Differences in educational methods among Bedouin and Druze in Israel,in the context of possession of three forms of capital

Abstract

The society we live in is structured as a social hierarchy, where positioning in its upper echelons includes advantages for the well-established individuals within it. Bourdieu (1984) argued that this hierarchy can be viewed through an individual’s possession of three intertwined forms of capital: economic capital (one’s material resources), cultural capital (level of education), and social capital (social connections with others). Additionally, it is known that different educational methods are prevalent among different social classes. In our research, we examined whether there are differences between two groups from the Arab population residing in Israel—the Druze (a distinct religious and ethnic community in Israel) and Bedouin (traditionally nomadic Arab communities), in terms of their tendencies in educating their children, viewed through the prism of these three forms of capital. To examine this phenomenon, we conducted qualitative research including in-depth interviews with two population groups (15 individuals in each group), one belonging to the Druze religion, and the other to the Bedouin communities. We found that there are significant differences in the educational methods employed by each population, which may deepen the inequality and social gaps existing in Israeli society as a whole, and within Arab society in particular.