This research focused on the teaching of diversity in Jewish early childhood environments. The problem addressed was that not all Jewish early childhood centers teach diversity sufficiently, and the purpose of this study is to gain more information about how Jewish early childhood educators teach about diversity by learning about their challenges…

Purpose: This study examines the attitudes of Jewish and Arab kindergarten teachers in Israel towards multicultural teaching of holidays, within the context of the widening social divisions in Israeli society. Design: The study is based on the interactive acculturation model (Bourhis et al., 1997) and utilizes qualitative research methods such as…

Our article explores the challenges that faced Jewish and Arab kindergarten teachers, and their different ways of coping with those challenges, during the implementation of the programme 'My Diverse Kindergarten' in three mixed cities in Israel. The programme aimed at reducing prejudices and improving the relationship between Jews and Arabs in…

Malka Haas (1920-2021) was a key pioneer in the founding of Israeli kibbutz kindergartens, and she profoundly influenced both the curriculum and practice of early childhood education (ECE) for the entire country. The article reviews Haas's biography, her professional development, and the main principles in her educational approach: "the…

We examined the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) compared to a social-emotional empathy-based intervention (EBI), and a passive control group in promoting compassion among Jewish-Israeli kindergartners. Three middle-class public kindergartens were randomly assigned to the MBI (n = 26;M[subscript age] = 5.03), EBI (n =…

The article discusses the role of the different forms of capital within the patterns of relationships between kindergarten teachers (KTs) and parents in kindergartens located in one medium-high socioeconomic status neighborhood in Israel. The qualitative analysis conducted reveals how the parents' cultural capital serves as a resource to advance…

Educating immigrant children requires teachers who are responsive to their complex and unique needs and who advocate for their education and well-being. Yet, few studies have examined teachers who teach immigrant children and their teaching practices, particularly in the field of early childhood education. Framed by the construct of funds of…

The phenomenon of diverse families has expanded in recent years. Although it has important implications in the field of education, this issue has been largely overlooked in the research on early education in Israel. The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes of Israeli kindergarten teachers towards diverse families and the practices…

The concept of children's theories is central to the approach of the municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. The author investigates children's theories about Judaism. Methods include semi-structured interviews and pedagogical documentation from American Jewish early childhood centers. Analysis involves open coding…

Children's intergroup attitudes arguably reflect different construals of in- and out-groups, whereby the former are viewed as composed of unique individuals and the latter of homogeneous members. In three studies, we investigated the scope of information (individual vs. category) Jewish-Israeli 5- and 8-year-olds prefer to receive about…

This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood of male school leaders and their perceptions associated with leadership practice. We used purposive sampling to recruit male Israeli school leaders for participation in the study. We collected the data by semi-structured interviews, which we then subjected to…

The current study examines the challenges and coping of Arab women employed as child caretakers in kibbutz kindergartens in Israel. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Arab caretakers. Three themes were identified: (1) Self-perception as secular Israelis versus a combined Muslim-Arab one Israeli-civic identity; (2) The families'…

Many American Jewish day schools, where most staff and students adhere to Ashkenazic traditions, perpetuate the normativity of Ashkenazic practice and culture, both reflecting and reinforcing the status of Sephardic communities as "minorities within a minority." This article draws on Sephardic adults' recollections of the…

This article explores changes in children's openness towards kindergarten teachers and children of an outgroup following participation in an intervention program. The program was implemented by kindergarten teachers and aimed at encountering the other via intergroup contact. The findings are based on qualitative data from interviews with the…

This article examines the nature of student-to-student text discussion in a dialogically organized remote classroom. Conducted as teacher research, I investigated student talk in a PreK-1st grade biblical literature class. In the fall of 2020, I taught a biblical literature class to a fully remote PreK-1st grade cohort in a Jewish independent…