THE RATIONALE FOR JEWISH EDUCATION AS EXPRESSED IN THE JEWISH EDUCATION MAGAZINE — 1929–1955

Questioning-asking has not only long been seen as a central component of Jewish educational practice but has also been thought to be part of a broader culture of Judaism. In this article, we apply cognitive-developmental theories to advance the discussion of the use of questioning in Jewish education. Such theories allow Jewish educators to more fully understand the function of questioning and to appreciate affective elements involved in the context of question-asking. Further, these theories connect question-asking with issues of identity development. Recommendations are made for Jewish educational practice, including an example of a cognitive-developmentally based questioning strategy applied to a biblical text.     

THE ACCREDITATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES∗

In view of the interest which certain countries have expressed in developing accreditation systems for higher education based on the American model, the author lists nine attributes which he considers critical to the success of this model. As the success of the American model depends very much on certain fundamental characteristics of American higher education, they should be adapted with very great care in different contexts. Indeed, even in the United States, traditionally held views of what accreditation represents and how it should be conducted are being increasingly challenged. The feeling is that normal accreditation procedures have neglected consideration of such matters as the quality and the results of education programmes, student attrition rates, the default rate on student loans, and similar matters of great concern to the public. The author proposes a series of reforms so as to address these criticisms and to develop a reformed accreditation model.

     

THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF EDUCATION,RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY−THE ISRAELI EXPERIENCE

This article examines the multidimensionality of education, research, and training in gerontology through a discussion of the significance and implications of developments in this area based on the Israeli scene. The discussion focuses on the issue of whether gerontology is an academic discipline based on the development of specialized knowledge, along with education and training, in a distinct academic framework, or whether it constitutes part of professional training in a variety of academic fields. The article begins with a presentation of milestones in the development of gerontology in Israel, focusing mainly on social gerontology. It then offers a definition of an academic discipline and of a profession and distinguishes between them by examining the development of curricula in the field of aging in two contexts: social work studies, on the one hand, and specialization in gerontology toward a Master's degree in this area at Haifa and Ben-Gurion Universities, on the other. A model is presented that examines the mutuality among the evolutions in technology, demography, and information, and their significance in the development of standards in education, training, and the dissemination of gerontological knowledge.     

THE ‘NEW LEARNING’ IN ADULT JEWISH EDUCATION

The period between Passover and Shavuot has been dramatic from time immemorial, because it signifies the Exodus from Egypt — physical rescue — and culminates with the stand at Mount Sinai — the attainment of spiritual nationhood. Modern Jewish history has added an unprecedented tone of tragedy and drama, which is symbolized by Yom Hashoah and Yom Haatzmaut. The March of the Living to the Sites of Struggle and Extermination and to the Land of Life and Promise, took place during that two week period, April 18th – May 4th, 1990.     

THE SURVIVORS,THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW COMMUNITY AND A SYSTEM OF ZIONIST EDUCATION IN GERMANY 1945–1950

I — Reminiscences Deuteronomy 32:7

Back in 1925, upon graduation from the Teachers Institute of Yeshiva University, I started my career as teacher in the first and oldest Talmud Torah in the United States, the Machzikey TT on East Broadway in Manhattan. I recall with pleasure how boys and girls spent ten hours a week in Jewish studies: giving the 12-13 year olds intensive instruction in Torah, Neviim, Mishnah, Hebrew Grammar, Hebrew Literature and Yiddish. For many years the Machzikey TT had a school enrollment of one thousand students and more. When the '30s came and the enrollment fell considerably, it became necessary to consolidate the school with the National Hebrew School, especially when the Downtown TT closed it doors.     

THE SOCIAL PATTERN OF THE LENGTH OF FULL‐TIME EDUCATION IN ESSEX

Based on the work of Barron (1966) and Hudson (1966), the hypothesis is set up that science pupils are more obsessional than arts pupils. This is confirmed on a substantial sample of sixth‐formers. However, it also appears that the possession of obsessional traits is a hindrance to performance in the sciences. The educational implications of these findings are discussed.     

CITIZENSHIP AND EDUCATION IN THE NETHERLANDS BOTTOM‐UP TRADITIONS

The author states that, taking into account historical changes and variations, citizenship in the Netherlands mainly developed as a bottom‐up affair. She stresses the structural conditions (geographical: an early and high degree of urbanization, the co‐operative regulation of the waterlevel; social and political: limited forms of a central political authority, a multiplied religious map, pillarization; economic: a highly developed merchant capitalism and a late emergence of industrial capitalism) and points at the special contribution of the Dutch educational system to these processes: the operation along local (urban) lines; the early decline of the relevance of the grammar school (from the sixteenth century on); a curriculum for higher and lower social strata set up from a relatively congruent utilitarian point of view; and a structural transformation of the school system in the late eighteenth, early nineteenth century, starting at the level of elementary education and not just (as in Germany and France) in secondary or tertiary institutions.     

