There is both a lack of high quality research that speaks to Jewish belonging in K-12 schools and a myriad of potential databases from which one can find such work. This subpage highlights the work done by members of our research collective that speaks either directly or indirectly to Jewish belonging in schools. We plan to continue to grow this page and if you are interested in joining this research collective and/or have work to share or direct us to, please contact us at supportingjewishyouth@gmail.com.
What Shall We Tell The Children? Early Childhood Jewish Education Teachers Respond to October 7
By Meir Muller, Lindall Miller, and Alana Rifkin Gelnick
Published in Journal of Jewish Education
This study explores how one school’s early childhood Jewish education teachers managed the challenges of teaching during the two and a half months following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
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From Invisible Diversity to Inclusive Representation
By Melanie Koss and Deborah Greenblatt
Published in Education Science
Despite the rapid expansion of “diverse books” initiatives in children’s and young adult (YA) literature, Jewish identity remains inconsistently recognized within diversity frameworks in publishing, curriculum, and literacy education. This conceptual review examines how Jewish children’s and YA literature can serve as a resource through which young people interpret identity, confront erasure, and imagine more inclusive social worlds. -
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Traumatic Invalidation in the Jewish Community After October 7
By Miri Bar-Halpern and Jaclyn Wolfman
Published in Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment
The October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel by the Hamas terrorist organization triggered profound trauma within the Jewish community, not only stemming from the events themselves but also from the response of others in the aftermath. Rather than being met with compassion and care, many individuals instead encountered emotional neglect, criticism, blame, and even outright denial of their pain. -
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Ambient Antisemitism and Its Quiet Cost to Jewish Identity
By Yael Silverstein
Published in Currents
Last Yom Kippur, during Kol Nidrei, an usher hurried down the aisles of my East Village synagogue, whispering three words that then reverberated through the sanctuary: Evacuate. Bomb threat. I lifted my toddler from the floor where she had been quietly playing with magnetic tiles and joined the stream of people moving quickly toward the exit. For a split second — a primal flash — I thought: What if this isn’t a bomb threat but an ambush?
Evaluating Jewish Literature: A Toolkit for Elementary Educators
By Emma Nicosia and Keitha-Gail Martin-Kerr
Published in Social Education
Antisemitism as an Integral Part of Anti-Bias Educational Policies and Practices
By Deborah Greenblatt and Melanie Koss
Published in Journal of Multicultural Education
Positively Impacting Jewish Students Through Respecting and Amplifying Jewish Voices
By David Shriberg
Published in School Psychology Review