A new survey conducted this week by the ISEF Foundation among the Israeli youth reveals that about 47% of youth believe that the reason why it is important to study for an academic degree is for the purpose of acquiring a profession and getting a better position in adulthood. In addition, about 25% of the respondents believe that this will enable them to earn more money and receive a higher salary and about 26% believe that the reason is to be an educated person and expand horizons and general knowledge and only about 2% believe that this will allow them to find a better relationship.
These and other data come from a survey conducted by the Geocartography Institute for the ISeF Foundation, which has been working for 43 years to reduce disparities in education and develop social and academic leadership among outstanding young people from the periphery. The survey was conducted among 300 respondents, teenagers, Internet surfers aged 13-18, who constitute a representative sample of this population in the State of Israel (Jews and Arabs), and examined the attitudes of teenagers about the reasons why they think it is important to study for an academic degree.
"Recent studies confirm that even today there is a direct relationship between a person's level of education and the level of income and chances of being employed. Minority groups suffer from acute gaps in labor market integration and wage levels, and these gaps are even more severe among uneducated workers." Says Tomer Samarkandi, CEO of ISEF. "For example, according to CBS data, the salary of an ultra-Orthodox man without an academic degree is on average 56% lower than the salary of an ultra-Orthodox man with an academic degree. It was important for us to examine the perceptions of the youth on this subject precisely towards the beginning of the school year, since there is a direct connection between the education budget and the ability to be accepted for academic studies in the future. This is a long-term investment - every shekel currently invested in a child in the education system will bear a double and triple dividend when that child reaches adulthood, and every shekel currently cut from the education budget for at-risk youth or academic reinforcement for struggling students will go to the state coffers in the future. . At the same time, we will witness a deterioration in the achievement of eligibility for matriculation, which will prevent the continuation of academic studies and the upgrading of the labor force in the economy. "