving the professional

performance of teachers. e) The type of additional work and its relation to the teaching profession.

Section II: Results of the questionnaire of secondary school students on whether to choose the teaching profession:

a) Results of students who answered ‘Yes’ for choosing the profession b) Results of students who answered ‘No’ for choosing the profession

Section III: Results of the questionnaire of university and college teaching students on choosing the teaching profession:

a) Analysis of reasons for choosing the profession. b) Specifying differences in college students’ responses related to their choice of

profession. c) Analysis of the open question responses regarding reasons for choosing the

teaching profession.

Section IV: Findings from college teachers’ interviews. Section V: Findings from teachers’ focus groups. Section VI: Findings from school principals’ interviews.

Section I: Teachers’ Perspectives A. Teachers’ perspectives towards the profession The analysis of the second section of the questionnaire showed that the teachers’ sample agreed on the fact their salary does not compensate for the efforts exerted and does not meet their monthly family needs. Furthermore, the retirement system is unfair and the terms of health insurance are inadequate according to the majority of the sample (these variables have a mean of 2.5). Teachers also voiced their opinion against

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a six-day work week, preferring instead a five-day work week. In general, the economic domain received the lowest scores by teachers throughout the study. Table 4-1 shows the average evaluation scores for the Palestinian teachers’ working conditions, which was divided into six main domains which in turn was divided into 45 questions.

Table 4-1: Teaching Profession’s Merits According to Average Scores

Domain Means Teachers’ Evaluation

1. Economic 2.5613 Least appreciated 2. Job merits 3.4113 3. School Administration 3.3768 4. Work Environment 3.5383 5. Teaching profession 3.5274 6. Career development 3.6242 Most appreciated

The career development domain was the most appreciated by the survey participants. This domain included high scores for such issues as development of leadership and administrative skills, developing problem-solving skills, staying up-to-date with scientific and technological developments, job promotion factors, supporting continued education, and the chance to participate in non-classroom activities. At the same time, the teaching and work environment were less appreciated by respondents than career development yet more than the economic and job merit domains. Section B: Differences in Teachers’ Evaluation of Different Aspects of the Teaching Profession (the six domains and according to sex) This assumed that there are no statistically significant differences at α=0.05 among teachers’ response averages across the six domains for the second section of the questionnaire, according to sex. A t-test was run (see Table 4-2) and as a result the null hypothesis was rejected due to discrepancies in domain evaluation between male and female teachers in the following domains:

• Work environment • Teaching profession • Career development

On the other hand, the null hypothesis was accepted for the domains listed below as no discrepancies in evaluation of the domains were found between male and female teachers.

• Economic • Job merits • School administration

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In general, female teachers’ evaluation of the teaching profession’s conditions was better in all six domains in comparison to male teachers. This is consistent with many studies which found female teachers to be more satisfied and accepting of the profession than their male counterparts.

Table 4-2: T-test Results for Differences in Teachers’

Responses for the Six Domains According to Sex

The Domain Sex Mean T-test Significance Male 2.56 Economic Female 2.56

.019 .985

Male 3.37 Job Merits Female 3.44

1.524 .128

Male 3.35 School Administration Female 3.39

.805 .421

Male 3.46 Work environment Female 3.59

2.851 .005

Male 3.43 Teaching profession Female 3.60

3.118 .002

Male 3.52 Career development female 3.71

2.764 .006

ONE-WAY ANOVA test was used to test discrepancies in teachers’ responses towards work environment, which was drafted according to six domains and level of experience and based on the following assumption: there are no statistically significant differences at α =0.05 among teachers’ response averages across the six domains for the second section of the questionnaire, according to experience. Test results showed no discrepancies in the following four domains and therefore the null hypothesis was accepted. • Teaching profession. • Job merits • School Administration • Career development

No discrepancies were also found between male and female responses to the six domains according to experience. As indicated in Table 4-3, the null hypothesis was rejected for two domains - Economic and work conditions - due to the fact that discrepancies do exist in these domains between male and female teachers according to years of experience Furthermore, the Scheffe test for determining variance source was run on data groups to specify which teachers’ segments differed from the others in evaluating the first (economic) and fourth (work conditions) domains. Table 4-4 shows the source of variance between little experience (up to four years) and long experience (over 15 years).

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Table 4-3: ONE-WAY ANOVA Table for Teachers’ Responses to the Six Domains according to Experience

Domain Source of variance

Sum of squares

Degrees of Freedom F- Value Level of

Significance Economic Between groups 11.68 3 7.87 .000 Within the

same group 264.97 536

Job Merits Between groups 0.52 3 0.6 .979 Within the

same group 146.98 536

School administration Between groups 1.41 3 1.15 .325 Within the

same group 218.42 535

Work conditions Between groups 2.94 3 3.64 0.13 Within the

same group 144.19 535

Teaching profession Between groups .65 3 .49 .685 Within the

same group 235.27 535

Career development Between groups .801 3 .403 .751 Within the

same group 354.94 535

All Between groups .52 3 .88 .448 Within the

same group 106.25 536

Table 4-4: Scheffe Test Results according to Teachers’ Experience

Domain Teaching

experience Teaching

experience Average variance*

Significance

Work conditions 1-4 Over 15 years

-.19943 .015

Economic 1-4 5-9 -.29776 .010 Over 15 -.23219 .046 10-14 1-4 -.44782 .000

* Statistically significant discrepancies at ≥ .05 Analysis of discrepancies in teachers’ opinions towards their working conditions according to education level (based on the hypothesis that there are no statistically significant differences at α =0.05 among teachers’ response averages across the six domains for the second section of the questionnaire, according to educational achievement), rejected the null hypothesis for ‘the teaching profession’ domain. Discrepancies between males and females do exist in evaluating this domain according to level of education; the Scheffe test did not show the sources of this discrepancy. In general, holders of master’s degrees evaluated the domain of ‘teaching profession’ lower than teachers holding a bachelor’s degree (mean based calculations). The null hypothesis was accepted for the following domains:

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• Job Merits • School Administration. • Career development. • Economic • Work conditions.

In other words, there are no differences in evaluating those domains between male and female teachers according to level of education (see table 4-5).

Table 4-5: ONE-WAY ANOVA Table for Teachers’

Response for the Domains according to Level of Education

Domain Source of variance Sum of squares

Degrees of Freedom

F- Value Level of Significance

Economic Between groups 3.15 4 1.540 .089 Within the same group 273.49 535 Job Merits Between groups .98 4 .897 .466 Within the same group 146.22 535 School administration Between groups .06 4 .039 .997 Within the same group 219.86 534 Work conditions Between groups .95 4 .870 .482 Within the same group 146.21 534 Teaching profession Between groups 5.24 4 3.035 .017 Within the same group 230.70 534 Career development Between groups 5.33 4 2.032 .089 Within the same group 350.65 534

Variance analysis was run on teachers’ opinions related to their evaluation of the teaching profession according to supervising authority and based on the hypothesis that there are no statistically significant differences at α =0.05 among teachers’ response averages across the six domains for the second section of the questionnaire, school’s supervising authority. The results supported accepting the null hypothesis (School administration), indicating that there are no discrepancies in public, UNRWA and private teacher response means. However, some discrepancies were found in following domains: • Job Merits • Career development • Economic • Work environment • The teaching profession Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected (see Table 4-6).

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Table 4-6: ONE-WAY ANOVA Table for Teachers’ Response according to Supervising Authority

Domain Source of variance Sum of

squares Degrees of Freedom

F- Vale level of Significance

Economic Between groups 29.763 2 32.430 .000 Within the same group 246.881 538 Job Merits Between groups 1.866 2 3.453 .032 Within the same group 145.356 538 School administration Between groups 1.284 2 1.575 .208 Within the same group 218.885 537 Work conditions Between groups .550 2 1.007 .002 Within the same group 146.625 537 Teaching profession Between groups 6.565 2 7.684 .001 Within the same group 229.397 537 Career development Between groups 4.006 2 3.055 .048 Within the same group 352.129 537

Table 4-7 shows that there are discrepancies in public school teachers’ responses on the one hand and those of UNRWA and private school teachers’ on the other hand, particularly in the economic and job merits domains, as they received the lowest evaluations by private and UNRWA school teachers. This might be attributed to the relatively low salary of public school teachers in comparison to private schools teachers. Discrepancies were also uncovered regarding teachers' evaluation of the teaching profession domain. In fact, UNRWA and public school teachers' evaluation was similar regarding teaching conditions at school, especially regarding the teaching load and teaching subjects that fall within teachers' specialization. On the other hand, there were discrepancies between public and private school teachers' responses regarding career development. This might be explained by the fact that public school teachers have better opportunities for career advancement than private school teachers.

