Jewish education in early childhood : its impact on Jewish family values and observances

Includes bibliographical references (pages 52-55)This paper will discuss what impact Jewish education\ud in the early years has upon the child, the family, and the\ud home. To gather information about the effect of nursery\ud school and kindergarten upon Jewish family values and\ud observances in the home, a questionnaire was designed\ud specifically for the Jewish school being studied. In\ud addition, interviews were conducted with twenty fathers\ud and mothers (ten couples), and their statements were\ud recorded by tape recorder and analyzed in a later chapter.\ud The questionnaires and interviews of this research\ud study indicated that the Early Childhood Education program\ud at the Jewish Community Center has affected the child, the \ud family, and the home both qualitatively and quantitatively.\ud The families chose to attend the nursery school and kindergarten\ud because of its fine reputation, a competent and\ud caring staff, and the high quality of general and Jewish\ud education.\ud The study revealed that as a result of the Jewish education\ud the following types of changes occurred in most of\ud the families: (1) greater awareness of and dedication to\ud Jewish traditions; (2) more meaningful celebration of the\ud Sabbath and Jewish holidays; and (3) renewed interest and\ud pride in their Jewish heritage.\ud A positive approach for ensuring the continuity of\ud Judaism is to provide more opportunities for quality early\ud childhood education in a nurturing Jewish environment where\ud the young child can build a positive Jewish identity and\ud where the family can reaffirm its commitment to a Jewish\ud way of life