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1 – 10 of 76Pascale Benoliel and Anat Barth
As a result of continuous reforms, increased emphasis has been placed on participative leadership as a means to improving school and teacher outcomes. However, along with the…
Abstract
Purpose
As a result of continuous reforms, increased emphasis has been placed on participative leadership as a means to improving school and teacher outcomes. However, along with the benefits of participative leadership comes the potential for strain and burnout, which stem from work intensification. Applying the implicit leadership theory and the conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose that differences in school’s cultural attributes will influence the emergence of participative leaders and their influence on teachers’ outcomes of job satisfaction and burnout.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by survey from a sample of 367 teachers in Israel.
Findings
First, the results of general linear model (GLM) analysis indicated significant differences in the teachers’ perceptions of participative leadership between schools characterized by different cultural attributes. Second, the results of GLM indicated significant differences in the effects of participative leadership on teacher burnout across schools characterized by different cultural attributes.
Originality/value
This study has implications for policies involving the design and implementation of leadership tools for school management. Although research has emphasized the relationship between stressful job conditions associated with shared decision making and teachers’ well-being and job satisfaction, the volume of comparative work in the educational field shedding light on the impact of school’s cultural attributes on this question is limited. This study may assist principals in making their schools both more effective and more responsive to teacher expectations.
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Izhar Oplatka and Riki Vertaimer
The current study explored the process of emotion regulation among Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in Jewish educational system in Israel.
Abstract
Purpose
The current study explored the process of emotion regulation among Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in Jewish educational system in Israel.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a semi-structured interview comprising 13 Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in single-sex education for girls.
Findings
The teachers preferred to suppress their positive and negative emotions rather than displaying them in their interactions with students, emphasizing the importance of self-restraint and self-control in their professional work and in their religious society.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on the connection between traditional societies whose culture is grounded deeply in their religious faith and teachers' modes of emotion regulation. The findings may enhance the understanding of cultural and contextual influences on teachers' emotion regulation and shed light on the ways in which female teachers balance their personal feelings with emotional rules in the religious society in which they live and work.
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Azi Lev-On, Nili Steinfeld, Hama Abu-Kishk and Sigal Pearl Naim
This study aims to examine the long-term effects of an Israeli digital literacy government program for disadvantaged populations, as they are perceived by participants of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the long-term effects of an Israeli digital literacy government program for disadvantaged populations, as they are perceived by participants of the program one year after completing the course.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants in the program were interviewed about the effects of participating in the program, their experiences and satisfaction, in retrospect, a year after they completed the program.
Findings
The main reasons for joining the program included cognitive motivations, mainly interest to become familiar with internet applications, followed by employment aspiration. Positive benefits from participation included accumulated knowledge, confidence in using technology, empowerment and enhanced sense of self-efficacy. Interviewees also reported that as they could not practice or communicate with instructors once they completed the program, a significant portion of the accumulated gains faded.
Social implications
Social and practical implications: Digital technologies constitute key infrastructure to facilitate public participation, as well as for gaining social, political and economic capital. Therefore, there is a significant social value in reducing digital inequality by increasing digital literacy of disadvantaged populations, i.e. citizens with low socioeconomic status and low digital literacy. This study sheds light on the benefits gained from such programs, as perceived by past participants.
Originality/value
While previous studies evaluating digital literacy programs focus on specific technical improvements and short-term gains, this study investigates the long-term effects and shortcomings of the program as perceived by participants.
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Yisca Monnickendam-Givon, Dafna Schwartz and Benjamin Gidron
The utilization of social networks is known to have an impact on micro-enterprise success. This study aims to examine the contribution of social networks in acquiring resources…
Abstract
Purpose
The utilization of social networks is known to have an impact on micro-enterprise success. This study aims to examine the contribution of social networks in acquiring resources and their role in the enterprise’s success.