Table 4-7: Scheffe Test according to Supervising Authority

Domain Supervising Authority

Supervising Authority

Average variance*

Significance

Public UNRWA -.548 .000 Economic Private -.500 .000

Job Merits Public UNRWA -.149 .037 Public Private -.429 .001 The teaching profession

UNRWA Private -.436 .002 Career development Public Private -.338 .049 * Statistically significant discrepancies at ≥ .05

Variance analysis was run on teachers’ opinions related to their evaluation of the teaching profession according to place of residence (city, village or refugee camp) and based on the hypothesis that there are no statistically significant differences at α =0.05 among teachers’ response averages across the six domains for the second section of the questionnaire according to place of residence. Since the significance level is higher than α = 0.05, the null hypothesis is accepted. This signifies that there are no discrepancies between teachers working in cities, villages or refugee camps for these domains:

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• School administration • Teaching profession • Job merits

Discrepancies, however, were found in the other domains as the level of significance was smaller than α = 0.05

• Career development • Economic • Work environment

Consequently, the null hypothesis was rejected as shown in Table 4-8.

Table 4-8: ONE-WAY ANOVA Table for Teachers’ Response according to Place of Residence

Domain Source of variance Sum of

squaresDegrees of Freedom

F- Value Level of Significance

Economic Between groups 3.84 2 3.781 .023 Within the same group 272.62 536 Job Merits Between groups .042 2 .077 .926 Within the same group 145.42 536 School administration Between groups .92 2 1.135 .322 Within the same group 218.46 535 Work conditions Between groups 3.70 2 6.913 .001 Within the same group 143.17 535 Teaching profession Between groups .82 2 .935 .393 Within the same group 235.02 535 Career development Between groups 5.64 2 4.311 .014 Within the same group 350.32 535

Table 4-9 shows the average variance among teachers’ responses at city, village or refugee camp schools. As the table demonstrates, the economic domain was not statistically significant. Some discrepancies also appeared in relation to the work environment between city teachers’ responses and those of the village and camp teachers. In other words, refugee camp teachers appreciate their work environment less than village and city teachers. Only village teachers exhibited discrepancies in relation to career development.

Table 4-9: Scheffe Test according to Place of Residency

Domain Place of

ResidencePlace of

ResidenceAverage variance

Significance

Economic City Camp -.240 .128 Village -.148 .085

Job Merits City Camp .222(*) .036 Camp Village -.323(*) .002

Career development City Village .216(*) .018 * Statistically significant discrepancies at ≥ .05

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C. Answers to the Open Question in the Second Part of the Questionnaire Based on responses of current teachers to the open question in the second part of the questionnaire, one can categorize the main issues that concern and interest teachers in the following three groups: The first group - Economic and Financial Issues: Teachers believe that they should be well paid and receive their full rights in order to for the profession of teaching to be worthwhile. Among these demands is a salary increase to put them on an equal footing with other public employees. They also want to receive their salaries at the beginning of the month. Teachers also suggested a set of measures that could improve their financial situation: giving the best teachers, and best teachers within a particular specialization, financial rewards. In addition, teachers suggested holiday gifts, providing them with long-term loans, and facilitating college education for their children - either by having the Ministry contribute to college tuition or by coordinating with universities to lower tuition fees for their children. Finally, teachers need someone to explain and clarify for them the Civil Service Law. The second group - Professional Issues: Teachers pointed out a number of problems that worry them. Teachers are exhausted both physically and mentally due to the large number of classes allocated to each teacher. This forces the teacher to run from one classroom to the other and in many cases to work at home. This leaves them less time to follow up on important issues such as curricula, students and parents. Many complain about the hardships of commuting to school as they have to pass checkpoints and use unpaved roads to get to work every morning. This causes many of them to be late for school and to arrive physically exhausted. Teachers also mentioned issues of overcrowding in schools, and assigning teachers to teach courses outside their field of specialization. In addition to that, teachers talked about unsuitable working environments and a lack of independency and privacy at school. Teachers are frustrated by students’ poor academic standards and lack of interest in education, which hampers the educational process. Finally, teachers complained about the amount of paper work for the Ministry, and centralized decision making in school and the Ministry’s office. Teachers’ Requests

• Stop criticism by the administration, supervisors and parents. This would establish a suitable psychological environment.

• The Ministry along with the directorate and the school administration should concentrate on maintaining the teachers’ reputation in the community.

• The school directorate should abstain from transferring teachers to other schools as a punitive measure.

• Student problems such as smoking, bad attitude and violence in school and at home should be tackled.

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Teachers’ Recommendations • Authorizing teachers to handle student violence and troubled students. Some

teachers suggest giving students courses on proper behavior and allowing students to have their input in school activities.

• In order to remedy the poor academic standards of Tawjihi students, teachers suggested incorporating school grades into the student final Tawjihi grade and creating scholarships to motivate students.

• Teachers also suggest the implementation of a teachers’ entertainment program that would alleviate stress and make them feel distinguished (travel packages and teachers’ club, etc.).

The third group - Issues related to Teacher Development: Teachers made several recommendations to improve their performance: create annual teachers’ development plans; provide learning opportunities whereby teachers could be exposed to technological products and use them in school; and increase the number of training courses in the Palestinian Territory (inter-governorate teacher training) and abroad. Finally, teachers urged the Ministry to follow up with universities and colleges and make sure that what they teach is what is actually needed in the school system. D. Factors for Developing Teachers’ Professional Performance Teachers who participated in this study chose the five most relevant factors that contribute to improving their professional performance. According to mean calculations, following are most relevant (from most to least relevant):

• Decreasing classroom size to 30-35 students. • Creating a system that would reduce teachers’ workload so they could have time

to research, continue their education, or attend training courses and workshops. • Involving teachers in educational decision making independently of the

educational district. • Providing fully-equipped computer laboratories. • Connecting schools to the internet.

The least relevant factors for teachers were having more independent supervisors and sport facilities. Table 4-9 shows the mean for all the possible choices.

Table 4-10: Ranking of Factors that Contribute to

Teachers’ Development according to Teachers’ Perspective

No. Factor Mean Rank 1 Better library 34.9 6 2 Better science labs 29.4 8 3 School has fully-equipped computer lab 40.0 4 4 School connected to internet 39.8 5 5 Office equipment: copier, fax, etc. 28.2 10 6 Administrative apparatus to assist the manager: lab technicians, 24.3 11

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No. Factor Mean Rank social counselors, activity coordinators

7 A system that would reduce teachers’ workload 57.6 2 8 An administrative system that supports research and further

education 22.5 12

9 The school principal is qualified and acquainted with new administrative methods

17.5 14

10 Better-qualified supervisors 18.2 13 11 More independent supervisors 13.9 16 12 Class sizes limited to 30-35 students 58.8 1 13 Student numbers to classroom area is acceptable 30.7 7 14 Better classroom fixtures: disks, boards, classroom library, etc. 29.4 8 15 Sports facilities 14.1 15 16 The possibility of teachers making educational decision

independently from the educational district 42.5 3

E. The Type of Teachers’ Additional Work and its Relation to Teaching Responding to the question “if you have additional work besides teaching, what is the nature of that work?”, 41 teachers (39 male and 2 female) out of 542 said that they had. Twenty-four did additional work related to teaching. Some of them hold a Master’s degree and teach at Bir Zeit or Al-Quds Open University. Holders of Bachelor’s degrees and community college diplomas gave special classes or intensive courses at educational centers, instructed on the Koran, taught in charitable organizations or adult learning institutes, worked as sports trainers, or worked as translators. Of the other segment whose second job was not related to teaching, all were holders of a Bachelor’s degree. Ten worked as freelance salespersons, electricians, or computer technicians. Seven others worked either in small shops or their own grocery stores or in agriculture.

Section II: Tawjihi Students’ Responses A. Students who responded ‘Yes’ to Choosing the Teaching Profession The study’s findings show that 374 students in the West Bank and Gaza, representing 29.7% of the sample, responded that they would like to pursue a career in teaching. Of those who said they would become teachers, 61% were female and 39% were male. Hypotheses related to question number 9 with the incorporation of sex, specialization, Tawjihi scores, family income and region were tested. Survey findings show that there are statistically significant discrepancies among reasons for choosing the profession according to sex. This discrepancy was in favor of females, whose average score is 3.76 compared to 3.57 for males (see Table 4-11).

