From segregation to diversity

Professional identity formation among indigenous minority students

Authors

  • Aref Abu-Gweder Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel
  • Adnan Gribiea Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/zzfex722

Keywords:

Negev Bedouin community, Bedouin students, professional identity, dilemmas and challenges, multiculturalism, discourse analysis.

Abstract

Cultural expectations reinforce the notion that teaching is a field that balances work and family. However, unlike their Jewish peers, who have time for reflection during military service, Bedouin students transition directly from school to academia, often before their personal aspirations are clarified. This study examines the professional identity dilemmas of 30 Bedouin candidates (14 men, 16 women) at a multicultural college in Southern Israel. Using narrative questionnaires and discourse positioning analysis, this research explored the transition from segregated schooling to a diverse academic environment. The findings highlight systemic educational challenges and distinct gender-based coping strategies, with female participants demonstrating more active resilience and experiential learning.

Author Biographies

  • Aref Abu-Gweder, Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel

    Aref Abu-Gweder is a Senior Lecturer and Academic Pedagogical Leader at Kaye Academic College of Education and Achva Academic College, Israel. His research examines the educational trajectories of indigenous Arab-Bedouin minorities, focusing on second-language acquisition (Hebrew) in higher education and the intersection of gender and education. Dr Abu-Gweder’s recent work explores sociopolitical and technological shifts within minority education systems, including the impact of new communication technologies, tribal-school pedagogies, and the integration of dialogic practices in traditional settings

  • Adnan Gribiea , Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel

    Adnan Gribiea is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and the Elementary Teacher Education Program for the Bedouin Community at Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel. He also serves as Co-Director at the PISGA Regional Teachers’ Training Center in Tel Sheva.

    Email:adnan.grebea@gmail.com

References

Abu-Bader, S., & Gottlieb, D. (2009). Poverty, education and employment in the Arab-Bedouin society: A comparative view. National Insurance Institute, Research and Planning Administration.

Abu-Gweder, A. (2022). An obstacle in presenting academic equality and the lack of personal prestige in the academy: The challenges of the Hebrew language in the eyes of Arab-Bedouin female students. Central European Management Journal, 30(4), 2039–2047. https://doi.org/10.57030/23364890.cemj.30.4.210

Abu-Gweder, A. (2023). The challenges of writing among Arab-Bedouin students between literary Arabic and Hebrew as a second language. Journal of Namibian Studies: History Politics Culture, 34, 769–787. https://doi.org/10.59670/jns.v34i.1124

Abu-Gweder, A. (2024). The ideal path: Acquire education and gain respect for parents in the eyes of Arab-Bedouin students. Open Education Studies. https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2024-0011

Abu- Gweder, A. (2025). "Exploring Asymmetry and Interaction: Arab-Bedouin Female Students and Jewish Students in Multicultural Academic Settings", Journal of International Students, 15(3), 91-110. https://doi.org/10.32674/3z6vvp28

Aburabia-Queder, S. (2017). The paradox of professional marginality among Arab-Bedouin women. Sociology, 51(5), 1084–1100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038516641621

Aburabia-Queder, S., & Arar, K. (2011). Gender and higher education in different national spaces: Female Palestinian students attending Israeli and Jordanian universities. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 41(3), 353–370. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2010.545200

Aburabia-Queder, S., & Karplus, Y. (2013). Regendering space and reconstructing identity: Bedouin women’s translocal mobility into Israeli-Jewish institutions of higher education. Gender, Place & Culture, 20(4), 470–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2012.701200

Aburabia-Queder, S., & Weiner-Levy, N. (2013). Between local and foreign structures: Exploring the agency of Palestinian women in Israel. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 20(1), 88–108. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxs029

Abu-Rass, R. (2010). The new teacher induction programme in Bedouin schools in the Negev, Israel. Journal of Education for Teaching, 36(1), 35–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607470903462008

Abu-Saad, I. (2013). Sociopolitical changes and the development of the formal education system among the Negev Bedouin: Dilemmas and challenges. In The Bedouins in the Negev: Strategic challenge to Israel (pp. 28–39).

