Girl Power: Personal Moral Compass in Middle Schools in the Periphery

Authors

  • Jonathan Kasler Tel Hai College
  • Ayelet Shavit Tel Hai College
  • Nofar Michaeli Harel Tel Hai College
  • Adi Sharabi-Nov Tel Hai College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-edurev.v1.1797

Keywords:

moral compass, values, well-being, children, gender, Palestinians, Jews

Abstract

The aim of this study was two-fold. First, we sought to map the personal moral compass (PMC) of children in the periphery – girls and boys, Palestinians and Jews - to better understand how nationality and gender affect their values – as activated in their lives. Second, we examined the relationship between personal moral compass and measures of well-being. 1001 children aged 12-13 years living in the geographic northern periphery of Israel, were asked to write short compositions on enactment of their values and complete questionnaires on their sense of hope, general belongingness, and life engagement. In choice of values, clear differences between Palestinians and Jews were revealed, but gender differences were less salient.  We also found that Palestinian and Jewish girls mentioned values more often and demonstrated deeper commitment to their PMC than boys did. Examining personal moral compass emerged as a valuable tool to learn about children’s inner world.

Author Biographies

Jonathan Kasler, Tel Hai College

Jonathan Kasler PhD lectures in the school of education Tel Hai College Israel, earned his BA at Middlesex University London UK, his M.A. at Haifa University Israel and PhD at Loughborough University UK. He served in a variety of positions at Tel Hai College Israel including head of counseling services, Head of the English Department. His research interests include: social emotional learning, minorities in education, learning disabilities, and values and spirituality in education.

Currently he is a senior lecturer in the Education school at Tel Hai College, Israel where he teaches courses in special education and minorities, emotional intelligence, inclusion and learning disabilities.

Ayelet Shavit, Tel Hai College

Professor Ayelet Shavit is a philosopher of science at Tel Hai College, Israel. She was born on Kibbutz Kfar-Gildai and received her B.A. (cum laude) and Ph.D. (summa cum laude) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Ayelet examines how facts and values shape core biological concepts (e.g. ‘location’, 'cooperation' and ‘replication’) and a pro-active academia (e.g. Town Square Academia).
Ayelet publishes in journals such as Philosophy of Science, BioScience and ISIS, and her books are printed by the Magnes Press, Yale University Press (co-edited with Aaron M. Ellison) and the MIT Press (co-edited with Snait Gisis and Ehud Lamm).

Nofar Michaeli Harel, Tel Hai College

Completed her MA in social psychology at Haifa University, Israel. She earned her BA in psychology and education at Tel Hai College, Israel. She currently lectures on the psychology of Humor for a variety of organization. She is also a teaching assistant at Tel Hai College in Israel and is engaged in research in several areas, Including humor and emotion, and moral development in children.

Adi Sharabi-Nov, Tel Hai College

Ms. Adi Sharabi-Nov (MA, MPH) is a statistician and epidemiologist. She is currently the statistician for the Ziv Medical Centre, Zefat. She is a lecturer in descriptive and inferential statistics in the departments of social work and Nutrition Science, Tel Hai Academic College and also in the faculty of medicine at Bar-Ilan University, Zefat.

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Published

19-02-2019

How to Cite

Kasler, J., Shavit, A., Michaeli Harel, N., & Sharabi-Nov, A. (2019). Girl Power: Personal Moral Compass in Middle Schools in the Periphery. EDU REVIEW. International Education and Learning Review Revista Internacional De Educación Y Aprendizaje, 1(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-edurev.v1.1797