A Little Bit More Far than Mexico: How 3- and 4-year Old Jewish Children Understand Israel. Issue 1 (2nd January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Applebaum, Lauren; Hartman, Anna; Zakai, Sivan
• Is Part Of: Journal of Jewish education. Volume 87:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 4
• Page End: 34
• Publication Date: 2021-01-02
• Subjects: Early childhood -- Israel -- Israel education -- practitioner research; Jews -- Education -- Periodicals; Jews -- Education -- United States -- Periodicals; Jewish religious education -- Periodicals; 370.89924073
• DOI: 10.1080/15244113.2020.1834890
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1524-4113

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study examines how 3- and 4-year-old Jewish children think and feel about Israel. The research, conducted as a collaboration between scholars and practitioner-researchers who work in Jewish early childhood centers, draws upon group interviews, elicitation/provocation exercises, a drawing task, and teacher documentation to investigate how some of the youngest learners in Jewish educational settings conceive of Israel. We found that 3- and 4-year-old Jewish children think about Israel as a foreign country with its own customs, landmarks, and language. They also think about Israel as a distinctly Jewish place, with a special role in Jewish traditions and stories. We found no evidence that 3- and 4-year-old children reflect on Israel as a place of personal meaning for their own Jewish lives. This absence challenges both the theory and practice of Israel education in the early childhood setting.