Yael Fisher (; born 1953) is an associate professor at Achva Academic College in Israel. From 2016 to February 2019, she served as the college rector.
Biography Her father, Itzhak Avni, was born in Berlin, Germany, and immigrated to Israel with the Youth Aliya in 1933, immediately after the Nazi regime came to power. He became the CEO of the Israel Coins and Medals Corp and the Vice-CEO of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.The passing of Itzhak Avni, the CEO of the Israel Medals Corp, Ma'ariv, August 13, 1979, p.15. (Hebrew).
Her maternal grandfather was the artist and painter Meir Gur-Aryeh. Her mother, Jerusalem-born Leah Avni, the sixth generation of native Israelis in her family, was a chief nurse at the Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital.Ofra Elyagon, "The Second Temple" on Mount Scopus, Ma'ariv, April 14, 1976, p. 28. (Hebrew).
Fisher was born and raised in Rehavia, Jerusalem, in a family of three girls and a boy.Memorial page for Eitan (Tani) Avni. (Hebrew). She attended the Hebrew Rehavia Gymnasium (graduated 1971). She was part of the Israeli team that won the 100X4 relay race at the Eighth Maccabiah, held in Israel in 1969. She was the Jerusalem champion in Floor and Artistic Gymnastics 1970. During her mandatory IDF service, she was a social services officer in the Sinai Peninsula, and later transferred to Training Command and was honorably discharged at the rank of first lieutenant.
After her military service, she completed the first year of studies as part of the first class to attend Ben-Gurion University's School of Medicine. Between 1975 and 1978, she studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and has a B.MUS in Dance. She attained MA (1989–1991) and PhD (1995–1998) degrees in Education Administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her thesis and doctorate dealt with parental involvement in education. Her doctoral advisors were Professor Haim Adler and Professor Itzhak Friedman. Between 1982 and 1989, she founded and ran a dance school as part of the Gderot regional council.
Between 1990–1996, she founded and ran the Study Center for Gifted, Science- and Arts-loving Youth at the Achva College of Education. In 1996, she was the first Academic Secretary of Achva when the college became an accredited academic institution. Between 1997 and 1999, she managed the Michigan/Israel Bureau and was the Community and Aliyah (immigration to Israel) Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, MI., USJulie Wiener (September 26, 1997). "Sent from Israel, Ya'el Waxman Jumps In Where Jeff Kaye Left Off." Jewish News."Yael Waxman new envoy." Jewish News. (September 1, 1997). After returning to Israel, she went back to teach at Achva and at the same time developed and ran an experimental course for training school principals, at the Henrietta Szold Institute in Jerusalem.Fisher, Y. (2001). "Selecting Candidates to Attend an Experimental Course for Training School Principals 200/2001. The Process and Structure of the Selection Workshop." Jerusalem, Henrietta Szold Institute–National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (Hebrew).Fisher, Y. (2002). "An Experimental Course for Training School Principals 2000/2001. Summary Report." Jerusalem, Henrietta Szold Institute–National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (Hebrew).
In 2002, she participated in developing an M.Ed. program in educational administration at Achva Academic College, the first college in Israel to offer a postgraduate program in the field of educational administration. During this period, she also advised local authorities and governmental organizations on the issue of minimizing the digital divide.Fisher, Y., & Ya'akov, A. (2003). "Minimizing the Digital Divide in Israel—Lehava Project Research Report." Jerusalem, Henrietta Szold Institute–National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (Hebrew).Fisher, Y. & Jacob, O. (2006). "Measuring Internet Usage: The Israeli Case." International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 64 (10): 984–997. In 2007, she developed the program combining an M.Ed. degree in education and principal training accreditation; titled "School Leadership" (a Ministry of Education pilot program) and headed it until 2009.
In 2004–2005, she headed the Institute for Online Education at Achva Academic College, and between 2005–2010, she headed the Program for School Principal Training at the college. In 2010, she received from the college president the "President's Award" of the highest honor for maintaining teaching excellence over a prolonged period. From 2012 to 2016, she founded and headed the School for Advanced Degrees at Achva, while the School of Education gained the necessary accreditation to be united with the Academic College under the auspices of the Council for Higher Education in Israel and the Planning and Budgeting Committee. In 2016, with Professor Friedman, she developed the thesis track for the M.Ed. program in Educational Administration at Achva Academic College, the sole program in this field in Israel to offer a thesis track. She also advised local authorities on matters of education.Fisher, Y. (2001). "Focusing on Community Needs—A Proposal for Improving the Education System in the City of Modi'in. A Research Report." Jerusalem, Henrietta Szold Institute–National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (Hebrew).Fisher, Y. (2002). " Survey of Needs and Satisfaction Levels. A Research Report." Jerusalem, Henrietta Szold Institute–National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (Hebrew).
In 2000, she was awarded a tenured position at Achva Academic College of Education; in 2003, she was promoted to senior lecturer; in 2018, she was granted the degree of associate professor."Approved Appointments/Ranks" on the Website of the Council for Higher Education (Hebrew).
