Day schools in the liberal sector

challenges and opportunities at the intersection of two traditions of Jewish schooling

Alex Pomson

pp. 713-728

in: Helena Miller, Lisa Grant, Alex Pomson (eds), International handbook of Jewish education, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

In this chapter I survey the origins of contemporary day school education in relation to two distinct models: one integrationist, one isolationist. I explore how, since the 1960s, with the proliferation of liberal day school education worldwide, these models have no longer been conceived as alternatives, but as complementary, if not always compatible. I suggest that the challenges in reconciling these two models account for some of the most intense contemporary debates surrounding day school education in relation to educational goals, curriculum content, marketing, and recruitment. I review these debates as well as other central trends in liberal day school education. Finally, I examine the questions and concerns that have been of most interest to researchers of day schools in general (and of liberal day schools in particular). I finish by proposing a research agenda for the coming decades of day school research.