european journal of social sciences issn: 1450-2267 - EuroJournals

European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007)
traditional prohibition. Today, higher education has become accepted for women, and the number of
female Druze students is higher than that of men.
Women, Traditional Cultures and Effects of Higher Education
Since these findings focus on the effects of higher education on women’s lives and identities, a short
review of the existing research on this topic will follow. The predominant research highlights the
positive aspects of academic education on women’s lives and on their families, ignoring the internal
dynamics and identity processes affected by being educated in Western universities and returning to
live in their original cultures.
Arab feminists consider women’s education an essential component of human capital
development and nation building (Abu Baker, undated; Amawi, 1996; Khalidi and Tucker, 1996, in
Pessate-Schubert, 2003). Studies that have examined the effects of women’s education in Arab society
found that it had a positive impact on individual lives and on society as a whole (Araf, 1997; Ahmad-
Fauzia, 2001; Arnhold, 2000; Baburajan, 1998, 1998; Katjavivi, 2000; Abu Rabia Queder, 2005;
Espanioly, 2005). Scholars have also noted that education leads to women’s greater involvement in the
labor market and in public activities (As-Sadawi, 1988), to women's empowerment (Perry, 2000;
Bubtana, 2000) and to the development of independent thinking patterns (Whalley, 1988; Author,
2004, Author, 2006b). Furthermore, educated women influence changes in the status of women in their
communities (Author, 2006a), play a more active role in their choice of a partner (Meller, 2000, p. 43) 3
and encourage marriage at a more mature age (Moghadam, 1993).
The subject of higher education among women from Palestinian minority groups in Israel has
been researched only in the past few years (Weiner-Levy, 2000; 2002, Meller, 2000; Pessate-Schubert,
2003; Abu Rabia-Queder, 2006(. Most studies have related to education as a means of progress,
leading to personal change in the women’s lives. However, changes in identity have not been
investigated in the same way.
The positive implications of higher education are well acknowledged. Nevertheless, discourse
concerning the benefits of education for women tends to ignore and even deny the hurdles, internal
transitions and pain that the inevitable losses have entailed (Lucey, 2003), ignoring the intrapersonal
dynamics and identity transitions associated with processes of being educated and of adopting an
alternative path. A more thorough understanding of these effects will enhance comprehension of the
emotional processes and identity changes undergone by women from traditional cultures who obtain
higher education.
Method
A phenomenological narrative methodology was selected to analyze individual experiences and social
realities from a subjective perspective (Taylor 1998), exploring the interviewees’ life stories and the
reflected narrative identity. This approach adopts a postmodern point of view and assumes an internal
relationship between the individual’s life and the story told (Sarbin 1986; Schafer 1992; Gergen and
Gergen 1988; Neisser 1994). Life stories recount the course of events and the meanings people ascribe
to them, influenced by the individual’s social and cultural environment (Scheibe 1985; Sarup 1996). In
this study, the term “identity” refers to a “narrative identity” constructed according to the interviewee’s
life story (Sarbin 1986; Schafer 1992; Gergen and Gergen 1983 1986 1988; Neisser 1994).
3
Additional studies conducted in Israel regarding Palestinian women reflect reinforcement of their ethnic national identity (Erdreich, 2002; Masrawa,
2002).
24