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Table 4-11: T-test Results for the Selection of the Teaching Profession by Tawjihi Students

Sex Number of

students Mean Degrees of

freedom T-test Significance

Male 146 3.57 Female 228 3.76

372 3.164 .002

Table 4-12 explains the averages for variables related to students’ willingness to join the teaching profession. The table shows equal means for the willingness of groups to become teachers according place of residence (West Bank and Gaza Strip). However, students’ willingness changed upon considering family income, Tawjihi scores and specialization. Students’ willingness to become teachers increases among families with low income and decreases as family income increases. Students’ willingness to join the teaching profession decreases, however, for scientific and vocational tawjihi streams in comparison to the literature stream.

Table 4-12: Students’ Willingness to Join the Teaching Profession according to Specialization,

Tawjihi scores, Family Income and Region

Variable Academic Stream Number of Students Mean Specialization Scientific 144 3.7 Literature 207 3.8 Vocational 21 3.5 Other 2 3.8 Tawjihi Scores 60 or lower 30 1 Over 70 190 2.5 90 and above 151 4.3 Family income 2000 NIS or less 163 3.74 2000-4000 NIS 134 3.69 4000-8000 NIS 39 3.66 Over 8000 NIS 23 3.22 Region West Bank 227 3.7 Gaza 174 3.7

Table 4-13 (ONE-WAY ANOVA) shows that discrepancies according to average Tawjihi scores were not statistically significant. However, discrepancies according to family income were statistically significant at .001, which is lower than α = 0.05. A Scheffe test shows that the discrepancy came from those in an income bracket of over 8000 NIS. Alternatively, groups in income brackets of less than 2000 NIS, 2000-4000 NIS and less than 8000 NIS are those who consent to joining the teaching profession. Likewise, when analyzing the data according to specialization, the value of significance is .002 (i.e. less than α = 0.05). The source of discrepancy came from the scientific and literature streams. In general, it’s safe to say that those willing to join the teaching profession are mostly female students, in the literature academic stream, and an average family income level of less than 8000 NIS, as indicated in Table 4-14.

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Table 4-13: ONE-WAY ANOVA Table according to Specialization, Average Tawjihi Scores and Family Income

Domain Source of variance Sum of

squares Degrees of Freedom

F- Vale level of Significance

Specialization Between groups 4.76 3 4.951 .002 Within the same group 118.78 370 Average scores Between groups .11 2 .174 .840 Within the same group 122.45 367 Family Income Between groups 5.48 3 5.760 .001 Within the same group 112.60 355

Table 4-14: Scheffe test according to Family Income and Specialization

Average Monthly

Family Income (NIS) Average Monthly

Family Income (NIS)Mean variance Level of Significance

Over 8000 Less than 2000 -.52058(*) .001 2000-4000 -.46861(*) .004 4000-8000 -.44693(*) .029

Academic Stream Academic Stream Means Variance Level of Significance Scientific Literature -.22286(*) .005

* Statistically significant discrepancies at ≥ .05 B. Students who replied ‘No’ to Joining the Teaching Profession The number of students who replied ‘No’ to the question of whether they intended to become teachers reached 864, representing 70.3% of the total sample. Students provided a number of reasons explaining why they were not interested in the teaching profession. Following is a detailed list of the reasons: Economic Reasons: Most students considered the teacher’s salary to be too low and not enough to cover daily necessities. For example, one student explained that monthly childcare fees require half a teacher’s salary. Other reasons included a lack of financial incentives for teachers, a lack of scholarships for teachers, and a lack of financial resources to provide facilities such as laboratories and computers. Student and Society’s Appreciation: Students claimed that teachers have lost their good image and students’ respect and admiration in recent times. They said that as they hated their teachers and treated them inappropriately, they did not wish to receive the same treatment from their own students in the future. A female student wrote ‘I do not wish for my students to curse at me.’ Society plays a negative role in this regard; according to students, society does not appreciate this profession and families do not encourage their children to pursue it. Some students claimed that even teachers do not recommend their profession to students. The teacher himself is responsible for this negative image in the view of students, parents and society as whole. In fact, students believe that teachers’ hesitation in taking political decision related to society, the fact

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that most are uncommitted to student and school issues, the loss of classroom control, traditional teaching methods (dictation), reliance on the same curriculum, and putting private teaching ahead of school teaching, have all contributed to a depreciation of the image of teachers. Psychological Reasons: Most students feel that the teaching profession is exhausting, as teachers are subject to confrontations, stress and anger. This, in their view, represents a health hazard that leads to may diseases such as strokes, hypertension and mental illness. Students expected that they would not be able to deal with or tolerate the mood swings of their future teenage students. They believe that teaching requires both knowledge and patience in order to control the classroom and handle violent students. Some of them feared failure, and cited the difficulty of remembering things when standing up in front of the class. A few had been influenced by an exceptionally bad teacher, and others stated they wanted a more interesting and challenging job. Finally, a female student wrote ‘that teaching is a tough profession and whoever decides to teach must be good.’ The Requirements of Teaching: Students viewed teaching as a routine and traditional profession which requires great effort and concentration. Students also believed that teaching requires working long hours, especially at home to grade students’ homework and exams and prepare for next day’s class and write tests. In addition, one student whose parents are teachers wrote how problems at school are also carried home with the teacher. Reason Related to the Profession (Students, Administration and Teachers): Students believe that is a surplus of teachers and an overflow in student numbers, yet a shortage of teaching services in the Palestinian Territory. One student suggested that the shortage could be filled by online learning, which reduces the need for teachers. Students also believed that the educational system is inadequate; students have poor educational backgrounds and dealing with them is poor. Current law, according to some students, prevents them to respond to insults from various parties at school. Furthermore, students believed that their colleagues have inappropriate educational behavior, such as cheating, which they blame on the teachers. Wanting to Work in Other Professions: Most student respondents thought that teaching would not allow them to achieve their ambitions, and most believed that they would excel in other professions such as research, archeology, law, engineering or through starting their own business. Students explained that high tawjihi scores should not be wasted on a specialization such as teaching, which does not require high grades.

Section III: Teaching Students’ Responses A. Analysis of reasons for choosing the teaching profession Table 4-15 shows the college of education students’ responses to the questionnaire’s 23 questions, which were classified into two main domains - the economic and the

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professional. The most important reasons for joining a teaching profession were as follows:

1. Teaching allows me to interact with others. 2. I am serving the country by becoming a productive teacher. 3. The work hours are reasonable compared to other professions. 4. It gives me self-satisfaction and self respect. 5. Teaching brings my leadership qualities.

The least chosen reasons for selecting the teaching profession were:

1. Teachers’ salaries are reasonable compared to other professions’ salaries. 2. A relative of mine works in this profession. 3. The salary is reasonable compared to the effort exerted in teaching. 4. The salary matches the cost of living. 5. It fulfills my dream of becoming a teacher.

Table 4-15: College of Education Students’ Responses

to Reasons for Selecting the Teaching Profession

No. Questions Mean Average 1 The salary suits the effort exerted 2.95 2 Teaching’s financial and in-kind benefits 3.04 3 My love for teaching 3.58 4 A relative of mine works in this profession. 2.66 5 I was influenced by an exceptional teacher 3.27 6 It’s an independent job 3.69 7 It fulfills my dream of becoming a teacher 3.16 8 Working hours are reasonable compared to other professions 4.11 9 Long annual and seasonal vacations 3.94

10 It is related to humanitarianism 3.97 11 Serving the country by becoming a productive teacher 4.10 12 To be exposed to technological advances related to teaching 3.82 13 It gives me self-satisfaction and self respect 4.13 14 Teachers’ salaries are reasonable compared to other

professions’ salaries. 2.70

15 Less stressful than other professions 3.40 16 Teaching exposes my leadership traits 3.92 17 Teaching allows me to interact with others 4.21 18 Scientific and technological advances which facilitate teaching 3.70 19 Job benefits such as health insurance and retirement 3.89 20 Allows me to work a second job in the afternoon 3.23 21 The salary matches the cost of living 2.96 22 General social status 3.38 23 Society appreciates this profession 3.41

B. Discrepancies in College of Education Students’ Responses Data was analyzed by calculation of mean averages for the variables of the study: sex, educational institution, place of residence, region (West Bank and Gaza), tawjihi score

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and average family income. To test hypotheses for question number 12, averages were analyzed for the sex and place of residence variables by means of the t-test. ONE-WAY ANOVA was also used to test the variance of variable averages for the following factors: educational institution, place of residence, tawjihi scores and average family income. Following is a description of the findings: Data Analysis According to Sex and Place of Residence: A t-test showed no statistically significant discrepancies according to sex in either one of the two domains; professional (number 1) and economic (number 2). However, statistically significant discrepancies in the professional domain were found when analyzing data according to region. The discrepancy was in favor of Gaza as its mean was higher that the West Banks’.

