Introduction

Reducing gaps in education systems has been defined as one of the key issues in global discourse, and even the most important challenge in the coming decade. This discourse intensified even more in the wake of the global crisis of the COVID-19 epidemic that erupted like a storm, reshaping an educational reality around the world. Beyond distance learning in conditions of emergency and social isolation, it has created a new benchmark for teachers in the context of a wide range of skills and required resources, such as access to innovative infrastructures, overnight change in teaching pathways and immediate pedagogical adaptation. All of these undoubtedly highlighted cultural, social and economic gaps between different sectors and classes in the education system and even created new ones, between both students and teachers from different backgrounds (Greenfeld-Jonah, 2013).

In Israel, as in many countries in the world, awareness of multicultural issues in the education system is increasing. According to Reichman (2009), at the beginning of the present century, about one-third of the Jewish population in Israel are natives of other countries who made a return to the historic homeland (immigrated to Israel; in local terms, made Aliya), and another third are second-generation immigrants. Following that, the central vision that stood out in the various education committees was to place increased emphasis and a deliberate effort to integrate the multicultural teaching force who will serve as social-cultural agents, and as mediators of language and educational values. All that in accordance with the spirit of the ‘melting pot’ ideology which aims to educate one Jewish-Israeli joint culture (Baratz & Kalnisky, 2017; Halper, 1987; Ran, 2017). However, Nevo (2016) claims that the attempt to apply such spirit in the education system has not been successful throughout history. Likewise, the deliberate effort to ignore (or minimize an effect of) cultural diversity in social and educational terms did not go well, and the education system perceived itself as unwilling to absorb immigrants from countries that hold a non-Western-progressive culture. An example of this can be seen in Ethiopian origin teachers, who although born in Israel or arrived at an early age, are sometimes considered “foreign” socialization agents and those who cannot represent the dominant Israeli white culture which combines identities of the Middle East and the West (Weininger, 2014).

Admittedly, the attempt to culturally correlate the teaching force with the students of the education system was inconsistent with these aspirations: while immigrants from the other countries have integrated into Israeli schools as teachers, the percentage of Ethiopian origin teachers is inconsistent with Ethiopian community representation in Israel (Brener & Avisher, 2017; Ran, 2017). Other sources (e.g. Ran, 2017) claim that this situation was caused as a result of low expectations in society towards this group of teachers, both at the stage of teacher education and their entering to teaching. In these two stages, they are integrated into dedicated support programs on behalf of the Ministry of Education, which aim to support Ethiopian origin teachers in a variety of aspects and thus ensure optimal integration into the education system. Although, paradoxically, it has been found that these programs often even perpetuate prejudices in society and low expectations for generations (Schatz-Oppenheimer, 2015, 2020). The present study focuses on that unique positioning of Ethiopian origin teachers in Israeli schools, with the aim of examining COVID-19 as an extreme situation in which unique characteristics of minority- majority relations in the education system may be revealed and intensified.

Ethiopian Origin Teachers in Israel

Ethiopian immigration in Israel, which took place by four main waves from 1980 to 1992, is one of the most controversial ones Israel has known (Cohen, 1998). This migration, more than the others, was faced with challenges of de- and re-socialization, which means a disengagement from the norms and cultural codes of the country of origin, and the adoption of the new and local ones (Berry et al., 2006). Thus, in the case of the Ethiopian community in Israel, most of them serve as an example of self-fulfilling prophecy: due to increased discrimination and exclusion in different life systems, they demonstrated an affinity for preserving old cultural patterns (Brenner & Avishar, 2017). Thus, although the last wave of the immigration occurred three decades ago, and most of Ethiopian origins are second-generation Israelis, the image and stereotype of the lower class has remained constant over time, and makes it difficult for social and professional integration. The sense of difference and strangeness of this minority group and their descendants is explained by variant cultural codes, skin color, external appearance and distinct customs (Amit, 2012; Cohen, 2016).

