Yet this is exactly what Mustafa Shalaata and Nader Hijazi accomplished with the study group that they founded in the Arab town of Tamra, in the Galilee. For their final project of the Mandel Leadership Institute’s Program for Young Educational Leadership in the Periphery, Shalaata and Hijazi chose to focus their efforts on field-work. So they approached the Director of the Department for Education with an exciting and innovative plan: they wanted to organize a study group for Tamra’s educational leaders—school principals, local government officials and teachers.

Although they had no prior experience in running study sessions for education officials in local government, “…we had a vision and we had faith,” says Hijazi, “We wanted to do something different that we believed in.”

The mayor and heads of the education system were impressed with Shalaata and Hijazi’s credentials as graduates of the Mandel Leadership Institute, and pleased with the Institute’s involvement in the concept. With their support, the project began in December 2005, and until recently, Shalaata and Hijazi facilitated bi-weekly sessions with some 35 educational leaders in the locality. These sessions gradually created a learning community that contended with challenging issues by means of textual study and discussion of current issues.

The creators of the study group believe that the routine work of educators does not always facilitate cooperation and a flow of information. “The idea underlying the project and the learning community,” says Shalaata, “was to contend with a situation in which there is no collective action, no mutual responsibility and no sense of an educational collective that copes with the hardships together.”

“It was important to us that people meet and create a collective in which they can feel that they aren’t alone, thus providing a context in which people learn from the experiences of others.” In his opinion, educators must work together, since “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, especially in Arab education, which is replete with challenges and problems.”

The study group differed significantly from a typical professional training course for educators. Though the participants did not receive any professional course credit,  they demonstrated great commitment to the program. Moreover, the program’s learning methods were alternative; instead of listening to a frontal lecture, the material was studied in a dialogue-based group setting, in order to raise issues which really concerned the educators.

“We designed a program of learning rather than a program of teaching,” explains Hijazi. “We aren’t coming in to supply information; we wanted to learn together by reading texts that suit the needs and experiences of the Arab sector. By means of dialogue, we want to provide an investigative perspective rather than solely descriptive.” Members of the Mandel Leadership Institute faculty participated in some of the sessions, introducing new concepts to the participants.

Shalaata adds that it was important for him to encourage people to take greater responsibility for their educational work. In his opinion, an educator’s responsibility goes beyond the classroom; it extends to the wider community. He believes that the boundaries of education should be made more flexible so that education is not limited to school.

“Shalaata and Hijazi are committed and bold. What stands out in their work is the spirit of entrepreneurship and change,” says attorney Jacob Steinberg, associate director of the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev. “What makes their activity unique is that they’re part of the situation, and they’re trying to effect change within the community itself, they have not remained as outside experts.”

After more than a year and 24 sessions, the project has come to an end, and its creators express great satisfaction with the program. “The responses after a year of work were good. The participants agreed that the process was important, and they highly appreciate the involvement of people from the Mandel Leadership Institute,” says Shalaata. “I see great importance in creating communities; we want to extend the method to other places. I don’t believe in revolutions….but if there is movement and a small change, it is the first step in creating a responsible educational collective that is conscious of its accountability.”

Hijazi adds that he feels empowered by the process: “Often, one is afraid to try something only because it is a new initiative. I think that I have passed that obstacle. It’s not simple to deal with very traditional education systems, but I think we have initiated some change, and we’re even hoping to expand the initiative to other places.”