Table 4-16: t-Test on Reason for College Of Education Students’ Selection of the Teaching Profession

Domain Var. level Number of

students Mean Degrees of

freedom T-test Significance

Professional Sex M 249 3.65 F 296 3.68

646 .904 342

Economic Sex M 249 3.35 F 296 3.39

646 2.84 .09

Professional Sex M 751 3.57 F 170 4.1

646 16.19 .000

Economic Sex M 751 3.35 F 170 3.49

616 1.84 .175

Data Analysis according to Family Income, Tawjihi Scores and University or College Year: Table 4-17 shows that there are statistically significant discrepancies in tawjihi scores on the professional domain and the source of this discrepancy (according to a Scheffe test) is the segment whose scores are lower than 60% and those whose scores are higher than 90%. Discrepancies were also found based on school year in both domains, economic and professional. The source of discrepancies for the first domain was third year and fourth year students, while no clear discrepancies were found for the second domain.

Table 4-17: ONE-WAY ANOVA Table according to Family Income, Tawjihi Scores and Year

Domain Var. Source of variance Sum of

squares Degrees of Freedom

F-Value Level of Significance

Professional Family Income Between groups .569 3 .371 .774 Family Income Within the same group 325.501 637 Economic Family income Between groups 1.359 3 1.127 .337 Family income Within the same group 255.927 637 Professional Tawjihi Scores Between groups 4.723 2 4.684 .010 Tawjihi Scores Within the same group 325.720 646

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Domain Var. Source of variance Sum of squares

Degrees of Freedom

F-Value Level of Significance

Economic Tawjihi Scores Between groups 1.432 2 1.786 .168 Tawjihi Scores Within the same group 258.978 646 Professional School year Between groups 6.123 3 3.895 .009 School year Within the same group 309.175 590 Economic School year Between groups 3.934 3 3.156 .024 School year Within the same group 245.200 590

Data Analysis for Educational Institutions and Place of Residence: Institutions were categorized in three groups. The first group included the two UNRWA university colleges; the second group included the following universities: Bir Zeit University, Bethlehem University, Al-Najah University, The Islamic University, and Al-Aqsa University; and the third group included Al-Quds Open University. Mean responses for the three groups were calculated revealing discrepancies in the averages for the two domains (professional and economic). ONE-WAY ANOVA revealed statistically significant discrepancies for the first domain and the source of this discrepancy is the first group (university colleges). On the other hand, means for place of residence were very similar and did not exhibit statistically significant discrepancies for city, village and camp (see Table 4-18).

Table 4-18: ONE-WAY ANOVA Table according to Educational Institution and Place of Residence

Domain Source of variance Sum of

squares Degrees of Freedom

F- Vale level of Significance

Professional Between groups 35.75 2 39.20 .000 Within the same group 295.08 647 Economic Between groups .71 2 .88 .412 Within the same group 259.69 647 Place of Residence Professional Between group .83 2 .81 .444 Within the same group 326.66 640 Economic Between groups .64 2 .79 .451 Within the same group 258 640

C. Responses to the Open question Regarding Reasons for Selecting the Teaching

Profession This section is based on analysis of university and college teaching students’ responses to the open question on the questionnaire. Following is a summary of female students’ responses:

• Female students regard teaching a suitable profession for a girl, especially after marriage, when work hours allow for to take care of her family and home as well. Girls view teaching as a respectable and respected profession, which allows them to help children and improve their education. Furthermore, girls believe that teaching spreads thought, culture and general awareness among students.

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• Some female students see teaching as one of the best professions in Palestinian society due to teaching’s special charm, as it allows for interaction with others. Girls believe that there is a shortage of kindergarten and elementary school teachers. Others see in teaching an opportunity to acquire new skills and a chance to apply what they have learnt to real life. Through teaching, female students see a chance to restore teachers’ positive image. Finally, teaching is seen as a positive investment and a determination to challenge Israeli pressures and obstacles.

• Other factors quoted by female students included the need to get a well-paid job and the lack of other job opportunities. One female student wrote that she chose the profession ‘because I live in a refugee camp … life there is bitter!’. Another wrote that she chose it ‘because it suits my husband’s schedule.’

• There are compelling reasons for female students to enroll in a college of education to qualify for the teaching profession. Family plays a major role in urging them to enroll, even if they dislike the profession or have superior academic performance. Relatives or husbands may cajole them or threaten not to let them work in other jobs.

• The financial condition of the family plays a pivotal role, as the family might not be able to afford to pay for other specializations. When money is available, parents prefer to send their sons to university to study subjects other than teaching. In other words, girls study education because it is free (this applies to UNRWA College of Educational Sciences, Al-Tireh).

Male students have other reasons: • Some cited the opportunity to resolve problems in the educational system. Some of

them consider it an honorable job, the ‘profession of the prophets’, in addition to it allowing them to interact with many people in society.

• A lack of financial resources is another reason for male students to enroll in a college of education (the UNRWA college is free). They also believe that studying to become a teacher guarantees them a job upon graduation. Others have chosen to study at colleges of education due to Israeli closures during the Intifada, or because they were late in applying to other universities. Still others chose to enroll because they said the subject is easier than other specializations.

Section IV: Interviews with College of Education Teachers This section summarizes responses to a set of questions that were prepared beforehand for teachers at colleges of education.

1. What are the admission criteria in the college?

Admission standards differ from one college or university to another. Most use university standards which require Tawjihi scores, with the minimum required varying each year. Colleges of education require the lowest grades. For example, Gaza universities (Islamic and Al-Aqsa) admit students into the college of education with minimum Tawjihi scores of 65% or higher. On the other hand, the Women’s College of Educational Sciences (UNRWA) accepts applications of

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refugee card holders according to region-specific quotas. For example, the northern region of the West Bank has a 43% quota, the middle region of has a 30% quota, the south 23% and Jericho has 3%. In addition, five places are reserved for Ramallah and another five for the Ministry of Education (not for refugees). Moreover, it requires high Tawjihi scores, for example 82% was the lowest accepted Tawjihi score for the 2005/2006 intake.

2. In your opinion, are there any other admission criteria to select suitable students? What are they? Yes. Other criteria should include requiring Tawjihi scores over 70%, personal interviews and aptitude tests.

3. Why do students enroll in your college? Do they intend to join the teaching profession after graduating? Students were said to enroll in each college due to its excellent academic reputation, in order to join the teaching profession (particularly females), because of parents’ wish for their girls not to mingle with the opposite sex, and because of having no other alternative. These answers are consistent with college of education students’ responses.

4. How many hours are required for professional (practical) training? Do you believe it’s enough? The number of professional hours varied among colleges, universities and the two UNRWA colleges of education. The latter require 19 credit hours over 7 semesters, while education departments at universities require only 3-4 credit hours of observation and practice in schools. According to opinions voiced by college of education teachers and school teachers, the teaching profession is in great need of concentrating on the application of theories, hence there is a need to increase the number of professional courses.

5. How do you follow up on students during professional courses? University academic advisors in coordination with the participating school teachers monitor the trainees.

6. Do students encounter problems during professional courses? What are they? How do you help? Problems cited included the school not having a list of trainees’ names at the beginning of the course and their other teaching colleagues being substandard. The academic advisers, together with the party responsible for the training in the college, follow up on students and resolve their problems.

7. How do students feel upon finishing professional courses and realize they could become teachers? Why? Students feel that they have acquired great benefits and feel ready to start teaching upon completion of professional courses.

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8. Are schools where your students train equipped for training purposes? Schools where students train are the usual type of school where classrooms are overcrowded and inappropriately equipped with teaching instruments. This was sometimes seen as an advantage for students, who get to train in a real environment and not in an ideal one. However, an unsuitable training environment also has obvious shortcomings. In the past, some UNRWA schools used to have classrooms specially designated for training purposes. Such schools were supervised by well-trained instructors who were paid extra for their services.

9. What is your opinion of the teaching profession? The teaching profession is humanitarian in nature; however, in the Palestinian Territory it is not in its best shape, in part due to the inadequate financial conditions of teachers.

