Sub-formalization in East Jerusalem schooling

This paper investigates processes of formalization of education provision in the contested city of Jerusalem, where the governance of education manifests as a political arena for the control and resistance relations between Israeli state and the Palestinian residents of the city. The paper introduces the notion of sub-formalization of education as a mode of formalization that is characterized by a constant deviation from professional and administrative national norms, both in its methods and outcomes, and which usually results in inferior solutions and irregular arrangements of service provision. Thus, sub-formalization represents a steady state of administrative and functional exception which becomes a structural and normalized feature of the entire education system. Furthermore, in the context of ethno-national conflict in Jerusalem, sub-formalization serves as a governmental mechanism that enables the state to deepen its presence and control over adversary urbanity while at the same time continuing acute discrimination against Palestinians.