Arabs in the State of Israel are an ethnic and religious minority. There are two types of secondary level schools: schools with an academic orientation, and technological schools that combine academic studies with vocational training.
Beit Berl Academic Teachers’College is composed of two colleges that share a common campus; one that trains teachers for the Jewish Sector (the language of instruction is Hebrew), and one that trains teachers for the Arab Sector (the language of instruction is Arabic). The project I will present is a cooperative effort by faculty members of the special education of both colleges, and its goal is to improve education in the technological schools in the Arab Sector. The project consists of developing a screening tool in Arabic, administering it to all the ninth grade pupils in five schools. On the basis of the screening process, three groups of pupils were identified. One group performed satisfactorily, and the pupils were not in need of any intervention beyond regular instruction. The second group needed individual assistance, in addition to the regular instruction, and were referred for individual assessment which goal was to determine what accommodations were required for them to achieve success in matriculation examinations. The third group was comprised of pupils with the most difficulties, who were clearly in need of intensive intervention.
Objectives for teacher in-service instruction were also determined. During the first year of the project, the in-service course provided teachers with knowledge about the characteristics of pupils with learning disabilities and appropriate teaching methods. During the second year, the course was expanded to include the development of appropriate teaching materials in the various subjects.
This presentation will describe the project as well as the difficulties encountered during the screening process.