10. How could professional teaching standards be improved? • Improving the financial conditions of teachers. • Teachers’ joining teaching associations interested in improving their profession. • Raising admission standards in colleges and universities. • Subjecting teaching students to comprehensive examinations prepared by

teaching associations upon completion of their academic work.

11. What teaching advantages does your program offer to students? There were many advantages cited by each respondent, including the availability of a professional training division to follow up on students’ field work and resolve their problems, and the presence of qualified and eager instructors.

12. Where do your students work after graduating? Most work in teaching (public, private and UNRWA schools).

13. Does their competency level prepare them to compete with graduates of other institutes? Give examples? Teachers affirmed this and explained that many of their students were working in public and UNRWA schools after passing the teaching exams required by the Ministry and UNRWA.

14. What specializations are demanded in the market place which are not currently offered in your program? Schools need some specializations such as special education for children with learning difficulties and speech disabilities, elementary English teachers, social services, technology, computer programming, class teachers and field teachers.

Section V. Teachers’ Focus Groups

There were 15 different focus groups held in the Palestinian Territory, and each group consisted from 5-6 individuals representing teachers from public, private and UNRWA

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schools. Following is a description of the focus group sessions according to the questions listed in Chapter III.

1. How do you evaluate your students in terms of behavior and academic

performance? Female teachers’ responses about their students’ academic performance were mixed. Some of those who came from villages rated their students as good or very good because of the fact that villages offer little entertainment options, if any. Consequently, girls focus their attention on studying in order to prove themselves. In the cities, on the other hand, teachers mostly gave their students a poor or marginal mark. Teachers attributed this to students’ neglect and poor studying habits, in addition to poor parental follow up and a difficult curriculum. Other factors included a lack of modern teaching instruments, with teachers having to lecture to overcrowded classrooms in the traditional way, and distractions such as TV, internet and other media. Male teachers mostly rated all student performance as poor, except for science-stream students who are comparatively better. One factor this was attributed to was the Ministry’s low student failure rate, which discourages students from exerting efforts to study and pass examinations. Others attributed poor academic performance to that the fact that secondary schooling in the Palestinian Territory has three academic streams: scientific, literature and vocational. According to this system, students with the highest grades are allowed into the scientific stream, those with the second highest grades are allowed into the literature stream, and the lowest grades enter the vocational steam. Other reasons include parents’ neglect of schools matters and students intentionally failing to convince parents to let them drop out of school. Students’ after-school employment due to poor financial conditions, especially in areas entrapped by the separation wall, also contributes to their poor academic performance. Finally, factors such as the curriculum, teaching methodology, class overcrowding and other distractions (such as female counterparts) were also cited as contributing to mediocre academic performance. Female teachers were generally satisfied with their students’ behavior in school, reporting no cases of violence and most students adhering to school regulations. Whenever a problem arises, they said it was resolved quickly. Regarding keeping the school clean, teachers explained that this varied from one student to another, depending on the students’ upbringing at home. The opinions of male teachers were completely different, describing their students’ behavior in school as bad. There is cursing and violence at school, some students exercise violence against their fellow students and others are even violent towards their teachers. Teachers attributed violence in schools to inadequate parenting and to rules and regulations approved by the Ministry which have stripped the teacher of his powers to punish students. This was said to have weakened the teachers’ position and damaged their respect in school. Teachers also blamed bad peers, TV, society’s materialistic values, the internet and lost morals. Students did not care much about keeping school property clean, but it also depended on their upbringing.

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2. Whenever you encounter an academic problem, who you consult with to resolve it? Does the academic advisor play any role in this? Teachers, males and females alike, refer to colleagues in the same specialization or the subject’s committee. Others research in libraries and on the internet, and in some cases they seek help from the academic advisor. In fact, most problems are dealt with and resolved on the spot, although a few are referred to the social advisor or the parents. The option of last resort is to the control committee or the school principal, who plays a pivotal role in supporting and guiding teachers.

3. How do you evaluate the teaching profession? Do you consider it a profession just like any other profession (medicine and engineering)? Why? Most teachers said that teaching is a respectable profession with a higher message in life, although its true value in society is practical. Teachers consider it the foundation for teaching people who pursue other useful professions such as medicine and engineering. Just like other professions, teaching requires professional instruction before and during the service.

4. How would you evaluate your professional progress? All teachers expressed the opinion that their teaching performance had improved. This is attributed to experience, training courses, and constructive feedback from colleagues, the administration and academic advisors. Interestingly, UNRWA teachers pointed to having started teaching full of competence in the professional side but lacking advanced knowledge in their field of specialty.

5. What is required to improve the teaching profession? Male and female teachers had several requests in this regard, which included: improving society’s appreciation of teachers; introducing incentives to help them continuously improve; increasing salaries; reducing the administrative burden so that teachers can devote more time to teaching; eliminating classroom overcrowding; hiring more competent teachers; reviewing current curricula based on teachers’ feedback; providing teachers with textbook manuals for every subject and class; and making professional courses an essential element of the hiring process.

6. If you had a choice to change jobs, would you do so? What profession would you choose? Female teachers said that they preferred their own profession since it suited them very well. They enjoy dealing with students, they feel responsible for them, and they see their productivity at work when students graduate. Female teachers find teaching interesting and varied, and appreciate its annual and seasonal vacations. The profession suits them also as housewives, and they consider the fact that schools are often gender segregated as a source of personal tranquility and satisfaction. Finally, they recommend this profession for females instead of males due to its low salary. Male teachers, on the other hand, were willing to switch profession to any other due to teaching’s relatively low salary and society’s poor perception of teachers. Male teachers consider teaching a source of stress and

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physical exhaustion and seem to be frustrated by students’ disregard of their own education. One teacher exclaimed that “10 out of every 40 students you teach want to learn; the rest are just a source of annoyance.” Male teachers usually would not recommend this profession to anyone.

7. Suggest criteria to reward good teachers? The main suggestions included professional commitment, cooperating with colleagues and the administration, loyalty to the profession, having a caring attitude towards students, taking initiatives in conducting creative school activities, self-improvement, and positive feedback from colleagues, principals and academic advisors.

8. Have you participated in the new curriculum training course? Specify positive and negative points? All teachers answered that they had participated in such training courses. Among the positive points raised about the course were that it tackled the content of the new curriculum and the teachers made new friends and exchanged expertise. Among the negative points were that the courses were routine, the lecturer was dictating the information, and that some lecturers were not proficient in the subject matter. The courses also lacked discussions on modern teaching methodology and applicable teaching models.

9. If you were in charge of these courses, what would you have done differently? • Better planning and preparation for the course, and better coordination between

the different parties responsible for it (teachers and Ministry employees). • Distributing a copy of the textbook along with the invitation letter to all

participants. • Providing a example copy of the teachers’ notebook. • Giving teachers incentives to attend such courses. • Taking teachers’ suggestions into consideration when developing curricula. • Improving coordination so that such courses would not be at the expense of

class time. 10. Let’s assume that your school is fully equipped with most technologically

advanced teaching instruments. How would this affect your students (in terms of their response and interaction)? • There would be a positive student response in terms of class interaction and

participation. • It would improve motivation for learning. • There would be diversification in teaching methodology • It would be a welcome departure from routine. • Teaching would become much easier and more interesting. • It would save time and effort exerted in class. • There would be more focus on self-learning. • Computer skills would be improved.

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11. How do you deal with students’ boredom? This is done by changing teaching techniques and the use of diversifying activities.

12. What is the best teaching technique?

The best teaching techniques include interactive teaching, cooperative teaching and group teaching. However these techniques are difficult to apply in the Palestinian Territory due to large class sizes.

13. Do you need to learn new teaching techniques? Who could teach you them?

Most responded affirmatively. Teachers expressed the need to learn various techniques, including problem-solving techniques and the games-playing technique. They preferred to learn from specialized college professors.

14. What is your opinion on coordination among same-specialization teachers?

There is a need to create specialized curriculum committees at the school and the directorate levels where education-related problems could be discussed and ideas could be exchanged. These committees ought to have annual plans, meet frequently, and encourage teachers to visit other teachers’ classrooms.

Section VI: Interviews with School Principals Interviews were conducted with 15 male and female school principals representing all supervising authorities in the territories (public, private and UNRWA). Following is a summary of the interviews:

1. What is the number of teachers who take long vacations (i.e. maternity leave)?

On average, 4-5 cases of long vacations are reported in girls’ schools (usually maternity leave) and one case in boys’ schools (usually sick leave or for studying purposes).

