Assimilation and ethnic boundaries: Israeli students' altitudes toward soviet immigrants.

The attitudes of Israeli students toward new immigrants from the former Soviet Union were examined against the theoretical framework of the sociology of ethnicity and sociology of education. The main research question explored was which ethnic relationship model (assimilation, pluralism, or separation) best described the attitudes and self-reported behavior of Israeli youth toward the new immigrants. Israeli students' changing attitudes toward their immigrant counterparts were also investigated, as well as actual Israeli educational practices (not only declared policies) regarding Soviet immigrants. The study was conducted in grades 4-11 at schools in northern Israel. The results indicated positive attitudes and openness of relations by the Israelis toward the new immigrant students in the first year following their immigration. However, the attitudes were less positive in the second year. Although the Israeli students manifested positive attitudes toward immigration and to the immigrants themselves, these views were largely assimilatory; Israeli cultural capital was obviously dominant, and it was expected to be accepted as such by the newcomers. The findings point to Israeli assimilatory educational practice; immigrants are expected to blend in, abandoning their past heritage and culture.

Teacher-student classroom interactions: the influence of gender, academic dominance, and teacher communication style.

Two Israeli grade 7 classes, with different teachers, were monitored and the lessons coded according to categories that were based on the conceptual framework of speech acts theory combined with role theory. The two classes differed in their academic composition: one class was dominated by females and the other was balanced by gender. Different classroom interactions were observed. The two teachers manifested different communication styles: one exercised more control, while the other was more influenced by the dominant students. The teachers did not have any bias against females; they were "gender blind." Thus, the findings indicated that gender, academic composition, and teacher communication style are important factors in teacher-student interactions.