Constitutive Document: Professional Advisory Committee on Language and Literacy

April 2006 1. Background

The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities seeks to improve educational achievement in Israel via its Initiative for Applied Research in Education (henceforth: the Initiative). The Initiative was formed to promote evidence-based research aimed at helping decisionmakers in education, from teachers to policymakers. It is a joint venture of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Ministry of Education, and the Rothschild Foundation (Yad Hanadiv). The working assumption of the Initiative is that only empirical (i.e., data- and evidencebased) research, multidisciplinary in its intellectual resources, is appropriate to this objective and commensurate with the requisite academic standards. The Initiative holds ongoing consultations with the Director General of the Ministry of Education, senior Ministry officials, and the director of the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education (known by its Hebrew acronym, RAMA) in order to find out about decision-making junctures at which carefully reviewed findings might facilitate judicious action. In these consultations, as well as in conversations with Israeli scholars and foreign experts, the Initiative has been asked for assistance in several areas. Some of these fit into the broad category of language and literacy, a key area for educational achievement. Cognizant of the complexity of the issue, of evolving research in various disciplines, and of the numerous practical and research questions involved, the Initiatives Steering Committee has formed a professional advisory committee on language and literacy. The first such committee to be established by the Initiatives Steering Committee, it consists of a small group of scholars and practitioners representing various fields of knowledge and expertise and reflecting a variety of professional approaches. Over time, this committee should provide the basis for a sustainable intellectual resource on the topic of language and literacy. The general aims of the Professional Advisory Committee on Language and Literacy are as follows: to develop a broad understanding of the goals, options, and challenges of the educational system with respect to language and literacy, and to become familiar with diverse activities and important studies underway in the field; to create a base for knowledge and understanding of the real and the ideal in language and literacy, from the point of view both of research geared to understanding and improving the field and of educational practice in Israel and abroad; to advise the Initiative regarding the needs of decision-makers, so as to help it be attentive and responsive to policymakers and teachers and so as to promote the implementation of research findings, lessons learned from diverse experiences, and recommendations derived from research and experience; to identify opportunities and difficulties by amassing, critiquing, and organizing relevant, useful information;

to identify and propose ways of giving Israel a comparative edge, based on the countrys unique research capabilities and amassed experience; to spearhead professional and public debate aimed at benefiting society in general and the educational system in particular.

The committee members expertise and professional abilities will be pooled to create a fabric of knowledge and insight to be used in developing guidance and recommendations for the Initiative on topics such as new research and research trends, educational interventions and educational policy from which Israels system would do well to learn, and priorities for action. The Initiative will consider favorably the recommendations of the Professional Advisory Committee, with a view to promoting judicious, effective action and to facilitating the work of those involved in it. Various methods are available to the Professional Advisory Committee: convening educational conferences, organizing meetings of researchers and educators, commissioning professional scientific surveys on specific topics, critiquing the surveys and making them accessible to the public, consulting with Israeli and foreign experts, recommending the formation of committees of experts, formulating research questions and recruiting scholars and academic apparatuses, recommending the creation of databases and research infrastructure, and so onwhatever its members suggest. 2. Guidelines for the Professional Advisory Committee

In conversations with senior officials in the Ministry of Education and RAMA, it emerged that the most pressing need in the area of language and literacy is for knowledge-based recommendations concerning reading comprehension in Arabic for native speakers and in Hebrew both for native speakers and as a second language. The initial issues raised include: in Arabic, the transition from the language spoken at home to the language of literacy in school; in both Hebrew and Arabic, definition of what is meant by reading comprehension and of what may be expected of pupils (preschool to 12th grade) and high school graduates, relative to what is expected of adults in Israel and of pupils in countries relevant for comparison; Knowledge and gaps in knowledge regarding ways of bringing pupils up to the desired level during their years in the educational system. to carry out a preliminary mapping of the questions important to decision-makers (from policymakers to teachers), and to indicate for which of them research is likely to help provide answers; to carry out a preliminary mapping of the research fields in which current advances in knowledge may help decision-makers, and to propose ways of locating good examples of how that knowledge can be utilized; to propose a scale of priorities for research and development of capability in these areas, distinguishing between questions best approached by gathering and screening existing information and making it available to decision-makers (by means of committees of experts in Israel), and those that require new experiments/interventions; and in the latter case, to decide how best to further such experiments/interventions;

The committees initial tasks are:

to draft critical research questions aimed at bridging the gap between decision-makers questions and the areas in which research is being carried out. to outline a plan of action and guidelines for further development and critiquing of knowledge, for the benefit of decision-makers.

By Hanukkah (December) 2006, the committee will submit a brief memorandum outlining a plan of action. The Initiative and the committee will decide together how and when to bring the plan and the rationale behind it to the knowledge of the interested parties. Prof. Ruth Berman, a linguist at Tel Aviv University, has agreed to chair the committee. The committee members include distinguished scholars in the field of language and in other fields, and additional experts whose knowledge and experience may help the committee achieve its aims. Gradually, as the needs become clearer, the committee may co-opt new membersboth researchers and experienced, knowledgeable practitioners. A list of the initial committee members (as of April 2006) appears at the end of this document. 3. The First Meeting

As the preparations for establishing the committee go forward, and with the consent of its chairperson, the Education Ministry will be asked to prepare an overview of the state of reading comprehension among Israeli pupils as reflected in the data in its possession, including professional and critical mappings of programs and of pupils achievements in Hebrew and Arabic. At the first committee meeting, the chairperson will briefly present a frame of reference, central concepts, and issues in the general field of language and literacy, so as to create the basis for a common language among the committees members and point the way for the path it is to take. Further information about the members of the Professional Advisory Committee.