As teacher identity construction is "a complex matter of the social and individual, of discourse and practice, of reification and participation, of similarity and difference, of agency and structure, of fixity and transgression, of the singular and the multiple" (Clarke, 2009), this study explores the connection between the personal and…

When invited to respond to the story of Rosa Parks through describing whether they encountered similar events within their Israeli context, the minority Palestinian-Israeli EFL ninth-grade students in this teacher research narrated stories resonating with Rosa's story. Evident in their narratives were events that left an immense impact on them. A…

Using the empowering tool of PhotoVoice, this study invites a group of Palestinian-Israeli high-school students to document and report problems in their environment to an invited audience of influential figures from their community. In a context where the focus is on teaching linguistic skills and standards detached from students' lives, students…

Situated within the Israeli context and the country's massive investment in the Jewish majority on the expense of the Arab minority, this article describes an English teacher's attempt to address issues of whiteness with a group of four Israeli-Arab ninth-grade students. Using Rosa Parks' story as a springboard for broaching these issues, the…

Conflicts between different religious groups occasionally arise in my Christian and Muslim Israeli-Arab EFL students' school and area. In an attempt to increase students' knowledge of and respect for other faiths in the region, I conducted practitioner inquiry research in my religiously diverse Middle-Eastern classroom. Grounded in critical…

Framed by transactional and critical literacy theories, this teacher-research introduces practical examples of implementing antisexist pedagogy in an EFL Middle Eastern classroom. After a short preview of the gender-biased educational messages abundant in literature and pop culture, the article focuses on students' transaction with "Cinder…

'PhotoVoice' is a participatory documentary photography tool that empowers youth with little money, power, or status by providing them with opportunities to voice their critique and act for enhancing their realities. Grounded in critical literacy theory, this research tool has the potential to raise students' awareness to problematic issues in…

In an attempt to address minority issues with Israeli Arab English-as-a-foreign-language ninth-grade students, I as a teacher researcher introduced picture books on the issue and invited students to respond in different modes, one of which was artistic. In one of the lessons, students created collages to represent their identities. In this…

In a teaching context fraught with conflicts on religious and ethnic backgrounds, I decide as a teacher researcher to address these issues with Israeli-Arab middle school students in my EFL classroom. Picture books on religious diversity and minority issues are used as a springboard for providing spaces for students to discuss these issues orally,…