Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education
The program aims to improve the quality of teacher education in Israel by developing a cadre of leading senior faculty members in universities and colleges.
Program FormatOne day every two weeks
DurationOne and a half years
In the wake of the turbulence that has swept through Israel in recent years, education has a critical role to play in the country’s social and economic future. Yet, like many other countries, Israel's education system is grappling with a range of pressing challenges: a severe shortage of teachers; deepening social polarization, manifested in segregated public education streams; the need to adapt learning to the digital age; and persistent disparities in opportunities and outcomes across different regions and population groups. Improving teacher education and ensuring high-quality teaching across the education system has therefore become a matter of national importance.
The Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education was established to meet this urgent need. The program operates in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Council for Higher Education and the presidents of Israel’s academic colleges of education.
Program fellows hold senior positions in teacher education at Israel’s universities and leading colleges, including department heads and directors of academic programs.
The current program format accepts pairs of fellows from the same university or college so that each pair can collaborate and lead change processes at their respective institutions, thereby amplifying the program’s impact.
Course of Studies
The program aims to create a diverse cadre of academic leaders within Israel's teacher education institutions, who together will develop a rich body of theoretical and applied knowledge to advance the field. These leaders also design and implement innovative projects in teacher education.
Program participants engage in in-depth study and research of teaching methodologies in Israel and abroad, both in theory and in practice. They also design and lead practical interventions and change processes within their home institutions, with ongoing support from program staff and expert consultants. In this manner, the program seeks to bring about systemic change in teacher education and, ultimately, to improve educational outcomes for all students.
Impact in the Field
To date, program fellows have spearheaded around 30 change initiatives across 20 universities and colleges throughout Israel. Impressively, 70% of these initiatives have continued to thrive after the fellows have completed their participation in the program. Program graduates hold influential positions in academic institutions, where they leverage the knowledge and experience gained during the program to improve teacher education. Notable examples include:
Expanding the responsibility of the State for early childhood education: One program graduate, now serving as the director of the Israeli Institute for Early Childhood Education at Oranim Academic College of Education, is playing a leading role at the Ministry of Education in the groundbreaking effort to expand the State’s responsibility for public education to include ages 0–3.
Promoting multicultural discourse: Two program graduates, faculty members at the Levinsky Wingate Academic College, are leading a comprehensive initiative to introduce language and tools that foster multicultural dialogue among all lecturers and students at the College.
Promoting critical thinking: A program graduate, the vice president of the Arab Academic College of Education in Haifa, is actively promoting critical thinking skills among teaching students within Arab society.
About the Institute
The Mandel Leadership Institute believes that vision-driven leadership, grounded in a broad and deeply rooted worldview, has the potential to contribute greatly to the flourishing of Israeli society, inspired by the values of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Our fellows are people with proven leadership experience from the fields of education, culture, and society, from the public sector and civil society, from the IDF and the Haredi community, and from all regions and communities in Israel. Graduates of the Institute hold key positions in Israeli society and work to advance a just, inclusive, compassionate and democratic Israel.