In 2016, she was appointed rector of Achva Academic College. In February 2019, she resigned to protest a falsified data submitted by the college president, Professor Shosh Arad, and her staff to the Council of Higher Education and actions that violated the council's regulations.Kadri-Ovadia, Shira. (2019). "Achva College Submitted Falsified Data to the Council of Higher Education to Attain Certification for a Study Program." Ha'aretz, February 14, 2019. (Hebrew).
Since 2003, she has been a board member of the FTA-Facet Theory Association, serving as the association's secretary-treasurer in 2010–2013. Since 2006, she has volunteered as a guest lecturer in the IDF "Ofakim" program", initiated by Professor Efrat Kass. Between 2007–2010, she served as the educational advisor to the Minister for Minorities, Avishay Braverman.
During the last five years, she won two significant research grants from the Ministry of Education, and she is researching together with her two colleagues, Prof. Orna Shatz Oppenheimer and Dr. Rinat Arviv-Elyashiv, the unique programs for teacher training in Israel.Fisher, Y., & Shatz-Oppenhiemer, O., & Alyashiv-Arviv, R. (2022). "Kivun Hadash" - Finding New Teachers and Training them for the Education System. Ministry of Education and MOFET Institute. (Hebrew).
Fisher is remarried to Dr. Rafi Fisher, a dentist. She has two daughters and resides in Ramat Aviv.
Research Parental involvement in education Fisher's first research efforts, starting with her doctoral dissertation, dealt with parental involvement in education in Israel. She introduced to the field the concepts of identification and alertness.Friedman, Y., & Fisher, I. (2002)." Identification and Alertness: Foundations of Parental Involvement in Schools." Studies in Educational Administration and Organization, 26: 6–33. (Hebrew).Friedman, I., & Fisher, Y. (2003). "Parents and Schools: Attitudes and Degrees of Involvement." Jerusalem, Henrietta Szold Institute–National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (Hebrew).Friedman, I., & Fisher, Y. (2009). Parents and Schools: Reciprocal Relationships and Involvement." Dapim, 47: 11–40. (Hebrew). Her book "There is Another Way" deals with parental involvementFisher, Y. (2010). There is another way: Three Success Stories. Tel Aviv, MOFET Institute. (Hebrew). and presents the first attestations of successful parental involvement in schools. The book demonstrates how the theoretical models can be converted into a practical work plan that matches the needs of each school. Following the book's publication, she had many opportunities. She delivered frequent lectures to audiences of school principals and educational staff and was invited to advise local authorities on the subject.
Furthermore, she defined the term "parental involvement" according to facet theory"Facet Theory" in the Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer. and thus created a two-dimensional approach that includes the viewpoint of all partners: parents, teachers, students, and policymakers.Fisher, Y. (2011). "Parental involvement." In Y. Fisher & I.A. Friedman (Eds.). New Horizons for Facet Theory: Interdisciplinary Collaboration Searching for Structure in Content Spaces and Measurement (pp. 145–153). FTA publication. Tel Aviv, Israel. She developed several research tools to investigate perceptions of parental involvement.Fisher, Y. (2009). "Parental Involvement: Implementing a theory." US-China Education Review, 6 (11): 33–45 She edited a book about facet theory with Professor FriedmanFisher, Y., & Friedman A.I (Eds.) (2011). New Horizons for Facet Theory: Interdisciplinary Collaboration Searching for Structure in Content Spaces and Measurement. Tel Aviv: FTA Publication. (279 pages). and another on the subject with Professor Paul Hackett.Fisher, Y., & Hackett, P. (Eds.) (2019). Advances in Facet Theory Research: Developments in Theory and Application and Competing Approaches. Lausanne, Switzerland: Frontiers in Psychology.
In addition, she led a joint study with her colleagues in the USA that compared the perception of parental involvement among teacher-education college students.Fisher, Y., FitzGerald, A.M., & Olson, A. (2021). What do teacher-education college students know about parental involvement: A comparative study between the U.S. and Israel. Education and Urban Society, 1-17. doi.org/10.1177/00131245211026685. (Q1). Fisher also revealed connections between parental involvement and other concepts, such as teacher authority and community.
School excellence Alongside her research into parental involvement, Fisher has researched the subject of school excellence. She developed a theoretical model for school excellence that was tested and applied in educational institutes. The statistical analysis was based on Professor Louis Gutman's facet theory, which she developed and adapted to the field of education with the help of Prof. Friedman.Fisher, Y., & Friedman, I. (2003). "A Pyramid Model of Organizational Management: Feedback-based Management." Issues in Educational Management and Organization, 27: 153–175. (Hebrew).Fisher, Y. & Friedman, A.I. (2008). "The Pyramid Model of Management Organization and Schools." Quality & Quantity, 42: 645–664
The theoretical pyramid model led her to research school excellence by creating success stories, which she has written about along with Dr. Revital Hayman in the book "The Road to Excellence: Schools' Success Stories."Fisher, Y. & Hayman, R. (2008). "The Road to Excellence—The Stories of Excellent Schools." Jerusalem, Henrietta Szold Institute–National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences. (Hebrew). Fisher wrote an article focusing on the attributes contributing to school excellence.Fisher, Y. (2012). "School Quality: Learning through the Success of Others." Education, 2 (5): 160–173.