2. How do you handle such cases? In general, there is a system to deal with such matters (emergency, sick and maternity leave). The directorate is informed ahead of time if the leave is for maternity or study purposes. A substitute teacher is sent to the school, or is sought from within the same school or from the trainees. Usually the substitute teacher does not meet the one on leave. In private schools, however, the substitute teacher is hired one month before teacher goes on leave in order to familiarize him with the teaching techniques and the students. In many cases the substitute teacher begins by taking the class in the presence of the teacher who is about to go on leave.

3. If you get a new teacher who is not proficient, how would you deal with him?

• Review his students’ marks and the teachers’ notes and tests. • Orient the teacher and attend some of his classes. • Invite the teacher to attend classes of some exceptional teachers. • Ask the teacher to try using the notebooks of some exceptional teachers.

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• Assign him to take a training program. • Ask an exceptional teacher to attend this teacher’s class and give him some

pointers. 4. How do you receive a new teacher? What advice do you give him?

• First he is welcomed, and then he is introduced to the teaching staff. • Provide him with a set of the school’s rules and instructions on how deal with

students, colleagues and parents. • Acquaint him with the ethics of teaching. • Acquaint him with the school’s facilities • Explain the teacher’s job description. • Assign him to attend classes of fellow teachers teaching the same subject.

5. Do you have written administrative instructions for distribution to students,

teachers and parents? • There is a set of instructions specially made by the office of education or the

school’s administration for parents. These instructions touch on issues such as school uniforms, school hours, parents’ visiting dates and instructions related to student behavior in school.

• There are internal memos for teachers. • There are bulletin boards for students and verbal instructions broadcast through

the school’s speaker system.

6. Who writes these instructions? There are instructions prepared by top management at the Ministry of Education, in addition to instructions set by the school itself. Teachers usually take part in writing the instructions, and many schools assemble a team for teaching development which consists of principals and some teaching staff. Parental opinion is also taken into consideration.

7. How do you reward good teachers at your school? • Appreciation certificates; the school’s shield. • Good points in annual report. • Continuous moral support such as commending the teacher in the presence of

his colleagues and through the school’s speaker system. • Nominating the teacher to receive a bonus, promotion, or attend a training

course abroad. Only one school of the principals interviewed itself offered good teachers a financial reward (a lump sum amount).

8. What is the basis for your judgment? • Commitment of the profession: attendance, teaching, and performance of duties. • Students’ academic and behavioral results. • Loyalty and compliance with school instructions. • Cooperation with colleagues. • Relationship with students and parents. • Creativity and extra-curricular activities.

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9. Do you evaluate teachers in your school? How? • Academic assessment: by means of classroom visits and observing teaching,

checking students’ notebooks, exam results and marks, examining the teachers’ notes.

• Administrative assessment: teachers are evaluated by looking at the school’s records and annual report.

• Social assessment: by means of observing the teacher’s school activities and his relationship with teachers, students and parents.

10. Do you provide any sort of support for teachers? What kind?

Yes. Principals say they provide all the necessary teaching materials and facilities, in addition to moral support.

11. How do you allocate the budget to improve the school? What are the priorities? • Public school priorities: teaching materials and facilities, educational activities,

stationery and teachers’ training courses. • UNRWA priorities: there is a survey-based system at UNRWA schools which

allows schools to set their priorities. For example, at one UNRWA school it was discovered that their priority for this year is for teaching and learning by means of improving students’ ability to explain scientific and social phenomena, and improving student’s computer skills.

12. Do you invite teachers to participate in planning school development?

• Yes. There are committees that cooperate with the principal in drafting development plans according to the various subjects.

• Yes. Plans are prepared at the beginning of the school year and cover a number of teachers of the same subject.

13. In your opinion, how could the teaching profession be improved?

• Improving teachers’ financial situation by increasing their salary. • Reducing teachers’ teaching burdens (22-23 class sessions/week). • Assessing training courses taken by teachers and making this part of their

annual evaluation. • Implementing remedial courses for slow students such as computer education,

especially in public schools. • Giving elementary school students a better grounding in both English and

Arabic. • Hiring well-qualified and specialized teachers; setting unified standards for

holders of the same degree and sticking to these standards in the hiring of teachers.

• Holding training courses for new and existing teachers during the summer recess.

• Providing opportunities for teachers to work constantly on self improvement. • Eliminating classroom overcrowding (maximum 30 students per classroom).

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• Making advanced teaching instruments (such as PCs and the internet) readily available for teachers.

• Allowing the administrative staff in school to perform the administrative tasks. • Coordinating between the directorate and school administration in relation to

the quantity and type of administrative reports required from teachers. • Coordinating between the Ministry of Higher Education and universities

concerning school staffing needs in terms of specializations required. • Extending maternity leave to six months.

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Chapter V: Conclusions, Recommendations and Suggested Policies

Introduction

This study aims to study the reality of the teaching profession in the Palestinian Territory, discovering reasons for not joining the profession, reviewing its problems, and analyzing policies to improve the quality of education. Moreover, this study seeks to determine the most attractive factors that lead students to join the teaching profession. This effort was exerted in order to formulate recommendations for concerned parties in an attempt to direct their attention towards improving the quality of the teaching profession and therefore improving the quality of education as a whole in the Palestinian Territory.

This was accomplished with the participation of many relevant parties: existing teachers, expected future teachers: secondary school (tawjihi) students, college of education students, and school principals. Surveys, focus groups and personal interviews were utilized to explore their opinions of related parties. In addition, a workshop was held in Ramallah on April 20th, 2006 at which the preliminary version of this study was presented to, and discussed by, over one hundred stakeholders12. The questionnaire consisted of different versions for three participating groups. Focus groups were conducted with a sample of school teachers. Personal interviews were held with a selected group of college of education teachers and school principals. The total sample size consisted of over three thousand participants, with an overall response rate of 82%. This makes it the foremost study of its kind in the Palestinian Territory in terms of sample size and the extent of coverage of Palestinian governorates and educational sectors. Conclusions Teachers agree that their salaries neither match their exerted efforts nor cover their family’s monthly needs. Teachers also would clearly prefer to work only five days a week. The economic aspect of a teaching career was the domain in the study least appreciated by teachers. On the other hand, the professional aspects of the job was best field according to teachers’ responses. For example, teachers highly valued the following factors: interacting with colleagues who have similar educational and cultural backgrounds, teaching subjects within their specialty, and seeking opportunities to serve their city or town. In general, female teachers’ evaluations were higher than males’ evaluations for all of the six domains examined. Furthermore, males were much

12 The workshop was attended by the sponsors of the study, UNESCO and the Norwegian government, in

addition to representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education, a number of university professors, school teachers, principals and academic advisors.

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more willing to quit the profession and join another if the opportunity arose. This is consistent with conclusions reached by Tye and O’Brian (2000), Rowan et al. (2002) and Buckley et al. (2004). There were discrepancies between public and UNRWA teachers concerning the economic and job merit domains, with these fields receiving the lowest points from public school teachers. In addition to economic factors, teachers complained about working conditions, and difficulties dealing with student problems such smoking, violence and poor academic performance. About 30% of Tawjihi students in the sample expressed their willingness to pursue a career in teaching in the future, most of them female students. The majority of those willing to join the teaching profession are following the literature track, and have limited average monthly income. This group sees in teaching job security, social status and stability, regardless of its low pay. Students who did not choose to work in the teaching profession gave reasons such as low pay, poor appreciation by society, family discouragement (particularly of males), and the exhaustion they thought would be caused by dealing with confrontations, upsets and difficult teenagers. In addition, some teachers themselves did not recommend this profession. These students believed that teaching will not fulfill their dreams and aspirations and they believe that they could do much better working in a different profession. They expected that high Tawjihi scores would enable them to specialize in ‘better’ subjects. College of education students said that although teaching was often not their first choice of degree or diploma, it would give them an opportunity to serve their communities. They also believed that teaching has reasonable working hours in comparison to other professions, and it would give them self respect and confidence and bring out their leadership qualities. Female students considered that teaching was a suitable profession especially after marriage, as working hours allow them also to run a household. They also remarked that teaching is the most acceptable profession for girls in the Palestinian Territory. Parents play an important role in orienting their daughter towards studying in colleges of education, even in some cases obliging them to study there, either because of its cultural appropriateness as a career for girls, or because some teaching colleges are gender-segregated. The low pay was also seen as less of an issue for girls than boys. In general, female teachers were content with the behavior of their students, with no cases of school violence, good compliance with the school rules, and problems usually being fixable on the spot. The situation is not this peaceful at boys’ schools; male teachers described their students’ behavior as bad, with incidents of violence against fellow students and even teachers.

