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

Description

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. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents Figures Tables Foreword Introduction: Capturing a Mosaic of the Field Part One Setting the Scene 1 The History and Current Status of Early Childhood Jewish Education in Israel (David L. Brody, Shira Ackerman Simchovi 2 Early Childhood Jewish Education in the United States (Ilene Vogelstein, Roberta Louis Goodman, and Shelley T. Al 3 The Current State of Research and Writing about Early Childhood Jewish Education (David L. Brody and Howard Deitcher Part Two Three Contemporary Critical Lenses 4 From the Melting Pot, to the Salad Bowl, to the Seder Plate: Moving beyond Multiculturalism in Early Childhood Jewish Educati 5 Educating toward Gender Awareness, Feminism, and Cultural Sensitivity in Early Childhood Jewish Education Teacher Preparation 6 Constructivism in Early Childhood Jewish Education (Meir Muller, Sigal Achituv, and Chaya Gorsetman) Part Three Core Jewish Subjects through the Three Contemporary Critical Lenses 7 Teaching the Bible in Early Childhood Jewish Education (Sigal Achituv) 8 Strengthening Jewish-Israeli Identity and Promoting a Common Cultural Canon through Children’s Literature: The Experience of 9 Holidays and Ceremonies in Israeli Early Childhood Jewish Education (Shulamit Hoshen Manzura) 10 Language-Conducive Strategies in Young Learners’ Constructivist Hebrew Classrooms (Margalit Kavenstock and Mila Schw 11 Enhancing Spiritual Awareness and Development in Early Childhood Jewish Settings (Michael Shire and Deborah Schein Part Four Continuing the Work 12 Leadership in Early Childhood Jewish Education in the United States (Lyndall Miller) Conclusion (Sigal Achituv, Meir Muller, and Shelley T. Alexander) Glossary Contributors Index