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Higher Education and Political Attitude Change:  Is Israel the Exception that Proves the Rule ?

Examining the impact of higher education on political attitudes in Israel, particularly focusing on tolerance towards Israeli Arabs and views on the Israeli-Arab conflict. The study investigates the relationship between years of schooling and changes in attitudes, overcoming limited prior research and exploring potential influences. Findings reveal a positive association between education duration and increased tolerance and dovishness, with minimal impact from other factors. Alternative hypotheses are considered, such as differential dropout and social desirability effects.

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Higher Education and Political Attitude Change:  Is Israel the Exception that Proves the Rule ?

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  1. Higher Education and Political Attitude Change: Is Israel the Exception that Proves the Rule? Kenneth D. Wald Danielle Feinstein

  2. Literature • Widely reported finding on liberalization of political attitudes associated with higher education (Newcomb’s Bennington studies) • Generally attributed to peer groups and/or classroom experience

  3. Israel as a Deviant/Hard Case? • “Religion of National Security” long predates adult status • Military service likely to determine views • Almost universal experience • Substantial responsibility • National rite of passage • Hence, low probability of influence during higher education

  4. Remarkably little research • A few studies of military service with very limited impact • Only one study of political attitudes among university students – impact of childhood organizations • Assessing impact of either institution difficult due to selection effects

  5. Method • Survey of Haifa University students using venue sampling methods (n=276) • Screened for military service before and after survey • Compared students in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year of undergraduate and any year of graduate study • Controls for selection effects by holding constant

  6. Dependent Variables • Tolerance toward Israeli Arabs (Palestinian Israelis) • Core issue of tolerance in Israel & cross-national research • Multi-item scale based on Seligson & Caspi with high reliability (alpha = .91) • Attitude to Israeli-Arab Conflict • Key existential issue • Multi-item scale based on Arian with high reliability (alpha = .78)

  7. Model • Key independent variable is years of education • Controls for variables related to both university attendance and attitudes – ethnicity, gender, religiosity, kibbutz, major, age, friendship networks, security orientation • Used OLS model

  8. Key findings • Positive (significant) relationship between years of schooling and both tolerance & dovishness • For both measures, an approximately 1 point increase in tolerance for each year of higher education • Limited influence of controls

  9. Alternative hypotheses • Differential Dropout: More hawkish and intolerant students leave university • Spuriousness: Largely a function of graduate students • Social Desirability: Students learn politically-correct views with more experience

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