As featured in The Jewish Chronicle
You probably have not heard of either Jacob S. Golub (1875-1960) or his near contemporary, Julius B. Maller (1901-1959). Well, they were both respected Jewish education professionals, who wrote, in 1929, impassioned articles in the first volume of Jewish Education – the forerunner to the academic Journal of Jewish Education. In these articles, they each argued forcefully for the pressing need to conduct research in Jewish Education.
Fast forward almost a hundred years, and we Jewish educationalists are still arguing for the need to conduct research in Jewish Education. But why? Surely, by now, we know everything there is to know about Jewish Education? We talk at the school gates, and around our dinner tables; we scroll through social media, and we read the tabloids. Doesn’t that make us experts in the field?
I would like to suggest that serious and robust research can do the following:
- Build knowledge and understanding;
- Positively impact on policy and practice across the community;
- Drive innovation by encouraging exploration of effective education strategies;
- Stimulate the development of new initiatives.
Engaging in evidence-based research develops problem-solving skills cultivates a habit of questioning and curiosity, and drives innovation. It should push us out of our comfort zones.
I have conducted qualitative research in the UK Jewish community for many years and I know that research projects should never sit on shelves. The point of research is to lead towards change. The following are three community-wide research projects that have taken place recently that have added to our knowledge of the community and are driving change.
The first is the “Future of Jewish Education” project, co-led by LSJS and UJIA. This project created space for cross-communal and cross-organisational conversation about Jewish Education and has led to the creation of two new initiatives which we are trying to get off the ground – a benefits scheme and a sabbaticals programme for teachers in Jewish schools.
The second is “Forge the Future”, a project led by The Jewish Leadership Council, which is working towards a strategy for young adults in the UK Jewish community post October 7th. The initial findings of a number of focus groups have just been published and will lead to a practical stage in the coming months.
And the third is “Jewish Lives”, my own longitudinal study, co-led with Alex Pomson, which has been following a cohort of Jewish families since 2011 to document the development of their Jewish lives over time. We are currently collecting data for the sixth time from our cohort, who are now 25 years old.
What all of these three projects have in common is that they are all contributing to a process of setting a new agenda for Jewish education in the UK. Each of the above has already begun, or is in the process of developing, initiatives to help future-proof different aspects of Jewish education and Jewish life.
Jacob Golub and Julius Maller might be a little frustrated if they were to be around now, in 2025, reading this article. They would probably sigh and think that not much has changed in a hundred years regarding the need for research in Jewish education. But I think that they would also be excited by the fact that a hundred years later, we still understand the imperative to conduct research. They would appreciate that the need to keep researching, to keep re-visiting Jewish education, is because each generation is different. A teenager in 2025 is different in so many different ways from a teenager in 1995, let alone in 1929, when Jacob and Julius were writing.
If we want our children to embrace Judaism with enthusiasm; if we want them to grow up with a secure Jewish identity; and if we want them to have a shared Jewish literacy, then we need to act now. We need to invest in understanding the needs of the generation with whom we are working.
If we don’t address these issues, we will only have ourselves to blame when our children find Judaism irrelevant to the ways they want to live their lives. We need to do that now, so that our children and grandchildren are excited to be part of a vibrant Jewish future.
Dr Helena Miller is Director of Degrees and Teacher Training programmes; Senior Research Fellow. Click to find out more about our teacher training programmes, our BA (Hons) in Jewish Education and our Masters degree in Jewish Education, visit lsjs.ac.uk/teach.