Design/methodology/approach
A business’s success is influenced by its network structure and the network’s resources. The authors examine whether unique religious-cultural characteristics affect the social networks contribution to a business’s success. This model examines the network utilization of women entrepreneurs who own micro-enterprises in ultra-religious groups. The sample consists of 123 surveys completed by Jewish ultra-Orthodox women entrepreneurs in Israel. Data collection was conducted between February and June 2013. The authors used a snowball sampling approach where interviewees were asked to refer us to other entrepreneurs. In the hour-long interview, a questionnaire was used with open and closed questions.
Findings
Findings indicate that strong personal ties provide a micro-enterprise with social legitimacy, emotional support and assistance in the management and operation of daily activities. However, contrary to the existing literature, network utilization did not contribute to enterprise success. That is, in religious communities in particular, social networks enable the existence of businesses, but do not contribute to their success.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this paper are the mapping of the social network resources used by the business owner, such as financial consultations or professional assistance, as well as distinguishing between strong and weak ties, which reflect the intensity of the contact for better use of the social network by the entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
This study examined social networks’ contribution to the acquisition of resources, as well as the part they play in the success of ultra-orthodox women micro-entrepreneurs and perhaps other religious and minorities groups.
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Avi Kay and Moshe Sharabi
This article aims to provide an examination of the impact of Jewish religious tradition on attitudes toward life domains among Jewish Israeli women. This is the first study of…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to provide an examination of the impact of Jewish religious tradition on attitudes toward life domains among Jewish Israeli women. This is the first study of importance of life-domains among women in the ultra-Orthodox community: the fastest growing population in Israel. This population exhibits a unique occupational pattern in which women are the primary economic actors. As women are transitioning into more central occupational and economic players throughout the world, this research has both theoretical and practical implications.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 567 employed Jewish Israeli women (309 secular, 138 traditional and 120 ultra-Orthodox) completed a survey about relative importance of life domains. Responses were analyzed via mean-comparison tests, ANOVA and regression analysis.
Findings
Surprisingly, religiosity was associated with higher lower work centrality. Work centrality was the highest among ultra-Orthodox women, and family centrality the lowest. Centrality of religion increased and centrality of leisure decreased with religiosity. No differences emerged regarding centrality of community.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study is that attitudes toward life domains are based on one-time responses to one question. With that, the psychometric characteristics of the measure and its wide-spread use indicate its acceptability and applicability for the issue studied.
Practical implications
The data point to changes in the attitudes of ultra-Orthodox women toward life-domains. Those changes and the increased presence of these women at the workplace challenge both organizational and community leaders to reexamine how to best react to and benefit from the above.
Social implications
Ultra-orthodox society is a fundamentalist, enclave society that has, generally, been able to retain traditional internal social and familial patterns until now. However, increased exposure of community members – and particularly women – to a variety of organizations and individuals operating in them, may be contributing to changes in attitudes of those women regarding their traditional social and familial roles.
Originality/value
This study closes gaps in research examining the impact of religion and of gender on work attitudes. It does so among women in the fastest growing population of Israel, that exhibit a unique occupational pattern that can contribute to both theoreticians and policy planners regarding implications of the transition of women to more central economic roles.
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Tsipi Heart, Elad Finklestein and Menashe Cohen
The purpose of this study is to assess students’ perceptions of four teaching and learning (T&L) methods used in a blended learning Contract Law course, namely, frontal, written…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess students’ perceptions of four teaching and learning (T&L) methods used in a blended learning Contract Law course, namely, frontal, written assignments, simulations and online asynchronous T&L.
Design/methodology/approach
Law students (n = 417) filled in an anonymous questionnaire on their relative satisfaction with the four methods and their preferences. Participation was voluntary. The questionnaire was administered at the end of term, in class, prior to the Covid-19 restrictions. The results were calculated using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
Findings
The students preferred face-to-face T&L in class and ranked online T&L last. Notably, 84% preferred blended learning combining all four methods. These results suggest that the online T&L for this Contract Law course setting was unsuccessful and that teachers should experiment with blending various T&L methods to maximize learning effectiveness and students’ satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The results only reflect one course in one year among law students, thus affecting the generalizability of the findings. This is further exacerbated by the convenience sample and the fact that only one type of blending was evaluated. Overall, the findings indicated that the survey participants were not yet ready to embrace online T&L as a primary component of blended T&L.
