Early Childhood Jewish Education: Multicultural, Gender, and Constructivist Perspectives

by Sigal Achituv (Editor), Meir Muller (Editor), Shelley T. Alexander (Editor), Hanan Alexander (Editor)

Overview

Early Childhood Jewish Education explores some of the fundamental questions of early childhood Jewish education in today's societal, moral, and educational debates. The book examines the challenges of transmitting Jewish heritage using developmentally appropriate pedagogy in the context of modern democratic society through the lenses of multiculturalism, gender awareness, and constructivism.

Researchers from Israel and the United States consider some of the core Jewish foundational subjects, including teaching the Bible, holidays and ceremonies, Hebrew, Jewish literature, and spirituality, as well as leadership issues in relation to these contemporary debates. The book represents the ongoing collaboration of leading researchers from Israel and the United States who have worked together since 2010 as the International Research Group on Jewish Education in the Early Years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350227026
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/22/2024
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sigal Achituv is Senior Lecturer and Director of the Early Childhood Education Graduate Program at Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel. She is a research fellow at The Center for Jewish and Democratic Education, University of Haifa, Israel.

Meir Muller is Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina, USA, and is cofounder of the Cutler Jewish Day School.

Shelley T. Alexander is Project Coordinator and Research Fellow for Early childhood at The Center for Jewish and Democratic Education, University of Haifa, Israel, and was Director of Early Childhood Services at the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay, Oakland, California, in the United States.


Hanan A. Alexander is Professor of Philosophy of Education at the University of Haifa, Israel where he was Dean of the Faculty of Education and Head of the Center for Jewish and Democratic Education. He is currently Visiting Professor in the Graduate School of Education and Koret Visiting Professor of Israel Studies at the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Table of Contents

Foreword, Hanan A. Alexander (University of Haifa, Israel)
Introduction, Sigal Achituv (Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel), Meir Muller (University of South Carolina, USA), and Shelley T. Alexander (University of Haifa, Israel)
Part I: Setting the Scene
1. The History and Current Status of Early Childhood Jewish Education in Israel, David L. Brody (Efrata College of Education, Israel), Shira Ackerman Simchovitch (TALI Education Fund, Israel), and Shulamit Hoshen Manzura (Efrata Academic College, Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel)
2. Early Childhood Jewish Education in the United States, Ilene Vogelstein (Retired Director of Beth El Baltimore Early Childhood Programs, USA), Roberta Louis Goodman (Consultant, USA), and Shelley T. Alexander (University of Haifa, Israel)
3. The Current State of Research and Writing about Early Childhood Jewish Education, David L. Brody (Efrata College of Education, Israel) and Howard Deitcher (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
Part II: Three Contemporary Critical Lenses
4. Constructivism in Early Childhood Jewish Education, Meir Muller (University of South Carolina, USA), Sigal Achituv (Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel), and Chaya Gorsetman (Stern College, Israel)
5. From the Melting Pot, to the Salad Bowl, to the Seder Plate: Moving Beyond Multiculturalism in Early Childhood Jewish Education, Ilana Dvorin Friedman (Erikson Institute, USA) and Meir Muller (University of South Carolina, USA)
6. Educating toward Gender Awareness, Feminism, and Cultural Sensitivity in Early Childhood Jewish Education Teacher Preparation, Sharon Kaplan-Berkley (Efrata Academic College of Education, Israel) and Haggith Gor Ziv (Kibbutzim College of Education, Israel)
Part III: Core Jewish Subjects through the Three Contemporary Critical Lenses
7. Teaching the Bible in Early Childhood Jewish Education, Sigal Achituv (Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel)
8. Strengthening Jewish-Israeli Identity and Promoting a Common Cultural Canon through Children's Literature: The Experience of Sifriyat Pijama, Sylvia Kamowitz-Hareven (Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Israel)
9. Holidays and Ceremonies in Israeli Early Childhood Jewish Education, Shulamit Hoshen Manzura (Efrata Academic College, Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel)
10. Language-Conducive Strategies in Young Learners' Constructivist Hebrew Classrooms, Margalit Kavenstock (Educational Solutions, Israel) and Mila Schwartz (Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel)
11. Enhancing Spiritual Awareness and Development in Early Childhood Jewish Settings, Michael Shire (Hebrew College, USA) and Deborah Schein (Champlain College, USA)
Part IV: Continuing the Work
12. Leadership in Early Childhood Jewish Education in the United States, Lyndall Miller (JECELI at the William Davidson School of JTSA, USA)
Glossary of Hebrew Terms
Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

This volume is a very welcome addition to the bookcase for students and researchers of Jewish Early Years Education. It addresses the lack of published material for those interested in scholarship in this growing field.” —Helena Miller, Director of Degrees and teacher training programmes, the London School of Jewish Studies, UK

From the Publisher