Samira Alayan
Biographic Data
| ID | 939243 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Samira Alayan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Samira |
| FAMILY NAME | Alayan |
| SIGNATURE | ALAYAN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Textbooks as tools of power: Israeli censorship and Palestinian curriculum in East Jerusalem
Between Colonialism and Patriarchy: The Role of Agency Among Palestinian Women in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
Departing from the literature examining female agency within the developing world, this paper analyzes the specific exercise of agency for women within a colonial context, more specifically, the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation. In understanding this unique context, we observe the role of female agency not only within the traditional gender roles but also through the logic of opposition to colonial structures restricting their exi…
The new Palestinian textbooks: A strategy for national identity and self‐determination
As part of an effort to establish a national identity within the education sector, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) revised its 2018/2019 textbooks. This study seeks to understand the motivation behind the revisions, focusing on how the new content depict ‘the self’ and ‘the other’. Through our analysis, it was discovered that the textbooks should be seen as an extension of the Palestinian struggle for nation‐building and self‐determinati…
The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East: Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula
Education systems and textbooks in selected countries of the Middle East are increasingly the subject of debate. This volume presents and analyzes the major trends as well as the scope and the limits of education reform initiatives undertaken in recent years. In curricula and teaching materials, representations of the “Self” and the “Other” offer insights into the contemporary dynamics of identity politics. By building on a network of scholars wo…
Religious symbolism and politics: Hijab and resistance in Palestine
The covering of Muslim women has become a topic of contention on a global level. Relying on in-depth interviews in the Palestinian territories, our study illustrates the motivation to wear hijab under a colonial context and compares the justifications women give for wearing the hijab under two different types of political subjugation. Palestinian Muslim women in both the West Bank and East Jerusalem, frequently provided political justification fo…
Multiple Alterities
Education in East Jerusalem: Occupation, Political Power, and Struggle
Education in East Jerusalem gives a voice to the residents of East Jerusalem, addressing educational issues and revealing implicit layers in Israeli policy and attitude affecting the education system. In this close examination of school life under occupation, the book presents criticism of the system from within, and calls for teachers to prioritize pupils’ needs. Uncovering a complex daily reality experienced in schools by principals, teachers a…
White pages: Israeli censorship of Palestinian textbooks in East Jerusalem
This study examined History textbooks taught in East Jerusalem. The political context of East Jerusalem and its education system manifests a continuous power struggle between the Palestinian National Authority and Israeli authorities, in this case, the Israeli Ministry of Education. Through analyzing the textbooks, this study speaks of the power dynamics and systems of political control manifested through the Israeli censorship. The aim of this p…
The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East: Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula
Education systems and textbooks in selected countries of the Middle East are increasingly the subject of debate. This volume presents and analyzes the major trends as well as the scope and the limits of education reform initiatives undertaken in recent years. In curricula and teaching materials, representations of the “Self” and the “Other” offer insights into the contemporary dynamics of identity politics. By building on a network of scholars wo…
Arab Education in Israel: Lessons From Positive Learning Experiences of Palestinian-Israelis
This empirical study investigates positive learning experiences of 250 Palestinian-Israeli high school graduates who were formerly pupils in Israeli Arab schools. It addresses how they perceived and now describe such experiences in a questionnaire. The study inquires as to what characterizes these positive learning experiences and under which conditions they occurred. The research reveals, using a qualitative analysis of the questionnaire respons…
Gender and Agency in History, Civics, and National Education Textbooks of Jordan and Palestine
This article analyzes history, civics, and national education textbooks used between grades seven to twelve of the Palestinian and Jordanian school systems from a gender perspective. It focuses on the ways in which men and women are presented within the context of the prevalent culture, which portrays men as the more superior, capable, creative, productive, and therefore dominant, and women as weaker, inferior, dominated, and thus unable to play …
The cultural inertia of the habitus: Gendered narrations of agency amongst educated female Palestinians in Israel
Key experiences are short and intense instructional episodes that students remember to have had a decisive effect on their lives and are usually equated with a sense of self‐direction and empowerment. This study analyzes gender differences in the narrations of key educational experiences of Palestinian Israeli students—an educated segment in Israeli‐Palestinian society. The results suggest that while female Palestinians in Israeli academic progra…
Paralysis at the Top of a Roaring Volcano: Israel and the Schooling of Palestinians in East Jerusalem
Arab Education in Israel: Lessons From Positive Learning Experiences of Palestinian-Israelis
This empirical study investigates positive learning experiences of 250 Palestinian-Israeli high school graduates who were formerly pupils in Israeli Arab schools. It addresses how they perceived and now describe such experiences in a questionnaire. The study inquires as to what characterizes these positive learning experiences and under which conditions they occurred. The research reveals, using a qualitative analysis of the questionnaire respons…
The new Palestinian textbooks: A strategy for national identity and self‐determination
As part of an effort to establish a national identity within the education sector, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) revised its 2018/2019 textbooks. This study seeks to understand the motivation behind the revisions, focusing on how the new content depict ‘the self’ and ‘the other’. Through our analysis, it was discovered that the textbooks should be seen as an extension of the Palestinian struggle for nation‐building and self‐determinati…
