Education policy in culturally diverse countries: the case of ultra-Orthodox schools in Israel

Societies in many democratic states are characterised by cultural diversity, with a dominant secular society; yet religion is still a significant factor in their social integration. Diversity is translated to different needs, sometimes posing a challenge to design an equitable school finance policy, since the aspiration to achieve equity often clashes with the notion of choice. This paper explores the challenge of financing education in culturally diverse countries. The challenge lies in reducing the clash between two conflicting values: the freedom of choice and equity. Using a quantitative methodology, we analysed the data of the financial resources allocated by the central government to primary schools in Israel from 2014 until 2018. Our findings revealed a low and decreasing level of equity and a high and increasing level of equality in the central government allocation to ultra-Orthodox schools, compared with other public primary schools. These implications might also apply to other countries characterised by ethno-cultural diversity. Our research highlights the need, as well as provides a framework and a method for evaluating other educational systems, especially those with a culturally adapted education program, to examine their school finance policy, thereby improving their ability to provide equity for all students.