DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TEACHERS OF SECULAR PUBLIC EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS PUBLIC EDUCATION PERTAINING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTEGRATED EDUCATION TREND IN ISRAEL

The purpose of this study was to identify possible differences between teachers of secular public education (PE) and religious public education (RPE) regarding their attitudes towards the establishment of the "Integrated Education Trend" in Israel. In 15.7.08, the law pertaining to the "Integrated Education Trend" was accepted by the Israeli parliament (The Knesset). In accordance with the law, the "Integrated Education Trend" aimed at developing a curricula combined both of Jewish Scriptures and Israelite heritage with secular studies. The very law intended to meet both the requirements of the secular as well as religious populations. The research findings, drawn from a quantitative questionnaire (a = .91), revealed that teachers of the religious education significantly held greater defiance to the law of integrated education than teachers of the secular education. It was found that the attitudes of teachers of the religious education were both more conservative and more sceptical than teachers of the secular education. Expressions of scepticism by the teachers of the religious education were explained by their fear that the new trend might become a centre of attraction to religious pupils who had been, previously, their devoted clients. On the other hand, expressions of conservatism by the teachers of the religious education were explained by their difficulties to modify their conservative traditional view of Judaism and to settle by a crossbreed of educational trend.