White pages: Israeli censorship of Palestinian textbooks in East Jerusalem
This study examined History textbooks taught in East Jerusalem. The political context of East Jerusalem and its education system manifests a continuous power struggle between the Palestinian National Authority and Israeli authorities, in this case, the Israeli Ministry of Education. Through analyzing the textbooks, this study speaks of the power dynamics and systems of political control manifested through the Israeli censorship. The aim of this p…
The cultural inertia of the habitus: Gendered narrations of agency amongst educated female Palestinians in Israel
Key experiences are short and intense instructional episodes that students remember to have had a decisive effect on their lives and are usually equated with a sense of self‐direction and empowerment. This study analyzes gender differences in the narrations of key educational experiences of Palestinian Israeli students—an educated segment in Israeli‐Palestinian society. The results suggest that while female Palestinians in Israeli academic progra…
Paralysis at the Top of a Roaring Volcano: Israel and the Schooling of Palestinians in East Jerusalem
Gender and Agency in History, Civics, and National Education Textbooks of Jordan and Palestine
This article analyzes history, civics, and national education textbooks used between grades seven to twelve of the Palestinian and Jordanian school systems from a gender perspective. It focuses on the ways in which men and women are presented within the context of the prevalent culture, which portrays men as the more superior, capable, creative, productive, and therefore dominant, and women as weaker, inferior, dominated, and thus unable to play …
The cultural inertia of the habitus: Gendered narrations of agency amongst educated female Palestinians in Israel
Key experiences are short and intense instructional episodes that students remember to have had a decisive effect on their lives and are usually equated with a sense of self‐direction and empowerment. This study analyzes gender differences in the narrations of key educational experiences of Palestinian Israeli students—an educated segment in Israeli‐Palestinian society. The results suggest that while female Palestinians in Israeli academic progra…
The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East: Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula
Education systems and textbooks in selected countries of the Middle East are increasingly the subject of debate. This volume presents and analyzes the major trends as well as the scope and the limits of education reform initiatives undertaken in recent years. In curricula and teaching materials, representations of the “Self” and the “Other” offer insights into the contemporary dynamics of identity politics. By building on a network of scholars wo…
Arab Education in Israel: Lessons From Positive Learning Experiences of Palestinian-Israelis
This empirical study investigates positive learning experiences of 250 Palestinian-Israeli high school graduates who were formerly pupils in Israeli Arab schools. It addresses how they perceived and now describe such experiences in a questionnaire. The study inquires as to what characterizes these positive learning experiences and under which conditions they occurred. The research reveals, using a qualitative analysis of the questionnaire respons…
White pages: Israeli censorship of Palestinian textbooks in East Jerusalem
This study examined History textbooks taught in East Jerusalem. The political context of East Jerusalem and its education system manifests a continuous power struggle between the Palestinian National Authority and Israeli authorities, in this case, the Israeli Ministry of Education. Through analyzing the textbooks, this study speaks of the power dynamics and systems of political control manifested through the Israeli censorship. The aim of this p…
Multiple Alterities
Education in East Jerusalem: Occupation, Political Power, and Struggle
Education in East Jerusalem gives a voice to the residents of East Jerusalem, addressing educational issues and revealing implicit layers in Israeli policy and attitude affecting the education system. In this close examination of school life under occupation, the book presents criticism of the system from within, and calls for teachers to prioritize pupils’ needs. Uncovering a complex daily reality experienced in schools by principals, teachers a…
Religious symbolism and politics: Hijab and resistance in Palestine
The covering of Muslim women has become a topic of contention on a global level. Relying on in-depth interviews in the Palestinian territories, our study illustrates the motivation to wear hijab under a colonial context and compares the justifications women give for wearing the hijab under two different types of political subjugation. Palestinian Muslim women in both the West Bank and East Jerusalem, frequently provided political justification fo…
The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East: Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula
Education systems and textbooks in selected countries of the Middle East are increasingly the subject of debate. This volume presents and analyzes the major trends as well as the scope and the limits of education reform initiatives undertaken in recent years. In curricula and teaching materials, representations of the “Self” and the “Other” offer insights into the contemporary dynamics of identity politics. By building on a network of scholars wo…
The new Palestinian textbooks: A strategy for national identity and self‐determination
As part of an effort to establish a national identity within the education sector, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) revised its 2018/2019 textbooks. This study seeks to understand the motivation behind the revisions, focusing on how the new content depict ‘the self’ and ‘the other’. Through our analysis, it was discovered that the textbooks should be seen as an extension of the Palestinian struggle for nation‐building and self‐determinati…
Between Colonialism and Patriarchy: The Role of Agency Among Palestinian Women in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
Departing from the literature examining female agency within the developing world, this paper analyzes the specific exercise of agency for women within a colonial context, more specifically, the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation. In understanding this unique context, we observe the role of female agency not only within the traditional gender roles but also through the logic of opposition to colonial structures restricting their exi…
Textbooks as tools of power: Israeli censorship and Palestinian curriculum in East Jerusalem
Political science (11 works) · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies (10 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Law (8 works) · History (6 works) · Palestine (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · Social science (6 works) · Ancient history (4 works) · Gender Studies (4 works)