Fearful symmetry: Palestinian and Jewish teachers confront contested narratives in integrated bilingual education

The present paper deals with Jewish and Palestinian teachers who work in an integrated school in Israel, and shows the challenges and possibilities by examining these teachers' powerful historical narratives in the context of in-service training sessions. It is shown how these teachers essentially remain firmly rooted in the hegemonic historical narratives of their own community, even when their attitudes are challenged and clearer alternatives are considered to the reigning narratives. The findings highlight predominantly the failures, concerning the potential of educational efforts to help overcome situations of intractable conflict, even within contexts specifically devised for this purpose; yet, some openings also become apparent in the process of negotiating competing narratives and inventing new dialogic possibilities. The  paper suggests that schools with their historical tradition are places where it is difficult  to reach change or to produce it—even in integrated schools in which partial structural change takes place—and teacher training may not always be the answer. However, it also indicates that an ongoing agonistics of raising critical issues regarding one's identifications with hegemonic narratives does offer openings to take responsibility for both the challenges and the dialogic possibilities that are created in the process.