PALESTINIAN SOCIETY - Fafo

For men and women there seems to be a slight decline in the belief
in the importance of family background with increasing educational
attainment. However, strikingly, the most educated Palestinian men
and women seem to place much more emphasis on family background
as a determinant of achievement suggesting that they view family
background as very relevant to the position they have acquired.
However, the significance of family can also be understood in a
manner that relates to family as a source of protection and safety rather
than as a basis for ascribed status. The following question attempted
to explore this dimension (table 5.13).
The differences between these tab les is revealing. In relation to
individual achievement, Palestinians seem to stress the critical importance
of the solidity ofkinship bonds far more than the kinship unit as
a transmitter of social status to its members. While family solidarity
is viewed as a key contributor to success, the tables suggest that
success in life is claimed by Palestinians to be more achieved than
ascribed regardless of the actual facts of the matter.
Table 5. 12 What ane achieves in life is mainly dependent on his or herfamily 's social
b k d
ac :Rroun
Men's responses by educational level
Disagree Agree
O 57 39
1-6 59 35
7-9 64 34
10-12 68 30
13 or more 55 45
Total men 62 35
Women's responses by educational level
Don't know Disagree Agree
4 O 60 29
6 1-6 61 36
2 7-9 56 39
2 10-12 74 25
13 or more 59 41
3 Total women 62 33
. .
'F4 a bl e 5 13 O ne s ac h· levements In lifi le d epen d on fi amll·l y sa l"d l artty
Men's responses by educational level Women's responses by educational level
Disagree Agree Don't know Disagree Agree
O 8 91 1 O 10 81
1-6 6 91 4 1-6 8 91
7-9 10 89 1 7-9 6 93
10-12 12 85 3 10-12 12 87
13 or more 14 86 13 or more 8 90
Total men 10 88 2 Total women 9 88
146
Don't know
11
4
4
O
4
Don't know
9
2
2
.5
2
3