Authoritarianism, Ethnic Affiliation, Level of Religiosity, and Authority-Exercising Styles of Educational Instructors in Juvenile Correctional Institutions

This study investigated authoritarian personality, ethnicity, and religiosity as predictors of educational instructors’ authority-exercising style in disciplinary encounters in juvenile correctional institutions. Participants were all 320 educational instructors from all 56 juvenile correctional institutions in Israel. Research findings indicated that educational instructors with a high level of authoritarianism responded with more power assertion and withdrawal during disciplinary encounters, whereas instructors with a low level of authoritarianism responded with induction during these events. In addition, ethnicity and level of religiosity predicted exercising of authority. Arab as well as Jewish religious instructors were more inclined to respond with power assertion during disciplinary encounters. The present study attempts to interconnect personality and environmental and behavioral characteristics and calls for follow-up research on educational instructors’ behaviors in juvenile correctional institutions.