Researchers (Kalnisky & Brenner, 2016) claim that as a result of the gaps in the signs of culture and status, many Israelis of Ethiopian origin report a decline in their sense of self-cultural value and state that they find it difficult to find a way to contribute to Israeli society (Parfitt & Semi, 2013). Thus, in practice, the stereotype of their lowest status in the Israeli-Jewish society that failed to integrate them into professional, sociological and social aspects is preserved. This did not skip the teacher population, which as the largest and most cohesive professional group in Israel serves as the mirror, the ‘microcosm’ of socialization processes in this multicultural society. These processes have taken a sharp turn in light of the outbreak of the state of the COVID-19 epidemic, and have thrown a lot at the pedagogical and educational abilities of teachers from minority groups. In this article, I will review the implications of educational reforms that occurred due to the COVID-19 epidemic on pedagogical expectations among Ethiopian origin teachers, and the impact of these expectations on Ethiopian origin teachers’ self-expectations. In other words, I will examine the Pygmalion effect in the shadow of COVID-19 in the context of Ethiopian origin teachers in Israeli schools, in an effort to contribute to the understanding of minority-majority relations that sometimes tend to intensify during a global educational crisis.

Challenges in Integrating Ethiopian Origin Teachers in Israeli Schools

Brenner and Avishar (2017) attribute a supreme importance to the integration of Ethiopian origin teachers into the Israeli education system. The main factor stems from the need for correcting an ongoing tradition of under-representation of the Ethiopian community in the education system as a teaching force and the breaking of the initial challenge of “flag bearers”. Weiner-Levy (2006) defines this term as the lack of harnessing and commitment of a minority group to a particular process due to the lack of a role model. In the case of Ethiopian origin teachers, the challenge stems from the lack of pioneering and the visible justification to embark on teacher education acquisition processes, to integrate into key positions and to serve the education system. The main victims of the situation are children and adolescents of Ethiopian origin who are not exposed to role models and inspirations for building self-confidence and a better class future.

Apart from the initial challenge, researchers (Schatz-Oppenheimer & Kalnisky, 2014) noted that integration of Ethiopian origin teachers into the education system packs quite a few difficulties with regard to their starting point, which differs in the light of economic, social and cultural gaps. Others (Mehert et al., 2018; Schatz-Oppenheimer, 2015; Weininger, 2014) claim that during their professional encounter with peer teachers, school administrators, students and their parents, they often perceive themselves as having reduced value, due to a social expectation of educators to meet high standards of “educational language” in terms of oral and written ability, educational leadership, social engagement, and the ability to take initiatives. Another prominent area in this regard is difficulty in the field of technology skills which are requested in this era even more than in the past, due to the COVID-19 crisis that has disrupted schools and required teachers to create a sharp transition from traditional classroom teaching to online lessons (UNESCO, 2020). This reality has further sharpened the need for the implementation of the usual “educational language”: flexibility in methods of teaching and education, entrepreneurship and creativity, mastery of online teaching in both technological and methodological aspects and implementing communication skills. Thus, according to educational experts (Dahan et al., 2020), the COVID-19 crisis has exposed class gaps in the ethnic, social and cultural aspects of Israel, even expanding it on a daily basis. Admittedly, while most of the discourse around the implications of socioeconomic disparities in the shadow of COVID-19 mostly focuses on students in schools and higher education, a relative minority of the material deals with the not-so-simple struggles of teachers during this period with an emphasis on cultural and professional diversity. This study attempts to help close this lacuna.

Methodology

Sample and Sampling

This qualitative study included seven early careers Ethiopian origin teachers teaching in three elementary religious schools throughout Jerusalem. The sample was selected according to cross-referencing among the main criteria: seniority in school (1–5 years) and the level of technological skills of online teaching (medium and above). Choosing these criteria is intended, firstly, to allow the interviewees to examine their position as teachers over a period of time, relative to COVID-19, and secondly, to rule out another interpretation of the findings, such as the variety in pedagogical-technological skills.

Research Process

The qualitative-narrative approach was conducted in Hebrew through semi-structured interviews, during which interviewees were asked about their feelings and emotions as it was in the past, before the outbreak of COVID19 viz. the lockdown of education system and the distance learning routine. The interview was constructed in five parts: (1) the biographical section and the demographic data; (2) questions about unique characteristics of their work routine before and during the COVID-19; (3) questions about feelings and emotions that accompanied Ethiopian origin teachers during these two periods, emphasizing interaction with school principals, colleagues and students. The interviews lasted an average of 30 min. Adhering to the ethical principles of educational research (AERA, 2004), interviewees were assured of complete privacy and anonymity. The interviewees signed for the interview recording knowing that their quotes would be used for writing and publishing future research papers.

The Data Analysis

The interview and analysis procedure was deductive: the aim was to glean information and examples in the context of Ethiopian origin teachers in the shadow of COVID-19 and to create a theoretical framework that interprets these experiences. This research approach, known in the literature as ‘grounded theory’, with the aim of coming up with an up-to-date and innovative theory following the collection of qualitative data in unique contexts. This is in contrast to more traditional research processes, which are based on inquiring into the use of existing models and theories in innovative contexts.

