Integrating Arab Young Adults in STEM Education and High Quality Employment

There is a significant gap between the Arab and Jewish societies in Israel with regard to average household income, stemming mostly from barriers to human capital acquisition which lead to disparities in educational attainment and skill levels. Encouraging excellence in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has the potential to significantly improve the chances of Arab young adults for successful integration into higher education in fields with high earning potential, thus enhancing the integration of Arab young adults in Israel’s society and economy. The goal of this study is to map and identify the barriers which young adults in Israel’s Arab society face in the course of their life, from high school completion through their integration into higher education in STEM fields, during the course of their studies, up until their high-quality integration in employment.
This study comprises two parts. The empirical part consists of an analysis of administrative data compiled by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which enable tracking the course of life of each individual. The administrative data are annual individual data of the entire Israeli population (panel data), which include demographic information, education system data, tertiary education (vocational and academic), and employment and income data. The qualitative part includes an extensive review of literature from around the world concerning the struggles and difficulties experienced by minority groups in secondary and tertiary education; interviews with officials in academia and in civic organizations dealing with integration of graduates with academic degrees into employment – the barriers and challenges encountered by Arab students and graduates in STEM fields during their studies, and in their integration into employment upon graduation; and feedback from participants in the roundtable discussion where the study findings were presented.