This book presents a comprehensive evaluation study of elementary education in Israel. The study concentrates on Jewish schools, but some data are presented from parallel studies in Arab schools. A notable feature of the study is its unusually large scope both in size and content. It sampled nearly ten percent of Jewish schools and fifteen percent of Arab schools. The content includes a variety of areas: cultural origins, home conditions and socialization patterns of pupils, conditions and practices in schools, teachers' and principals' backgrounds and their attitudes toward central issues in education, pupil's personality characteristics and motivation related to school experience, their learning abilities and achievements in five major school subjects. Special emphasis is given to the disadvantaged pupils and an examination of the problem of equality of educational opportunity.
