JEWISH RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

“Few would disagree that if Catholic schools are to continue to develop quantitatively and qualitatively, changes must be wrought.”     

PERCEPTIONS OF THE PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AMONG RELIGIOUS TEACHER EDUCATION STUDENTS IN ISRAEL

This research examines the purposes of education perceived by teacher education students preparing for a career in Israeli public religious schools. Participants were 164 men and 364 women in their first or final year of teacher education. They responded to questionnaires that explored educational purposes in four ways. Twenty-four students also were interviewed. Major results indicate that: 1) universal and religious purposes of education are considered highly important; 2) men attribute greater importance than women to religious- Torah purposes; 3) academic-intellectual growth is not considered an important educational purpose. Implications of these and other findings are considered for educational policy and practice in public religious schools.     

ENHANCING CHANGE IN PUBLIC AND JEWISH EDUCATION

This article deals with educational change in public education and its implications for Jewish education. It outlines steps taken by a public‐school district in California to enhance student‐achievement test scores. This report sorts the fundamentals of this case, emphasizing the role of evaluation‐driven leadership in bringing about significant changes. Next, it applies these fundamentals to Jewish education, focusing on changes designed to strengthen Jewish identity and Jewish continuity. The article ends with practical implications about training school leaders in evaluation knowledge and skills.     

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND PLURALISM IN ZAMBIA

Today, Zambia has a comparatively unified, somewhat exceptional, approach to religious education despite a wide variety of predominantly Christian denominations. This article retraces the history of the development of religious education from when it was entirely confessional to the present time when it has become largely educational. In so doing it identifies some of the difficulties encountered and some of the problems that lie ahead in promoting an even more religiously pluralistic and educational approach to religious education in a country that has been declared a Christian nation.     

THE JEWISH CHARITIES AND JEWISH EDUCATION

Introduction

The principal of an afternoon religious school is at the hub of the school's activities. It is quite likely that if the principal is performing adequately, then the school is functioning as it should. Therefore, it is imperative that the principal be evaluated on the basis of how well the principal performs assigned duties.