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Concerning the Question of Feasibility of Political-Civil Education: Israel as a Case Study

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Abstract

Educating students to become participatory citizens in their country is one of the explicit tasks of public education in a democratic-liberal state. In this article, I use civics education in Israel as a case study for the examination of the justification and the practicability of implementing political education in schools, as opposed to implementing its rivals –ideological education or a-political education. I argue that a liberal-democratic stance and its educational implication—political education—are two concepts submerged in ideology, and, as a result, political education in schools is not ideology-free. I also argue that the common kind of political-civic education in Israel is irrelevant for the significant minorities of Palestinian and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish citizens. Revealing the emptiness and futility of present-day political-civil education leads me to propose to separate this education into different ideological-educational streams, allowing each of them to emphasize its ideology in civil-political education.

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  1. Levinsky College of Education, 15 Shoshana Persits st, P.O.B. 48130, 61481, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eran Gusacov

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Gusacov, E. Concerning the Question of Feasibility of Political-Civil Education: Israel as a Case Study. Stud Philos Educ 39, 167–185 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-019-09689-6

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