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Recommendations Based on the quantitative and qualitative data collected and analyzed for this study, the following steps are recommended: First: Recommendations for the Ministry of Education and Higher Education • Improve the financial situation of teachers and the rewards for teaching, including

salary and pension. • Devise a mechanism to grant teachers a period of paid leave for six months or a

year. This sabbatical will give teachers the opportunity to further their education. Teachers could contribute towards this through a voluntary scheme whereby part of their salary is paid into a fund.

• Devise a promotion system based on level of education. • Lower teachers’ workload in order to allow them to devote more time to their

duties outside the classroom (such as preparation, marking, research and reading). • Eliminate classroom overcrowding, especially in lower grades (ideally 30-35

students per classroom). • Increase the decentralization of school management and allow schools to become

independent from the supervision of the education administration. Allow teachers to participate more in decision-making, in isolation from direct interference of the educational district’s administration.

• Widen programs for providing schools with computer labs and internet connections, which creates an environment suitable for learning.

• Eliminate the academic streams (scientific, literary and vocational) from upper secondary grades.

Second: Recommendations for Palestinian Universities • Raise admission standards at university colleges specialized in teacher training,

and require prospective teachers to sit final exams upon graduation prepared by a professional association.

• Orient university students to study specializations most needed in schools. Some of these specializations include special education for students with learning difficulties or speech problems, teaching English and Arabic to elementary school students, social services, technology and computer programming.

• Coordinate between the Ministry of Higher Education and universities to work on developing and specifying teachers’ necessary academic and behavioral qualifications, and seek to implement such qualifications in university curricula.

Third: Recommendations for the Ministry of Education and Universities • Create a training program for all new teachers at the educational district (local

authority) level. This program should precede joining the teaching profession and continue on the job. It should include school-specific instructions, and guidelines for dealing with students, colleagues, the administration and parents. It should also familiarize the teacher with professional ethics, school facilities, schools rules and policies, and his job description.

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• Allocate scholarships for university students to encourage them to join the teaching profession, especially to fill the shortage of teachers in certain specializations, and contract them after graduation.

Fourth: Recommendations for School Principals • Generalize rules to encourage appreciating and rewarding teachers. This includes,

among other things, financial rewards, choosing ‘teacher of the year’, handing out appreciation certificates, commending teachers in front of colleagues, etc.

• Establish committees in schools to meet monthly and discuss issues (such as new pedagogical techniques, curriculum developments etc.) which affect the teaching process

Fifth: Recommendation for Teaching College Principals and the Ministry of Higher

Education • Evaluate teachers’ training courses while on the job and during the planning for

such courses in coordination with responsible parties at the Ministry. Concentrate on the professional side of training and make the trainee the focal point of such training.

Suggestions: • Encourage teachers to join professional associations which care about teacher’s

development and continuous improvement. Allow the establishment of teachers’ unions with syndicate branches according to specialization.

• Adopt a policy of teachers’ exchange, whereby a teacher is sent abroad for a year. This will allow teachers to acquire knowledge and skills, and improve their financial situation.

Suggested Policies Based on the abovementioned recommendations and the workshop conducted by MAS on April 20th 2006, the following policies are suggested to improve the quality of the teaching profession in Palestine: First: Considering that the teaching profession needs good quality preparation and

training, the following should be upheld: • Prepare the student for the teaching profession by giving him/her a thorough

education in his/her area of specialization, and professional skills through on-the-job training. Furthermore, pedagogy studies should be an integrated part of the specialization instead of a separate field of study.

• The total number of credit hours devoted to professional or ‘hands-on’ training in the educational program should equal at least a third of the program’s overall number of credit hours and should be distributed over the entire course of the program. The professional training should begin by the students’ observing classes in schools and then gradually progress until they master the required

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practical skills. Frequent evaluations of the student should be conducted by the university advisor to provide feedback.

• Employ teachers to supervise the students’ practical training in class in coordination with the university advisor. These teachers, however, must first receive training on how to provide such guidance and feedback. Upon the successful completion of a training course, the teachers will be awarded a diploma. Moreover, in exchange for supervising students, the teachers should receive financial compensation or have their workload reduced.

• Every university should have a comprehensive examination for the program which focuses both on scientific knowledge and practical skills.

Second: Review all the new Palestinian school curricula, taking into consideration teachers' feedback. This could be accomplished by creating a centre for curricula development (curricula assessment unit) with specialized sub-committees according to teaching subject, comprising professors in the education field, school teachers, educational supervisors, school principals and parents. The committees should conduct a thorough evaluation of the curricula, consulting all stakeholders in the educational process (e.g. in focus groups). Finally, the committees should provide recommendations to curriculum developers for incorporation into the new curricula. Third: Create a salary scale especially for teachers, based on educational level.

Teachers’ salaries should also be brought to the same level as the salaries paid to public employees with similar qualifications.

Fourth: The Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Planning should work

together to determine schools’ needs in relation to teacher training and choice of specialization. These ministries should also coordinate with universities to determine teacher’s qualifications, introducing new specializations (such as technology) and adjusting existing programs (for example, elementary schools need more English courses).

Fifth: Teachers who hold a bachelor’s degree but have not studied pedagogy and

didactics should enrol in a course to build such skills while continuing their work. The training might take from two to three years with a total of 27-30 credit hours. It includes basic theories in education and pedagogy, educational psychology, general teaching methods, special pedagogy, assessment and evaluation, curricula, group education and educational resources. The theoretical modules are usually taught during the summer recess, either intensively during one month or over a two-month period (with an average of 4 days a week). The practical training is conducted during the academic year, in coordination with the school, by allocating one day a week for training purposes (out of a six-day working week). At the end of the program, teachers should be subjected to comprehensive examinations to receive a diploma. It is recommended that the Ministry of Higher Education be responsible for the execution of this program, in coordination with universities, and that the training be conducted at universities or at the National Institute for Training.

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Sixth: Encourage teachers to take courses at university every five years to refresh their knowledge and continue building their skills. This could be accomplished by awarding them scholarships. The participation in such training should be taken into consideration in the individual evaluation of teachers.

Seventh: Prepare programs to introduce the profession to new teachers. Employ

experienced teachers (who could be named ‘first rank teacher’) whose job is to follow up on students and work with new teachers in planning their teaching over the school year according to the curricula. These ‘first rank teachers’ should also conduct classroom visits to assess teachers’ strengths and weaknesses and help them overcome any problems. To accomplish this, teachers' workloads should be reduced and training provided.

Eighth: The task of licensing teachers could be assigned to universities or prestigious

educational associations consisting of well-known university professors specializing in education and other subjects.

Ninth: Entrust education professionals and others (for example, university professors)

with the task of preparing the professional examination through the creation of specialized committees. Such examination should be tested on a sample of students over two years to determine its effectiveness and reliability.

In conclusion, there is also a need to tackle a number of issues that the study did not touch on, primarily related to the Palestinian education project and the education policy in general. Issues that should be taken into consideration upon approval of the general education law13 include the following:

• Raising the minimum academic standards currently in effect for teachers in all phases of education.

• Adopting examinations for the purpose of licensing teachers to practice the profession, in addition to the required qualifications. This would include examinations in basic proficiencies that are common in developed countries and test psychology, knowledge, language skills and the specialized competencies of the trainee teachers. Hiring is contingent on passing the exam.

• Stipulate conditions to guarantee that teachers stay up-to-date with new developments in their field. This might be accomplished by means of requiring exams to be sat in the future, or requesting teachers to enrol in college courses as a condition of license renewal.

• Create mechanisms to periodically evaluate teachers’ performance for the purposes of orienting teachers and specifying training requirements.

13 The law is currently at the PLC awaiting second and third readings.

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Annex 1 Teachers’ Questionnaire14

Questionnaire number______________ Section I: General Background Please circle the number that corresponds to you. Sex: 1. Male. 2. Female. Level of Education: 1. Community college diploma. 2. Bachelors’ + A diploma in education. 3. Bachelor’s. 4. Master’s. 5. Other. School supervising authority: 1. Public. 2. UNRWA. 3. Private. Teaching Experience: 1. 1-4 years. 2. 5-9 years 3. 10-14 years. 4. Over 15 years. Place of residence: 1. City 2. Refugee Camp 3. Village Do you have an additional job besides teaching? Please specify _____________________________________________________________________ Section II: below is a list of statements relating to the teaching profession. Please put X next to the statement that most reflect your point of view.

