At UCLA, a week of ‘building peace through education’

The 24 educators from the Middle East arrived at UCLA with two objectives: to share their experience building school communities where students can thrive amid turmoil, and to immerse themselves in the innovative centers of learning that Los Angeles has to offer.

The delegation came from the Amal Educational Network, which enrolls 30,000 students representing Jewish, Muslim, Druze, Christian and Bedouin communities across Israel. The network prioritizes academic excellence in settings that build personal resilience, civic responsibility and democratic values that bridge cultural divides.

"These schools are building peace through education. And so far, the data show it is working, even during war," said Ron Avi Astor, professor of social welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, who has a joint appointment with the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies (SEIS). Astor organized the May 31-June 7 educational exchange in partnership with Mona Khoury, professor and vice president of strategy and diversity at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Karen Tal, superintendent and CEO of the Amal network.

A long-term research project led by Astor and Khoury is measuring the impact of the network's 50 middle and high schools, and how its model can be scaled up across the Middle East. These case studies highlight Amal's holistic curriculum weaving core academic subjects together with the arts, cutting-edge technology and volunteerism. It's a formula that brings students of different backgrounds together more effectively than one-off cultural events or dialogues, the researchers found.

The visiting principals and professionals came from the Jewish, Muslim and Druze communities, but their schools represent the rich diversity of cultures across Israel. They shared challenges and success stories that held lessons not just for schools in conflict zones but for any campus seeking to create a stable and supportive climate free of violence, bullying and bias.

One case study focused on a remarkable partnership between two schools: Achva Gilboa, which is largely Arab Muslim, and Emek Harod, which serves students from Arab Muslim and Christian communities, secular and Orthodox Jewish traditions, and kibbutzim.

The schools host joint classes that bring students and teachers together on robotics projects, 3D printing and hackathons, and a documentary filmmaking option offers students the opportunity to express feelings of identity and belonging. Problem-solving with the most sophisticated technological tools draws students together, no matter what their backgrounds are, the educators said.

Amal schools also address polarization within cultural groups. Different Palestinian Muslim communities have distinct traditions, for example, and at Achva Gilboa, hundreds of grandmothers have come to campus to speak about their values and rituals. Students are now visiting the villages they learned about through their elders.

Technology and science education are prized at Amal schools, and the delegation's itinerary included several treks to hubs of innovation including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Getty Center, UCLA Lab School and Milken Community School.

In keeping with UCLA's commitment to expand its global reach, the exchange invited leaders from schools across Southern California, as well as from groups including Holocaust Museum LA, Jewish Federation Los Angeles and the Holy Land Democracy Project, to join scholars and students in the cross-border dialogue.

Added Amal Falah, an administrator at an Amal school serving the Druze community, "We arrived as visitors and leave as partners in a shared mission: shaping a better future through education."

"This was a transformative week," Astor said as the exchange wrapped up. "These educators got to know each other as professionals, friends and partners in using their academic settings to educate the next generation toward peace rather than polarization, demonization and hate."

The educational exchange grew out of research by Astor and Khoury into the cultural context of school safety - scholarship that has taken them around the world, to Asia, Africa, Europe, the Mideast and the Americas.

The current research project by UCLA, Hebrew University and Amal is powerful, Khoury said. "The principals are doing the hard work. We are highlighting how they got to where they are and where they go in the future, for others to learn from."

The research is supported by the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, which also sponsored the UCLA educational research exchange along with Gary Jacobs, trustee of the Rose and James Meltzer Trust, UCLA Luskin, UCLA SEIS and an anonymous donor.