CITIZENSHIP,EDUCATION AND THE NATION‐STATE. THE INCLUSIVENESS OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE NETHERLANDS

The aim of the author is to estimate the heuristic value of Meyer's (et al., 1985) social theory on citizenship, education and the nation‐state, in relation to F. Ringer's three dimensions of educational systems (i.e. ‘inclusiveness’, ‘segmentation’, and ‘progressiveness'). Rupp's thesis is that the inclusiveness and expansion of educational systems is related to the processes of the formation of nation‐state and citizenship institutions; their progressiveness and segmentation, however, to other socio‐political developments. It is suggested that national differences correspond to differences in centralized or decentralized polities.     

CATHOLICS IN THE REA, 1903–1953

This article describes the involvement of Roman Catholics in the Religious Education Association during the first 50 years of its existence. It examines attitudes of Protestants toward Catholics expressed in journal articles, convention speeches, and archival material. It presents the contributions of Roman Catholics at conventions and in journal articles during this period. The article contends that Roman Catholics deepened involvement in the REA went a long way to making the association a multifaith organization. The history also documents changes in Roman Catholic viewpoints and emphases over the period of these 50 years from an exclusive concern with schooling to a broader view of the educational mission of the church and from education in an authoritarian and dogmatic spirit to one slightly more open to outside influences and cautiously willing to cooperate with other religious groups.     

THE UNIVERSITY PASTORATE MOVEMENT∗

Building on the author's experience in leadership development in Roman Catholic parishes and recent work in the field of congregational studies, this essay examines the religious educator's role as a catalyst in the transformation of the culture of the local church. As an alternative to an instructional/schooling approach to religious education, the paper proposes a model of congregational education directed specifically to the transformation of the corporate life of the faith community by its members working together to reshape concrete behaviors, structures, and roles in order to carry out the church's mission and ministry.

This argument is developed through a discussion of foundational assumptions about the significance of congregational life for the church's educational mission and a brief case study illustrating central dynamics in the process of congregational education. The paper concludes with observations about the range of skills required of congregational educators, especially their ability to understand and evaluate the complex dynamics of congregational life in a disciplined way.     

STATE POLICIES ON RELIGIOUS AND MORAL EDUCATION IN INDIA, 1765–1858

Our research concerns the genealogy of the modern peda‐gogical evaluation of the family. This study examines the place and significance of the family in Rousseau's writings. Following a brief review of the current Rousseau literature, resulting in a retrieval of the notion of pre‐Romanticism, a re‐interpretation of the two great pedagogical novels is presented, on the basis of the “Discourse” on inequality and the “Social Contract”. Rousseau touched on all the themes of the modern evaluation of the family as educational environment, without himself arriving at a coherent theory of family education. The reasons for this are discussed.

"Es ist eine Beschwerde vor den Verstand Geschmack zu haben. Ich muß den Rousseau so lange lesen bis mich die Schönheit der Ausdrucke gar nicht mehr stört und dann kann ich allererst ihn mit Vernunft untersuchen. “ (Kant)

     

RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OF STUDIES AND QUALIFICATIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION∗

The text reproduced below is that of an official Recommendation of the General Conference of UNESCO regarding the worldwide international recognition of higher education studies and qualifications. It suggests steps that the Member States should take to harmonize their policies with regard to mobility in higher education and the mutual recognition of diplomas, degrees, periods of study, and professional qualifications and practice. Evoking the six existing UNESCO Regional Conventions on the recognition of studies and qualifications in higher education, this Recommendation serves as a step toward the eventual creation and ratification of a Universal Convention on the recognition of studies and qualifications in higher education.

     

THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF CHURCH LEADERSHIP IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION FROM THE SUNDAY‐SCHOOL VIEWPOINT

Dorothy Day's love of the poor originated from reading novels that portrayed the poor as persons worthy of respect. This article explores how Day's reading novels opened her mind and heart to the realities of poverty. The methodology is literature-based. Dorothy Day's autobiography reveals the novelists who captivated her mind and cultivated a religious heart: Charles Dickens, Upton Sinclair, Jack London, and the Russian authors Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy. As a journalist and writer, Day described how the poor struggled to survive and how love is needed to counter the challenges that poverty presents. Finally, two novels by authors favored by Day will serve as examples for educating young adults religiously and encouraging love for the poor.