Abstract:

This non-experimental study examined the attitudes of Israeli Arab high school English teachers towards the implementation of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) integration into teaching literature reform. A questionnaire was created for this study. Both questionnaire creation and analysis of responses to questionnaire items required the development of a category system. The category system was based on the literature review and more specifically on Coburn's (2003) multidimensional conceptualization of reform scale that has four interrelated qualitatively-oriented dimensions: depth, sustainability, spread and shift in reform ownership. Pearson correlations between the dependent variable Attitude towards HOTS Implementation and the independent variables (Teachers' Beliefs, Norms of Social Interaction, Pedagogical Principles, depth, Sustainability & Spread, Shift, and age) were calculated. The findings of the study showed that attitude towards HOTS implementation was statistically significantly positively correlated with Teachers' Beliefs, Norms of Social Interaction, Pedagogical Principles, Depth, Sustainability & Spread, and Shift. Differences by age differentiation was statistically non-significant. In conclusion, reforms that focus on teachers' beliefs, norms of interaction with their students, pedagogical principles and that are supported by district and school administration have better chances to successfully be sustained, spread and achieve the desired results: better education to the students in the classrooms.

Keywords:

Higher Order Thinking Skills, Educational Reforms, Multidimensional Conceptualization of reform scale, Teachers' Beliefs, Norms of Social Interaction.