Together or Apart: Equality of Educational Opportunity in the Light of the Secular-Ultra-Orthodox Cleavage in Israel

Education is one of the foundations of every society. It is related to the socio-cultural and political contexts within a state (Rom A, Tahalikh pituhan shel tokhniyot limudim beHamesh medinot movilot: Skirat safrut [The development of curriculums in five developed countries: literature review]. The Ministry of Education, Jerusalem, 2009. Retrieved from http://meyda.education.gov.il/files/Tochniyot_Limudim/Portal/Skirot/PituachTochniyot.pdf). Educational curriculum in multicultural nation-states is controversial. Many of these states deal with public struggles regarding the right of a socio-cultural group for educational autonomy conveyed by learning an alternative curriculum other than the core-curriculum while still publicly funded (Barry B, Br J Polit Sci 5:477–505, 1975. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123400008322; Lijphart A, The politics of accommodation: pluralism and democracy in the Netherlands. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1968, The puzzle of Indian democracy: a consociational the politics of accommodation: pluralism and democracy in the Netherlands. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1996; Lorwin VR, Comp Polit 3:141–175, 1971. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/421297). Moreover, these struggles challenge the achievement of equality of educational opportunities, and burden on social gaps (BenDavid-Hadar I, Educ Prac Theory 38:23–39, 2016. doi: https://doi.org/10.7459/ept/38.2.03; Berne R, Stiefel L, Concepts of school finance equity: 1970 to the present. In: Ladd HF, Chalk R, Hansen JS (eds) Equity and adequacy in education finance: issues and perspectives. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, pp 7–33, 1999; Carnoy M, Levin HM, Schooling and work in the democratic state. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1985; Downes TA, Stiefel L, Measuring equity and adequacy in school finance. In: Ladd HF, Fiske EB (eds) Handbook of research in education finance and policy. Routledge, New York, pp 222–237, 2008; Roemer JE, Equality of opportunity. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1998; Ross K, Levacic R, Needs-based resource allocation in education: via formula funding of schools. UNESCO, Paris, 1999. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001184/118426eb.pdf).

This chapter examines such a public struggle which revolves around the demand to implement a core curriculum in the Ultra-Orthodox schools in Israel in the last two decades. Israel is used as an interesting case study as its student population is diversified religiously. The public struggle around the implementation of the core curriculum is examined in order to understand its characteristics and to determine whether these characteristics are consensual (Don-Yehiya E, HaPolitika shel haHasdara: Yishuv sikhsukhim beNos’ey dat be’Israel [The politics of accommodation: settling conflicts of state and religion in Israel]. Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies, Jerusalem, 1997. The Retrieved from http://fips.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/floersheimer/files/donyehia_religion_and_political_accommodation.pdf; Lijphart A, World Polit 21:207–225, 1969. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2009820) or of crises (Cohen A, Susser B, Ben Heskemiyut shvira leShvirat haHeskemiyut: Tmurot beYahasey dat uMedina – ben konsotzyonalizm leHakhra’a [Between fragile consensus and breaking consensus: changes in the religious and the state field – between being consensual and decision]. In: Mautner M, Sagi A, Shamir R (eds) Rav tarbutiyut beMedina demokratit veYehudit [Multiculturalism in a democratic and Jewish state]. Ramot, Tel Aviv, pp 675–703, 1998, MeHashlama leHaslama: Hashesa haDati-Hahiloni bepetah heMe’a ha’Esrim ve’Ahat [From completion to escalation]. Shoken, Jerusalem, 2003; Susser B, Cohen A, Politika [Politics] 3:9–25, 1999).

The findings of this work reveal that the nature of the struggle is of a “democracy of crises” which is expressed in trying to reform the current status. These findings hold great importance for other nation-states that deal with a secular-religious cleavage.