Accordingly, data analysis began by identifying issues that emerged from the narrative data as dominant and recurring in different interviews. In the second stage, a quote and example for each prominent theme was chosen. In this case, the themes touched on the interviewees’ feelings and interpretation of school reality in the shadow of COVID-19 and their attitudes, expectations and prejudices towards them. In the final stage, a theory that reflects findings obtained was adapted to the specific context in which the study was conducted and was used for the purpose of discussing the findings of this chapter. In the current case, a theoretical framework that has been found to be appropriate for these findings was the “Pygmalion effect theory,” which emphasized the impacts of pedagogical expectations and prejudices.

Findings and Discussion

The new reality created in the education system due to the onslaught of the COVID-19 epidemic required a shift from frontal to online learning from educators and their students. According to Burgess and Sievertsen (2020), reality has greatly influenced the widening of gaps and the creation of new ones, between those accustomed to traditional teaching and assessment methods and those open to innovation and entrepreneurship. According to Kidd (2020), among the factors influencing the gaps among teachers – a changing teaching culture, the ability (or inability) of flexibility-accessibility (that appears in the academic-educational literature in the field of COVID-19 by the innovative concept of “agility”), the uniqueness of the character of certain professions, characteristics of the students Additional sources (Dvir & Schatz-Oppenheimer, 2020) also pointed to possible gaps in teachers’ ability to adapt to this crisis situation due to age, ethnic culture or organizational culture in the school where they teach.

Against these claims, the present study pointed to emotional challenges that outweigh the technological ones, among Ethiopian origin teachers. Interviewees argued that the difficulty was created due to a reduced sense of value, low self-esteem and a sense that the environment’s expectations towards the mentioned abilities were significantly lower relative to their majority peers. Evidence also emerged that argued for the latent tensions between them as representatives of a minority group of teachers, the majority culture (the students) and organizational culture (i.e., peers and principals in the school). These cultures were reflected in the students’ and principals’ high expectations from the pedagogical staff to catch up with gaps in the field of professional development, teamwork, other soft skills and technologies within a limited time and at short notice. To the sense of the interviewed teachers, they felt excluded from these cultures and had to face low expectations directed towards them and the Pygmalion effect that created a self-fulfilling prophecy when the prevailing expectations affected performance.

Yuan (2019) brought up the positive influences of “Pygmalion effect theory” which conceived first at 1964, believing that the level of motivation of the individual depends directly on the expectation conveyed to him or her in overt and covert ways, both from the educational environment, and the work environment. According to the study, a good application of the expectation effect has great inspiration for promoting an individual’s development. Alongside this, White and Locke (2000) present the negative consequences of the Pygmalion effect, and present a number of limitations of its application in different settings. In the context of this study, the findings revealed aspects that produced the Pygmalion effect under the influence of prejudices of students, principals and pedagogical staff.

Tension Between Majority and Minority Cultures

H. (an elementary school teacher and Bible teacher), talked about her role of combining professional teaching with classroom education:

As I am both a professional teacher and an educator accustomed to the simple and traditional teaching aids, I had the same difficulty as many other teachers switching to remote teaching and implementing these two roles using Zoom. For me, I have not taught a distance lesson so far and have seen a challenge despite the stress and frustration. Although I have seen that students do not expect me to be good at such teaching. I have seen that some take it in the absence of seriousness. Many of them “overlap”, do not join to the zoom meetings or do not open cameras in the hope that I will not find out. Some of them did not take care of homework and assignments. From conversations with the other teachers, it seems that with them it is different and the participation and commitment of the students is high. I felt that the decrease in their motivation was related to lower expectations of me in the technological field because in the past these things did not happen, the students were attentive to me. For some reason their low motivation also affected my motivation to be interesting in zoom classes.

It can be seen in this testimony, which was typical of other testimonies that H. attributes to herself the disdainful behaviors of students in the Zoom learning and she interprets this as proof of their low pedagogical expectations toward her. This interpretation influences her expectations of herself and creates the perpetuation of the situation.

Tension Between Organizational and Minority Cultures

According to the interviewees, the prejudices and low expectations were expressed by the colleagues and the school management regarding the ability of the teachers to assimilate innovative technological environments and develop professionally. D. (an elementary school teacher) talked about the organizational culture of the school where she worked in everything related to expectations and requirements towards the teaching staff, and they were different from the expectations towards her.