NO. Statement Strongly Agree 5

Agree4

Neutral3

Disagree 2

Strongly Disagree 1

1 My salary covers my family’s monthly necessities.

2 My monthly salary is commensurate with my efforts.

3 The retirement plan is fair. 4 The early retirement system helps the

teacher work in other professions.

5 Conditions of teachers’ health insurance are suitable.

6 There is a transportation allowance that depends on the teachers’ place of residence.

7 Teaching profession is represents a stable career.

14 Administered to 745 teachers in public, private and UNRWA schools

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NO. Statement Strongly Agree 5

Agree4

Neutral3

Disagree 2

Strongly Disagree 1

8 The advantages of the teaching profession are the annual and seasonal vacations.

9 Working 6 hours a day suits me well. 10 Working 7 hours a day suits me well. 11 Working 6 days a week suits me well. 12 Working 5 days a week suits me well. 13 My school is located near my place of

residence.

14 I consider the program for selection of exceptional teachers a worthy one.

15 The school principal evaluated me on the basis of educational standards.

16 I receive promotions based on my students’ scores on the Tawjihi exam.

17 The principal allocates teaching loads based on the teachers’ circumstances.

18 I have to follow the school’s rules in controlling the classroom.

19 The school administration specifies the nature of interaction with students.

20 The number of weekly classes is suitable. 21 I teach subjects that fall within my area of

specialization.

22 Cooperating with parents’ counsels represents an added burden.

23 The school library suits my needs. 24 The school has modern computer systems

and internet access.

25 The principal’s daily supervision facilitates teaching

26 There is a daily follow up on issues of school, classroom and office cleanness.

27 I interact with colleagues who have the same educational backgrounds.

28 There are opportunities for intellectual discussions with colleagues.

29 There are opportunities to participate in educational planning for the school

30 The teaching profession allow me to serve my city or village.

31 I stay in touch with students and their parents.

32 Academic advisers give feedback on the teachers’ performance.

33 The directorate of education tracks administrative supervision in schools.

34 Advisors and supervisors participate in curriculum development

35 Teachers enjoy a special social status. 36 Teaching provides teachers with self-

satisfaction and respect.

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NO. Statement Strongly Agree 5

Agree4

Neutral3

Disagree 2

Strongly Disagree 1

37 Contact with the students continues even after graduating.

38 The teaching profession is exciting and interesting

39 Teaching shapes my administrative and leadership skills.

40 Teaching develops my problem-solving skills.

41 Teaching helps me exchange ideas with colleagues.

42 Teaching keeps me up-to-date with scientific developments.

43 Teaching allows me to be promoted to principal or advisor etc.

44 Teaching helps me get a higher educational degree.

45 Teaching allows me to participate in extracurricular activities.

Open Question: Specify up to five issues that are important and were not mentioned in the previous section. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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Section III: Please evaluate the following items in terms of their relevance for the improvement of your professional performance by placing X next to the five most important factors.

NO. Factor 1 Better library 2 Better science lab. 3 A fully-equipped computer lab. 4 Internet access. 5 School office equipment: copier, scanner, etc. 6 Administrative supporting staff: lab technicians, social counselors, activities coordinator

etc. 7 A system to reduce teachers’ workloads to allow them to do research, further their

education etc. 8 An administrative system that supports research, university education, attending

workshops. 9 School principal is qualified and acquainted with modern administrative knowledge.

10 Better-qualified supervisors. 11 More-independent supervisors. 12 Number of students per class between 30 and 35. 13 Number of students in the classroom is reasonable in relation to classroom area. 14 Better classroom fixtures and equipment: desks, boards, class library, etc. 15 Better sports facilities and open space areas that suit the number of students. 16 The ability of teachers’ to take educational decisions in isolation of the administration of

the educational district.

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Annex 2 Tawjihi Students’ Questionnaire15

School’s Name __________________ Questionnaire Number: _________ Section I: General Background Please circle the number that corresponds to you. Sex: 1. Male. 2. Female. Place of residence: 1. City 2. Refugee Camp 3. Village Region of residence: 1. West Bank 2. Gaza Strip. Tawjihi Specialization: 1. Scientific. 2. Literature. 3. Vocational. Average General Tawjihi Scores: 1. less than 60. 2. 60-70. 3. 71-80. 3. 81-90. 4. Over 90. Average Monthly Family Income (NIS): 1. lees than 2000 NIS. 2. 2000-4000 NIS. 3. 4000-8000 NIS. 4. Over 8000 NIS. Section II: Are you interested in joining the teaching profession? 1. Yes. 2. No. If your answer to the previous question is ‘Yes’, please use the following table to explain your reasons for wanting to join the profession. Please put X next to the statement that most reflects your point of view.

NO. Statement Strongly Agree 5

Agree4

Neutral3

Disagree 2

Strongly Disagree 1

1 Salary is commensurate with the level of effort exerted.

2 Teachings’ financial and in-kind incentives 3 My love for teaching. 4 Teachers’ social status. 5 A family member works in this profession. 6 I was influenced by one of my favorite teachers. 7 Society’s appreciation for the profession. 8 It’s an independent job. 9 Realizing my dream of becoming a teacher.

10 Short working hours. 11 Annual and seasonal vacations. 12 Its humanitarian side. 13 To serve the country by becoming a productive

teacher.

15 Administered to 1,380 Tawjihi students (final year of secondary education).

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NO. Statement Strongly Agree 5

Agree4

Neutral3

Disagree 2

Strongly Disagree 1

14 To review teaching-related scientific developments.

15 It will help me realize self-satisfaction and self respect.

16 Teachers’ salary is reasonable in comparison to other professions

17 Less work stress than other professions. 18 It brings out my leadership qualities. 19 Teaching allows me to interact with others. 20 Technological advances related to computers and

communications.

21 Excellent job merits: stability, health insurance, retirement.

22 Teaching allows me to work in a second job. 23 I expect the salary to be reasonable in relation to

living expenses.

Section III: If you answer is ‘No’ to the question about joining the teaching profession, please specify the top five reasons that discourage you. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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Annex 3 Teaching Students’ Questionnaire16

Questionnaire Number: _________ Section I: General Background Please circle the number that corresponds to you. Sex: 1. Male. 2. Female. Teaching Institution: 1. College of Educational Sciences for Boys (UNRWA). 2. College of Educational Sciences for Girls. 3. Bir Zeit University. 4. Al-Najah University. 5. The Islamic University. 6. Al-Quds Open University (Ramallah). 7. Bethlehem University. 8. Al-Quds Open University (Qalqilya) 9. Al-Aqsa University. University/college year: 1. First year. 2. Second Year. 3. Third Year. 4. Fourth Year. Place of residence: 1. City 2. Refugee Camp 3. Village Region of residence: 1. West Bank 2. Gaza Strip. Final Tawjihi Score: 1. less than 60. 2. 60-70. 3. 71-80. 3. 81-90. 4. Over 90. Average Monthly Family Income (NIS): 1. lees than 2000 NIS. 2. 2000-4000 NIS. 3. 4000-8000 NIS. 4. Over 8000 NIS. Section II: Please put X next to the statement that most reflects your point of view.

NO. Statement Strongly Agree 5

Agree4

Neutral3

Disagree 2

Strongly Disagree 1

1 Salary is commensurate with the level of effort exerted.

2 Teachings’ financial and in-kind incentives 3 My love for teaching. 4 Teachers’ social status. 5 A family member works in this profession. 6 I was influenced by one of my favorite

teachers.

7 Society’s appreciation for the profession. 8 It’s an independent job.

9 Realizing my dream of becoming a teacher.

16 Administered to 750 students studying an education major at college or university

66

NO. Statement Strongly Agree 5

Agree4

Neutral3

Disagree 2

Strongly Disagree 1

10 Short working hours. 11 Annual and seasonal vacations. 12 Its humanitarian side. 13 To serve the country by becoming a productive

teacher.

14 To review teaching-related scientific developments.

15 It will help me realize self-satisfaction and self respect.

16 Teachers’ salary is reasonable in comparison to other professions

17 Less work stress than other professions. 18 It brings out my leadership qualities. 19 Teaching allows me to interact with others. 20 Technological advances related to computers

and communications.

21 Excellent job merits: stability, health insurance, retirement.

22 Teaching allows me to work in a second job. 23 I expect the salary to be reasonable in relation

to living expenses.

Section III: Open Question: If you have other reasons, write in the space below up to five reasons. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

67

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