Bible studies are one of the foundations of Israeli education. Nevertheless, this content area has been neglected for many years and it is now bordering on crisis. Passive learning style and classroom discussions that lead to predetermined conclusions are prevalent in Bible classes in both elementary and high schools. In this article, we present…

This study explores what teachers need to collaboratively create student-centered, project-based learning (PBL) curriculum for learners in a congregational school. Participatory action research methods including GLA/GLU (group-level assessment/group-level understanding) were used to inform the outcomes of this study. Analysis of the data suggests…

This article offers a detailed study of one child's relationships to Israel from kindergarten (2012-2013 academic year) through 7th grade (2019-2020 academic year). By tracing Avigail over the course of eight years, I argue that children do not develop "a relationship" with Israel but rather many different relationships over time. Using…

This study set out to design and implement an approach to Tanakh education that would help students become expert decoders of the Biblical Hebrew text as they became expert interpreters of it. The goal, following existing, research-based best instructional practices from literacy, was to create a curriculum in which language skills and meaning…

In response to current tensions around U.S. immigration policies and the expression of diverse religious identities, the author presents a case study in which a university art museum engaged local children and adults to share images and stories of their experience as practitioners of five of the world's major religions. These contemporary, local…

Schools in Western cultures, including Israel, have been transformed from closed to open systems. This change is especially important to the principal's role and leadership style. This article seeks to investigate the cultural-religious differences in Israeli Jewish principals' leadership styles. Data were collected from 1,859 teachers, 34% from…

Jewish overnight summer camp has been touted as an especially well-suited venue for Israel education. This article brings an institutional lens to test this proposition. Data come from the survey responses of 1,382 campers, CITs, and staff at 12 overnight and day camps. We find that Israel education does indeed occur almost anywhere at camp. At…

For Jewish education, digital badges can provide an alternative to traditional assessments. However, the emerging research on badges suggests a complex relationship between learning opportunities, the learner, and the design of the badge. An investigation of a digital badge system at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish middle and high school for girls…

This study explores how structured reflective practice by teachers in a Reform congregational school contributes to relational growth and the development of an inquiry stance in teaching. Analysis of teachers' responses to weekly prompts about their classroom experiences reveals three prominent themes: classroom management as inquiry, the tension…

This article is a contribution to the discussion of learning processes in religious education (RE) classrooms. Sociocultural theories of learning, understood here as tool-mediated processes, are used in an analysis of three RE classroom conversations. The analysis focuses on the language tools that are used in conversations; how the tools mediate;…

This article deals with a recurrent situation in congregational schools, in which parents lobby for a reduction in the number of days per week of instruction. Following two similar studies by Joseph Reimer, the article utilizes the theoretical construct of a "social drama" as a frame for the recounting and analysis of a recent occurrence…

This series of articles explores the history of Jewish Education magazine, later known as the Journal of Jewish Education, with a particular emphasis on its intersection with the history of American Jewish education and, more generally, American Jewish life. Major themes and issues that preoccupied the magazine's editors and writers are isolated…

In this series of articles, I explore the history of "Jewish Education" magazine with particular emphasis on its intersection with the history of American Jewish education and American Jewish life more generally. I isolate major themes and issues that preoccupied the magazine's editors and writers, and analyze how their discourse sheds light on…