Education for citizenship and democracy is inherently a profound process that requires consistent and practical efforts to achieve results. It necessitates imparting knowledge, providing opportunities for practice and experience, and developing skills and competencies. These endeavors demand training and support for educational staff who are currently often hesitant to engage with these subjects due to a lack of knowledge, skills, or fear of addressing controversial issues at the heart of Israeli society. This hesitation is exacerbated by concerns over potential repercussions from authorities, parents, and other stakeholders. This project involves creating a learning and creative community of civics teachers from several schools, who will undergo a joint process of learning and designing civics education in schools. This encompasses both preparation for matriculation and beyond, as civics education should occur at all school levels and in various contexts.
The first half of the project will be dedicated to learning and clarifying issues, while the second half will focus on developing joint outputs. The highlight event we propose is the launch of a school-wide civics education program. The second half of the time will mainly be devoted to formulating a school-wide civics education program, with actual implementation beginning in the following year.
The emphasis is on developing civics education that goes beyond matriculation preparation, integrating it into all aspects of school life and learning. Amal will ensure that this initiative is implemented in schools representing different groups within Israeli society, in line with the diverse projects run by the network. As part of the approach to create connections between individuals from different groups in Israeli society, reducing resistance and fears, and building trust, this project will also contribute to these goals. If relevant, it can also be implemented in pairs of schools as part of the execution.