Students' Attitudes towards Bilingual Children's Literature in Hebrew and Arabic

The article presents the findings of a study of the attitudes of Arab and Jewish students towards bilingual children's literature. The focus is on whether bilingual children's literature contributes to the establishment of identity and whether it is important to include such works in the school curriculum. The underlying assumption was that the participant's identity --vis-à-vis the rift in Israeli society between Jews and Arabs-- would guide students' attitudes regarding these questions. Sections from bilingual children's books in Arabic and Hebrew describing a cultural aspect were presented in an attitude questionnaire, which included 39 items with responses indicating agreement on a scale of 1 to 6. Findings indicate that students from both sectors recognize both the contribution of bilingual works to the social dynamics in Israel as well as the importance of including bilingual children's literature in the curriculum.