The Center for the Advancement of Shared Society
Grounded in a leadership which views education as a vehicle for social justice, coupled with diversity on our campus and a central geographic location adjoining Arab and Jewish communities, Beit Berl College established The Center for the Advancement of Shared Society to change the way Israeli teachers see our society and teach our children.
With each teacher touching more than a thousand children in their career, educators are a key and influential catalyst for creating a more tolerant and respectful society. Every year, our Faculty of Education graduates approximately 1,000 new teachers into the field, and provides professional development throughout their careers through our ‘Porsim Kanaf’ and ‘Keshet Continuing Education’ units. Today, almost one of every five educators in the Israeli public secular Jewish and Arab school systems is a Beit Berl College graduate.
The Center for the Advancement for Shared Society has set out to utilize the diversity on the Beit Berl College campus as a resource to change the lives and perspectives of our students so they in turn bring about change in thousands of classrooms throughout the country. Combining academic coursework with the on-campus experience, we help our students see and experience Israel as a shared society and bring this understanding to the pupils they teach. Developing new knowledge and experience in pre-service teacher training and the creation of a genuinely shared multi-cultural campus, we intend to replicate and scale up our cross-cultural competencies with other academic institutions in Israel and abroad.
Dr. Wurud Jayusi, Director of The Center for the Advancement of Shared Society
“The relationship among the diverse groups in Israel is murky, accompanied by a lot of hate and stereotypes. The real encounter among the young people from the diverse groups begins in the academia. That’s why we must create a real shared society in campuses because it is the key to creating a collaborative, democratic and equitable society”
Education is an optimistic occupation because there is hope to create a better future. Our students will go onto become educators and teach thousands of pupils, creating a better reality. It’s important to educate students that differences and diversity are a precious resource to be used for the benefit and betterment of a society. That is why I took upon myself the role of co-Director of the Center for Shared Society: to educate for equal citizenship, mutual responsibility and the celebration of cultural diversity.”
Wurud Jayusi teaches planning & assessment for learning , her main study interests are peace education, multicultural/multiethnic education, and minority-majority relations in the education system. Her work has been published in various academic journals and presented at local and international conferences.
For more information on The Center for the Advancement of Shared Society, please contact the Center Director: Dr. Wurud Jayusi at wurud.jayusi@beitberl.ac.il