Practical implications
This study Alternative online solutions should be sought to foster social learning when face-to-face learning is not feasible for reasons, such as geographic distance, students’ disabilities or the current pandemic that prohibits social gatherings. This conclusion is particularly pertinent with respect to the impact of Covid-19 on face-to-face learning. Designers of blended learning programs should listen more carefully to students’ voices, and bear in mind that minimizing face-to-face T&L for various reasons might jeopardize students’ satisfaction, which is likely to decrease learning effectiveness.
Social implications
It is important that students’ perceptions be considered when building future T&L programs, especially students’ need for collaborative and social learning.
Originality/value
This study assessed four T&L methods administered in one course during the pre-Covid-19 era. This setting, which is rare, enabled a real-life assessment of the effectiveness of these popular methods as perceived by students.
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Nikolai Mouraviev and Nada K. Kakabadse
Israel is characterised by economic growth that is accompanied not only by prosperity but also by increasing poverty. This paper aims to conceptualise the role of Israel’s social…
Abstract
Purpose
Israel is characterised by economic growth that is accompanied not only by prosperity but also by increasing poverty. This paper aims to conceptualise the role of Israel’s social enterprises in reducing the gap between prosperous and disadvantaged populations.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study is based on 23 in-depth interviews. It makes use of a theoretical framework that incorporates two elements: cosmopolitanism and social entrepreneurship. Cosmopolitanism, together with government policies that aim to develop free enterprise and international trade, support entrepreneurship and advance education, accompanies and facilitates prosperity. Whilst prosperity increases inequality, social entrepreneurship develops as a tool to mitigate the side effects of economic growth in the form of the increasing gap between the rich and the poor.
Findings
This paper argues that the principal reason why the gap evolved and is increasing is in the discrepancy between rapidly rising requirements presented by the innovation-focussed economy and the workers’ skills. Based on interviews with social entrepreneurs who are (co)founders or managers of businesses with a social purpose, findings show that the gap between prosperity and social deprivation could be bridged by increasing workers’ capacity to align their skills with employers’ requirements, which is the area to which Israeli social enterprises contribute.
Originality/value
The paper argues that cosmopolitan orientation is one of the contributors to economic growth and innovation, whilst prosperity increases the gap between high- and low-income groups. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge about social entrepreneurs by applying the framework that makes use of cosmopolitanism as an important driver of Israeli social entrepreneurship, which helps to explain the role that social business enterprises play in reducing the gap between prosperous and disadvantaged populations.
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Recycling facilities are not available in most Ultra‐Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish neighborhoods in Israel. Servicing Ultra‐Orthodox communities would offer significant relief for…
Abstract
Purpose
Recycling facilities are not available in most Ultra‐Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish neighborhoods in Israel. Servicing Ultra‐Orthodox communities would offer significant relief for rapidly bloating landfills. Haredi communities have highly religious lifestyles, very large families and tend to cluster together in communities, posing significant challenges in urban planning and policy. With careful planning and education these communities have the potential to be high‐yield recyclers, as the act of recycling plastic, paper and glass is not religiously prohibited. The purpose of this paper is to determine the feasibility of installing recycling facilities in two Ultra‐Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by administering a short questionnaire to neighborhood residents and asking them questions about recycling behavior as well as demographic information.
Findings
Ultra‐Orthodox communities have a unique recycling narrative which determines the materials they are most likely to recycle. Rabbinical leaders and monetary incentives are instrumental in garnering support for recycling programs.
Research limitations/implications
The findings shed light on demographic variables which influence recycling behavior such as age, gender, household size and religiosity/ethnicity.
Practical implications
The rich data have significant planning and policy implications. As this study relies on statistically significant data, it is highly likely that the conclusions drawn are applicable to other Haredi neighborhoods and beyond.
Originality/value
As a whole, Ultra‐Orthodox attitudes and behaviors exposed in this study reveal, for the first time, a religious ethnography of recycling or a recycling narrative.
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