The Blavatnik School of Government welcomed former Israeli Education Minister Yuli Tamir last month for a special masterclass on implementing social reform.
Professor Tamir brought in sweeping changes to the national education system during her time as Education Minister in Israel from 2006 to 2009. She recounted her experiences to MPP students and faculty, explaining how she balanced the competing interests of many different parties to see the reforms through to completion. ‘Everyone wants reform,’ she said, but ‘nobody wants to change.
Professor Tamir began her reforms by asking ‘What does improved schooling really mean?’ As the reforms developed, much of the plan revolved around teachers and their professionalisation. In essence, Professor Tamir asked teachers to do more hours for more pay, as well as complete degrees. In exchange, they were given financial support and leave time to study, pay rises for completing 60-80 hours of yearly training and extra pay for a certain amount of overtime worked. They were also given training in small group interaction.
She emphasised that social reform is impossible without the support of workers on the ground – a strong warning against top-down imposition. In her case, that meant working closely with the teachers’ unions to develop her reform plan. ‘In order to create change, you need to create trust,’ she explained. She cautioned that managing others’ expectations and opinions can be difficult, ‘especially when their ideas are expensive.
MPP student Clara Smith found the lecture both helpful and insightful: ‘Yuli Tamir delivered a terrific lecture on how she tackled public education challenges in Israel. I was particularly inspired by the way she was able to drive change in the Israeli education system; it was an immense pleasure to have her at the School.
Professor Yael (Yuli Tamir) is President of Shenkar College. She was Minister of Education in the Israeli government from 2006-2009 and Minister for Migrant Absorption from 1999-2001. She has also served as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, and on the Education, Finance and Foreign Affairs committees. The author of Liberal-Nationalism and numerous articles, she was a founding member of the Israeli ‘Peace Now’ movement.