It was important for the school management to provide an assessment of the success of distance learning. They looked mainly at the ways to manage a Zoom lesson, the content of the lessons, and creativity and maintaining personal contact with the students. But I have not seen them refer to the lessons I teach and what I do. The feeling was that they were trying to skip me. I think it is important to see the investment as well, and some obstacles we went through to get to distance learning and it did not happen. To say it did not hurt me? It actually did.

T., an elementary school teacher, shared this testimony.

The school asked for a report on the amount of lessons, each teacher had to report what lessons s/he gave and also share the recordings of the lessons. I was not asked and did not understand the reason. When I asked, the coordinator replied: if you have and recorded, send. It felt strange and I felt that the expectations from me are actually low during Corona, which didn’t help my motivation to strive and show involvement.

So far one can see the voices of distress and insult that indicate a tension between the organizational cultures of the school, the ways of assessment practiced in the COVID-19 period, and the Ethiopian origin teachers’ low status in this situation. According to the interviewee, this even hurt her desire to persevere and show involvement, thus creating the aforementioned Pygmalion effect.

Conclusions and Implications

The evidence heard in the study indicated tensions between the interviewees as representing a minority group in the teaching staff, and the majority and organizational cultures of the school in which they teach. The interviewees testified that the pedagogical expectations were low compared to the other teachers, which is reflected in a variety of overt and covert situations. This study sheds light on three cornerstones that underlie Ethiopian origin teachers’ coping, which are influenced by pedagogical expectations, prejudices and the skills of ‘agility’, that is the new term refering to the teachers’ skills of flexibity and available adoption of new technological practices in a significant but pragmatic way (Kidd, 2020). In practice, the study reveals the concept of “teacher expectations” with the reference of skills of “agility” (Kidd, 2020). Theoretically the study contributes to the discourse about widening gaps in the lens of the Pygmalion effect and prejudices toward minorities in the education system. The study redefines the impact of pedagogical expectations and prejudices in the context of minority and majority relations and in the shadow of COVID-19 in the education system. A combination of these two terms is reflected in a variety of recent studies, and it appears to be a major factor in determining a teacher’s professional success. For example, Turner et al. (2015) found a relationship between teachers’ expectations of students and the ethnicity of both. Also, my previous study (Gutman, 2019) pointed to the “Pygmalion effect” formulated following principals ‘expectations towards new teacher educators. The present study adds to these findings the voices of a group of minority teachers who testified to frustration following low pedagogical expectations placed on them by principals and students in the context of pedagogical abilities required in the COVID-19 period.

These findings are consistent with previous studies showing that the period of lockdown and the COVID-19 epidemic revolutionized the definition of the teacher role (Huber & Chem, 2020; Reimers & Schleicher, 2020; Schleicher, 2020), and the importance of agility as an ability to quickly adaptat to changing circumstances (Kidd & Murray, 2020; Nissim & Simon, 2020). According to them, the COVID-19 period that befell the education system is emerging in academic discourse as an extreme situation that puts to the test a wide range of professional, emotional, technological, adaptive, personal and interpersonal abilities of teachers and educators. The present study shows that this test does not miss the skills of multiculturalism and relationship between minority and majority among teachers. Interviewees in this study indicated, first, low expectations of the majority group in relation to their ability to effect a change in their role definition and daily functioning. Second, the interviewees testified to the Pygmalion effect that intensified during this period due to the special nature of daily routine in the education system.

This chapter presents a limited pilot study with the aim to explore the challenges of Ethiopian origin teachers during COVID-19, on the one hand, and expands the discourse on society’s expectations of minority teachers in times of crisis in the education system. Cultural gaps, which widened during COVID-19, now occupy a prominent place in the academic and professional discourse surrounding teacher training and teacher work during COVID-19.

Despite the great specificity of the case and the context in which relationships between minority and majority groups were examined, it is difficult to ignore the applicability of the insights that emerge from these narratives. Recognizing the great difference between the educational and cultural circumstances and contexts in institutions where minority teachers integrate, it is extremely important to follow new phenomena that are created against the background of the systemic, security and social crises and to examine how each group interprets them. In the theoretical aspect, this study sets a precedent for future discourse on social expectations towards minority education teams, both in an overall view and in crisis situations in the education system. I hope that this paper makes a modest contribution to this discourse.