Education for work on religious and secular kibbutzim in Israel: comparative aspects (original) (raw)
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Journal of Economic Psychology, 1990
This study compared the economic understanding and attitudes of children living in the city with those living in a kibbutz, collective villages where an extreme socialist lifestyle is practised and preached. The differences in the answer patterns of the urban and kibbutz children were not very large, but the pattern was clear, and in keeping with the dominant ideology in both places: socialist in the kibbutz, middle-class capitalist in the city.
In a practical mood: Studying for a profession in the changing kibbutz
Higher Education, 2004
The influence of recent social and economicchanges in the Israeli kibbutz on the prolongedstage of youth was examined with respect tohigher education. The young people on thekibbutz of the late 1990s appear lessmoratorial and more instrumental about theirfuture and commence higher education earlierthan in previous age cohorts. When starting tostudy, their educational and professionalprospects are crystalized as those of thenon-kibbutz student. Most of them opt foracademic, degree-granting studies, but a higherpercentage than among the general populationprefer vocation-oriented colleges to theresearch oriented universities. In choosingfields of study, they prefer more appliedstudies like engineering, social services andpractical arts and are less likely to choosesciences and the humanities. De-communalizationand economic instability of the kibbutz,inadequate preparation in kibbutz high schoolsfor the competitive admission to theuniversities, exposure to a restricted range ofoccupations during adolescence, and lack of acultural tradition supportive of elitiststudies may explain this practical mood, moresalient among kibbutz women.
Higher Education, 2004
The influence of recent social and economic changes in the Israeli kibbutz on the prolonged stage of youth was examined with respect to higher education. The young people on the kibbutz of the late 1990s appear less moratorial and more instrumental about their future and commence higher education earlier than in previous age cohorts. When starting to study, their educational and professional prospects are crystalized as those of the non-kibbutz student. Most of them opt for academic, degree-granting studies, but a higher percentage than among the general population prefer vocation-oriented colleges to the research oriented universities. In choosing fields of study, they prefer more applied studies like engineering, social services and practical arts and are less likely to choose sciences and the humanities. De-communalization and economic instability of the kibbutz, inadequate preparation in kibbutz high schools for the competitive admission to the universities, exposure to a restricted range of occupations during adolescence, and lack of a cultural tradition supportive of elitist studies may explain this practical mood, more salient among kibbutz women.
Israel Social Science Research, 1993
A new stage of life among the third sociological generation of the Israeli kibbutz, lasting between the high school graduation and the early thirties, is analyzed. The analysis unveils unity of structure, orientation and behavior which coalesces five seemingly discrete but sequential experiences --voluntary social service, military service, temporal stay on the kibbutz, leave of absence from the kibbutz, and college studies --into a distinct stage of youth. It shows that this stage is circumscribed by an interplay of moratorial and liminal states and characterized by a non-materialistic individualism, an expressive noninstrumental mood, anxiety for freedom and tendency to refrain from lasting communal, vocational and family commitments. This last tendency is explained by the interdependence of these commitments within the collectivistic social structure of the kibbutz. The consolidation of this stage of youth and its exceptional longevity and optional nature are shown as connected to the intricacy of achieving autonomy and individuation in a communal society and as facilitated by the security of status which youth is afforded on the kibbutz.
1998
The lives of kibbutz young adults (aged 18-32) were examined in nine age cohorts, born between 1938 and 1962. There were significant differences in the behavior of the senior cohorts (born 1938 to 1947) and the junior cohorts (born 1953 to 1962). Participation in work on the kibbutz declined sharply, as there was a substantial increase in those who opted for a year off; and higher education became more widespread and prolonged while marriage and childbirth were delayed. These differences were seen as reflecting two distinct social generations of kibbutz youth that emerged within a relatively short span of time. One generation was born before the establishment of the state of Israel and reached adulthood before the Six-Day War (1967), and the other was born after the establishment of the state, reaching adulthood between 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The cohort born in 1950, which completed high school in 1968, distinguishes between the two generations. The stronger moratorial orientation of the younger cohorts was explained by the worldwide cultural surge of the youthful life style, the aspiration toward normalcy in Israeli society, and increasing individualism in the kibbutz.
Worker equality and adult development: The kibbutz as a developmental model
Psychology and Aging, 1990
Adults' social status, particularly their occupations, is a powerful predictor of their level of moral and ego development. This association's inevitability was tested by examining the relationship of personal development with social status among 3 groups of workers. Results showed that kibbutz workers' moral and ego development were not significantly associated with educational, occupational, or social class standing, but that Israeli city and North American workers' moral and ego development were significantly associated with all measures of social status. In further contrast, work complexity was significantly associated with both moral and ego development only for kibbutz workers, suggesting that they engage in jobs that are appropriate to their psychological development without creating social inequality. Implications for developmental theory and workplace research are considered.
Kibbutz Education: Implications for Nurturing Children From Low-Income Families
2004
A natural experiment in education on Israeli kibbutzim, where investment in human capital is equal for all children, allows us to differentiate between the effect on children’s grades of genetics and home environment on the one hand and of material resources invested in education on the other hand. In addition, comparing the educational achievements we find no difference among children whose parents have more than 12 years of schooling. However, the average grade of children whose parents have 12 years of schooling or less in kibbutzim is 0.25 of a standard deviation higher than in cities. This difference can be attributed to the higher investment in human capital in kibbutzim, implying that more public resources should be allocated to the education of children from low-income families. 1.
Farm and factory in the kibbutz: A study in agrico-industrial psychology
Journal of Applied Psychology, 1974
Kibbutz communities with a mix of factory and farm jobs were surveyed to study the effects of industrialization on work and workers while controlling for the effects of urbanization. Questionnaire responses of 476 workers in a representative sample of factories were compared to those of 175 workers in location-matched agricultural branches in 27 kibbutz collective settlements. Factory workers rated their jobs significantly lower than did farm workers on plant manager's leadership, opportunities for self-realization on the job, participation, control, peer relations, and information about the job. However, factory jobs were rated cleaner, easier, and more mental. Factory and farm workers were similar in outcome measures, including supervisory ratings of performance, job satisfaction, mental health, and alienation. Implications for kibbutz and nonkibbutz work are discussed. 1 Support for the project was provided by the American Council for Behavioral Sciences in the Kibbutz and by the Fritz Naphtalie Foundation. Michal Palgi and Moshe Bar-Semech assisted. 2 Requests for reprints should be sent to Uri Leviatan, Center for Social Research on the Kibbutz, Givat Haviva, Israel. Uri Leviatan submitted his thesis under the name Uri Levitan; Uri Levitan and Uri Leviatan are one and the same person.
The Kibbutz in Search of a New Identity
Analele Universitatii Spiru Haret, Seria Geografie, 2007
The paper deals with the changes in the kibbutz type cooperative settlement in Israel. It is done in the context of the ongoing transformation in the rural space in Israel and other developed economies. The paper introduces the main causes of the drastic changes that followed a mid 1980s economic crisis and the following process of change. The mechanisms and characteristics of the processes of change in the kibbutz movements are discussed emphasizing three major spheres of change: economic functions, management and consumption spheres. The outcome of the cumulative changes is a process of reshaping the kibbutz and its ideological basis. The general direction is toward weaker cooperation, an increased, but still controlled, internal income disparity among members and households, and a change of balance of power between the kibbutz community and its membership. The influence of the individual members on the kibbutz affairs has been weakened, but at the same time their control of their personal affairs has been strengthened. Altogether, the kibbutz communities are adapting to the change but the kibbutz as a unique type of settlement is in search of a new identity.