An international study of 15 nations including Israel reveals that half of Israeli students do not enjoy attending school. The results are released to coincide with the annual Beersheva Conference taking part on Monday 27 Shevat and Tuesday 28 Shevat. The study was headed by the Haruv Institute http: headed by Prof. Asher Ben-Aryeh. The study involved 3,000 students in 2nd, 4th and 6th graders. 55% of them reported enjoying heading to school but satisfaction drops as the students get older. Most Israeli students are satisfied with their teachers and schools. 70% report their teachers are attentive to their needs.

43.8% report that they have been victimized by school violence at least once, primarily the younger ones. 26.4% of the respondents report being shunned by others.

Regarding student satisfaction, Israel ranks seventh of fifteen nations and 11th out of 15 regarding motivation to attend school.

Regarding after school hours, 80% of students report they feel secure at home and 70% report benefiting from the family surroundings. Two-thirds of respondents speak with family members daily and over 90% report they feel they have most of the physical items they wish and 72.9% of the students feel they have enough friends.

The study shows Israelis are very family oriented. Israeli students rank first in the study in the area of feeling one’s parents are attentive to one’s needs and second regarding a feeling of security at home.

The head of the Council for Child Welfare Dr. Yitzchak Kadmon responds to the report. “There are more than a ray of light regarding the positive aspects of the atmosphere and environment of Israeli children. Nevertheless we may not ignore the group of children who have hardships in their day-to-day lives”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)