Abu-Saad, I. (2016). Access to higher education and its socioeconomic impact among Bedouin Arabs in southern Israel. International Journal of Educational Research, 76, 96–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.06.001

Arar, K., & Haj-Yehia, K. (2013). Higher education abroad: Palestinian students from Israel studying in Jordanian universities. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 5(1), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.1108/17581181311310306

Ali, N., & Da'as, R. (2019). An Arab university in the state of Israel: Challenges, obstacles, and possibilities. Israel Studies Review, 34(1), 67–87. https://doi.org/10.3167/isr.2019.34010

Allassad Alhuzai, N. (2020). The adjustment process of young Bedouin women who were child brides. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(6), 1882–1897. https://publons.com/publon/10.1002/jcop.22379

Bager, A. S., & Lundholt, M. W. (2020). Organizational storymaking as narrative-small-story dynamics: A combination of organizational storytelling theory and small story analysis. In Routledge handbook of counternarratives (pp. 166–181). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429279713

Ben-Asher, S. (2020). Kawkab: The story of trailblazing Bedouin women. MOFET Institute. [In Hebrew] https://store.macam.ac.il/store/books/1015

Ben-Asher, S., Gottlieb, E., & Alsraiha, K. (2022). Multiple identities: Young Bedouin professionals challenging their sociocultural Representations. Social Identities, 28, 747 - 765. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2023.2166031

Ben-Israel, A. & Meir, A. (2008). Renaming the space, reshaping identities – the case of the Bedouin town Hura. Hagar. Studies in Culture, Polity and Identities, 8(2), 65-92. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bgu.ac.il/ehost/detail/detail

Cohen, H. (2002). The internal refugees in the state of Israel: Israeli citizens, Palestinian refugees. Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics, and Culture, 9(2), 43. https://www.proquest.com/docview/235673567?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview

Flick, U. (2017). Mantras and myths: The disenchantment of mixed-methods research and revisiting triangulation as a perspective. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(1), 46–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780041665582

Gottlieb, E., Ben-Asher, S., & Alsraiha, K. (2023). When is an academic degree the best vocational education? Bedouin professionals reflect on their life choices. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 17(3), 168–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2022.2149486

Gribiea, A., Ben-Asher, S., & Kupferberg, I. (2019). Silencing and silence in Negev Bedouin students’ narrative discourse. Israel Affairs, 25(4), 617–634. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537121.2019.1626080

Gribiea, A., Kabha, M., & Abu-Saad, I. (2019). New mass communication media and the identity of Negev Bedouin Arab youth in Israel: In conversation with Edward Said. Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies, 16(16), 499–123. https://doi.org/10.3366/hlps.2017.0154

Lev-Ari, L., & Husisi-Sabek, R. (2020). ‘Getting to know "them" changed my opinion’: Intercultural competence among Jewish and Arab graduate students. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(10), 844–857. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1657433

Mahajna, S. (2017). Emerging adulthood among the Palestinian minority in Israel: The relation between perceived career barriers, future orientation, and career decisions. Educational Studies, 43(3), 296–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2016.1277133

Mansour, L. (2024). Palestinian Arab undergraduate students’ transition to Israeli higher education: A mixed methods study. Studies in Higher Education, 49(2), 269–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2231019

Simon, B. B., Levi, D., & Kahan-Strawczynski, P. (2018). Integration of young Ethiopian Israelis into higher education: Contributing factors and barriers.‏

https://brookdale.jdc.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/eng_summary_149-18.pdf

McAdams, D. (1993). Personal myths and the making of the self. William Morrow and Company. https://psycnet.apa.org/search/citedBy/1993-97296-000

Yiftachel, O. (2003). Bedouin-Arabs and the Israeli settler state. In Indigenous people between autonomy and globalization (pp. 21–47).

https://www.academia.edu/3764467/Bedouin_Arabs_and_the_Israeli_Settler_State

Downloads

Published

2026-02-23

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 5 (2026): Journal of International Students

Section

Special Issue: Rethinking International Education

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of International Students

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) [year] [author]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

How to Cite

Abu-Gweder, A., & Gribiea , A. . (2026). From segregation to diversity: Professional identity formation among indigenous minority students. Journal of International Students, 16(5), 161-180. https://doi.org/10.32674/zzfex722