Silence of the Absent: Dropout Youths in the Ultra-Orthodox Community in Israel

Background and Purpose

Dropping out of formal education is a widespread, complex, and alarming phenomenon worldwide, often referred to as a "silent epidemic." Dropping out may challenge the formation of adolescents’ identity and cause psychological distress. A population particularly vulnerable to dropping out is that of ultra-Orthodox students in Israel, whose drop-out rate is considerably higher (2.5%) than in regular education (0.9%) (2021). The ultra-Orthodox form a closed religious minority group. They behave as an “enclave culture,” ideologically different from the Israeli environment, oppose the state and its institutions, and often question the legitimacy of the law and the legal system. Studying closed communities is a challenge because they resist exposure and are difficult to reach. Boys who drop out are often afraid to express their "other" individual voice in a hierarchical society that sanctifies the community. This qualitative study aims to promote social change by making the silenced voice of dropouts in ultra-Orthodox society heard by parents, community, professionals, and policy makers.

Method

Through contacts in the ultra-Orthodox community, we recruited 45 young adults who retroactively described dropping out of educational institutions, via semi-structured in-depth interview. We asked them about their adolescence experiences in their school, homes, and communities. We conducted interpretive phenomenological analysis of the interviews, focusing on descriptions of experiences and the meanings that dropouts attributed to them.

Results

Data analysis revealed a central theme of identity search and confusion among all interviewees, which is typical to the status of moratorium where youths who experience an identity crisis, are in conflict between a desire to rebel and a need for guidance. Two distinct profiles of going through the Moratorium were found: (a) boys (n = 30) who question their social-educational-religious belonging as a result of academic or social incompatibility: "It’s not because of ideals that I didn’t find myself, but simply there’s a mismatch. Hassidism has a certain pace, and I found myself not going at the same pace, so I found myself out". (b) boys (n = 15) who experienced double marginalization: facing difficulties regarding their social-educational belonging, exacerbated by originating from families that recently joined the ultra-Orthodox society: "Trying to be more than God Himself... The newly religious are trying to cling to them and be much more than them... because at first, they’re not accepted... Breaks many youths to smithereens."

Conclusions and Implications

Analysis of the interviews suggests that the dropout process interferes with identity formation of adolescence. The interviewees raised questions of faith challenging the truths they have learned. Our findings illustrate the world of marginalized boys in closed religious societies and help create collaborative knowledge for the empowerment of these youths.