Abstract
The aim of this paper is to investigate the role and place of Hebrew within the Australian Jewish day schools’ curriculum and to analyse the cultural factors, which contribute to the challenges Hebrew teachers face. Our findings show that there is a need to locate Modern Hebrew more centrally within the schools’ organizational structure. A school’s organizational structure and balance of power reflect its identity and its conceptual world. That is, its organizational structure reflects the forces operating within the school system, the power wielded by various actors, and the relationships existing between the system and the actors. A school’s balance of power is thus a practical manifestation of its inherent political inclination and identity. If the Hebrew language is central to Jewish identity, then it is important to integrate it across the school curriculum, and not treat it as a separate subject area, in addition to upgrading teaching and learning methodologies and professional development. An integrative, interdisciplinary approach would change the power allocation within the school, and thus strengthen Jewish identity through more effective language acquisition.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 53-70 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Curriculum and Teaching |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2014 James Nicholas Publishers.
Funding
This research was funded by the Pratt Foundation of Melbourne References Andersen, B. (1983). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origins and spread of nationalism. London: Verso. Brosh, H. (1996). Hebrew language diffusion through schools and universities in America. Journal of Jewish Education. 62(3), 13-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0021624960620303 Clyne, M. (2008). The monolingual mindset as an impediment to the development of plurilingual potential. Sociolinguistic Studies. 2(3), 347-366. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/sols.v2i3.347 Côté, J. E. (2005). Identity capital, social capital and the wider benefits of learning: generating resources facilitative of social cohesion. London Review of Education. 3(3), 221-237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14748460500372382 Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. London: Imago. Festinger, L., Riecken, H. & Schachter, S. (1956). When prophecy fails: A social and psychological study of a modern group that predicted the destruction of the World Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. New York: Basic books. Gross, Z. (2006). Power, identity and organizational structure as reflected in schools for minority groups: A case study of Jewish schools in Paris, Brussels and Geneva. Comparative Education Review. 50(4), 603-624. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/507057 Morahg, G. (2002). Considering Jewish identity in the teaching of Hebrew language. Hebrew Higher Education. 10, 14-18 [in Hebrew]. Morahg, G. (1999). Hebrew: A language of identity. Journal of Jewish Education. 65(3), 9-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0021624990650305 Myhill, J. (2004). Languages in Jewish society: Towards a new understanding, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Ofek, A. (1996). The making of a Hebrew teacher: Preparing Hebrew language Teachers for Jewish day Schools. Journal of Jewish Education. 62(3), 21-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0021624960620304 Ofner, H. E. & Tannenbaum, M. (2012). “Tell me what you say and I will tell you”: Attitude investigation towards language in the Ultra Orthodox society. In Caplan, K & Stadler, N. (eds) From survival to consolidation: Changes in Israeli Haredi Society and its scholarly study, (Hebrew), 81-100.
Keywords
- Australian Jewry
- Culture
- Hebrew teachers
- Identity
- Language
- Learning
- School
- Sense of belonging
- Teaching