Affective education: The nature and characteristics of teachers' and students' attitudes toward school in Israel: the nature and characteristics of teachers' and students' attitudes toward school in Israel

Affective education is the term used to describe dimensions of the educational process, concerned with the non-cognitive domain. Thus affective education includes beliefs, attitudes, and emotions of students as well their interpersonal relationships and social and personal development and skills. Affective education is also likely to involve a concern for students' moral, spiritual and value development. In addition affective education is indirectly concerned with the school-parent partnership. The aim of the present research1 was to investigate teacher and student attitudes to affective education, namely both teachers' and students' perception of the feelings, values, beliefs, attitudes and emotional well being of learners in Israel. The sample included students and teachers at typical Israeli elementary and junior high schools. The research findings pointed to significant differences between students' and teachers' non-cognitive attitudes to school and to the educational process. Differences were also found between elementary school and junior high school students' attitudes towards affective education. Thus it is apparent that students in different age groups, as well as teachers, view affective education from different perspectives and therefore need differential preparation in order to focus the development of students' non-cognitive skills and abilities in those areas that contribute to the enhancement of the educational process.