Aref Abu-Gweder

The outbreak of the 2023–2025 Gaza War following the events of October 7th, 2023, catalyzed a profound sociopolitical crisis within Israel, straining the delicate fabric of Jewish–Arab relations. W...

This study investigates how dialogic feedback shapes professional identity, agency, and reflective practice among Arab-Bedouin female pre-service teachers in southern Israel. Using a qualitative interpretive design, 12 participants engaged in semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences with culturally mediated mentoring during practical teacher training. Thematic analysis revealed that mentors acted as cultural mediators, facilitating dialogue that balanced respect for traditional norms with opportunities for critical reflection. Dialogic feedback emerged as a space for professional identity development, enabling participants to integrate inherited cultural values with contemporary pedagogical practices. Moreover, it fostered agency, empowering student teachers to take ownership of their learning, contribute ideas, and exercise leadership in classroom decision-making. A reciprocal dimension was also identified, wherein mentors experienced professional growth and reflective renewal through the feedback process. Cultural challenges, including hierarchical social norms and concerns about respect, highlighted the necessity of culturally responsive strategies to ensure meaningful participation. Overall, the findings demonstrate that dialogic feedback operates as a relational, contextually sensitive mechanism that simultaneously supports professional development, reflective learning, and the co-construction of a learning community.

This study explores undergraduate students’ learning experiences in an AI-driven multimodal learning environment, focusing on Google’s NotebookLM platform. Grounded in a qualitative inquiry, the research analyzes the experiences of 123 students in Israel—predominantly female (93.5%)—who engaged in inquiry-based tasks utilizing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), source-based questioning, mind mapping, structured study guides, and podcast-generated summaries. Data analysis was based exclusively on students’ reflective self-reports, without systematic artifact analysis due to limited access to student-generated products. A rigorous thematic analysis was conducted independently by both researchers using a reflexive interpretive approach. The researchers then compared their coding, discussed emerging themes, and reached consensus through iterative dialogue to enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of the findings. This collaborative analytical process resulted in the identification of four primary themes: active multisensory engagement, enhanced conceptual depth through dual-coding pathways, learner autonomy through prompt-based interaction, and persistent challenges related to cognitive overload and content credibility. The findings support a novel Interactive AI-Assisted Constructivism model, which extends traditional constructivist perspectives by positioning artificial intelligence as a co-constructive mediator in knowledge building. Importantly, the study proposes practical pedagogical strategies for reducing hallucination risks and improving the reliability of AI-generated content, including systematic cross-checking of AI responses against uploaded primary sources, citation tracing and source alignment verification, comparison between AI-generated summaries and original texts to identify omissions or distortions, the use of contradiction prompts to test consistency across sources, and instructor-guided peer review of AI outputs. These strategies contribute to the development of critical AI literacy, epistemic responsibility, and evidence-based learning practices. Overall, the study positions NotebookLM as a distinctive educational tool that fosters personalized, reflective, deep, and accountable learning within contemporary higher education.

The role of the kindergarten teacher is especially important in early childhood, particularly in conflict-affected regions where social and educational structures face unique challenges. This study examines the impact of war on communication between kindergarten teachers and parents in the Bedouin Arab sector in Israel, a minority community with distinct socio-economic and cultural characteristics. The research focuses on the wartime period, during which remote teaching became necessary, and explores the use of WhatsApp as the primary communication tool in compulsory and pre-compulsory kindergartens. A qualitative methodology was employed, involving 20 semi-structured interviews with Arab kindergarten teachers. The findings reveal that during the war, WhatsApp was preferred over other digital platforms due to infrastructural limitations in unrecognized Bedouin villages and the specific socio-economic challenges faced by the community, including a lack of access to stable internet and advanced digital devices among parents. WhatsApp was widely used for educational purposes, messaging, instructions, storytelling, and activities, proving to be more effective than Zoom, which teachers found unsuitable for small children due to usability and technical difficulties. Kindergarten teachers identified several advantages of using WhatsApp, including accessibility and ease of use. However, they also reported significant challenges, such as the high time investment and the need for continuous commitment. While WhatsApp emerged as the most effective tool under these circumstances, teachers emphasized the necessity of flexible and frequent communication with parents. The general directive of the Ministry of Education to prioritize Zoom proved unsuitable for this sector due to these technological and cultural barriers, underscoring the need to reconsider the alignment between communication technologies and local needs in conflict-affected minority communities.

This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of Arab special education (SPED) teachers in Israel who support the inclusion of students with learning disabilities in mainstream classrooms. Drawing on in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with ten SPED teachers, the study examines challenges related to professional preparation, instructional practice and systemic support within culturally and structurally complex educational contexts. The findings indicate a persistent gap between theoretical knowledge acquired in academic training and the practical competencies required in inclusive classrooms. Participants described feelings of professional unpreparedness, limited access to applicable instructional tools and a need for more sustained experiential learning opportunities. In addition, teachers emphasized the importance of structured professional guidance, mentorship and collaboration with general education teachers, school leadership and parents. Participants also reported that limited resources, insufficient support staff and restricted time for individualized planning constrain their ability to implement inclusive practices effectively. Furthermore, the narratives highlight the role of cultural sensitivity within the Arab education system, where social stigma and limited awareness regarding learning disabilities continue to shape teachers' work. Rather than offering causal conclusions, the study provides context‐specific insights into how Arab SPED teachers perceive and navigate the demands of inclusive education. The findings suggest that integrated training models, ongoing professional support and collaborative learning environments may contribute to strengthening teachers' sense of self‐efficacy and professional confidence in inclusive settings.