The Values-Based Infrastructure of Non-Formal Education: A Case Study of Personal Education in Israeli Schools

Overview & Synopsis

This article explores encounters between formal, informal, and non-formal education and the role of mentor-educators in creating values education in which such encounters take place. Mixed-methods research was conducted in Israeli public schools participating in the Personal Education Model, which combines educational modes. Ethnographic and quantitative analyses reveal the role of informal components in the program. Multidimensional Similarity Structure Analysis indicates informal components form contexts replicating Schwartz's (1992) Human Value Theory. This analysis is a theoretical contribution, revealing the values-based infrastructure underlying the Code of Informality (Kahane, 1997). Further, it is a practical contribution, developing understanding of strategies for values education.