Sigal Achituv - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sigal Achituv

"A Life Full of Meaning": The Lifework and Educational Approach of Malka Haas, 2024

Malka Haas (1920–2021) was a key pioneer in the founding of Israeli kibbutz kindergartens, and sh... more 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 kindergarten as a whole life,” based on the significant experiences of the child in connection with the community and the Jewish tradition. The article also describes the sources of inspiration from which Haas drew her ideas and the impact of her approach on educational concepts for ECE in Israel today.

Journal of Jewish education, Apr 8, 2024

Malka Haas (1920–2021) was a key pioneer in the founding of Israeli kibbutz kindergartens, and ... more 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 kindergarten as a whole life,”
based on the significant experiences of the child in connection
with the community and the Jewish tradition. The article also
describes the sources of inspiration from which Haas drew her
ideas and the impact of her approach on educational concepts
for ECE in Israel today.

Early Child Development and Care, 2023

The kindergarten teachers of the Religious Kibbutz movement (RK) as a unique group are connected... more The kindergarten teachers of the Religious Kibbutz movement (RK) as a
unique group are connected both to the educational approaches of the
kindergartens in the general Kibbutz Movement and the state religious
kindergartens. A qualitative study included semi-structured interviews
with 15 RK kindergarten teachers in order to explore their self-identity.
The identity of the RK kindergarten was designed to be an encounter
between four axes: the connection to Jewish tradition, the kibbutz
community, nature and agriculture, and a constructivist approach. The
study findings brought to light the RK kindergarten teachers’ unique
educational approach, which includes both similarities and differences
with the general kibbutz movement kindergartens and the state
religious kindergartens. The study contributes to highlighting a specific
group of early childhood (EC) educators, reflecting both the diverse
mosaic of EC educational approaches among different groups in Israel
and the potential that these groups have for enriching each other.

Bloomsbury Academic eBooks, 2022

Early Childhood Jewish Education explores some of the fundamental questions of early childhood Je... more Early Childhood Jewish Education explores some of the fundamental questions of early childhood Jewish education in today’s societal, moral, and educational debates. The book examines the challenges of transmitting Jewish heritage using developmentally appropriate pedagogy in the context of modern democratic society through the lenses of multiculturalism, gender awareness, and constructivism. Researchers from Israel and the United States consider some of the core Jewish foundational subjects, including teaching the Bible, holidays and ceremonies, Hebrew, Jewish literature, and spirituality, as well as leadership issues in relation to these contemporary debates. The book represents the ongoing collaboration of leading researchers from Israel and the United States who have worked together since 2010 as the International Research Group on Jewish Education in the Early Years.

Sẇgyŵt ḥebratiyŵt ḃ-yiśraʾel, 2022

Bloomsbury Academic eBooks, 2022

Bloomsbury Academic eBooks, 2022

British Journal of Religious Education

International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 2016

This study examines Israeli and American teachers' attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood... more This study examines Israeli and American teachers' attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood and specifically explores the problems and opportunities concerning inclusion in the United States and Israel that arise in Jewish education. Through semi-structured interviews, four Israeli and three American educators participating in communities of practice were asked to look at themselves and the beliefs that inform their attitudes towards inclusion. The researchers created a qualitative rubric suitable to analyze the interviews from participants. Results indicate that a majority of the teachers voiced support for inclusion of children with special needs but felt tension in implementing an inclusive classroom due to multiple variables. The most challenging issues for the teachers involve lack of efficacy, lack of support, balancing needs of all stakeholders, and family cooperation. The article concludes with recommendations to leaders and policy makers about the needs of teachers to more effectively achieve high quality inclusive classrooms.

Journal of Jewish Education, 2013

This study deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state religious kindergartens in ... more This study deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state religious kindergartens in Israel tell the Torah stories to children. It examines the influence of the teachers’ identity, being part of the religious Zionist society, on the way in which she tells the stories. These kindergarten teachers function at a crossroads of identities. It is to be expected that their identity will be complex, reflecting the built-in dissonance of their lives. The Torah stories include an additional complexity based on the characters. The present study deals with the teachers’ manner of dealing with the above-mentioned complexities.

International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 2016

This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood... more This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood and specifically explores the problems and opportunities concerning inclusion in the United States and Israel that arise in Jewish education. Through semi-structured interviews, four Israeli and three American educators participating in communities of practice were asked to look at themselves and the beliefs that inform their attitudes towards inclusion. The researchers created a qualitative rubric suitable to analyze the interviews from participants. Results indicate that a majority of the teachers voiced support for inclusion of children with special needs but felt tension in implementing an inclusive classroom due to multiple variables. The most challenging issues for the teachers involve lack of efficacy, lack of support, balancing needs of all stakeholders, and family cooperation. The article concludes with recommendations to leaders and policy makers about the needs of teachers to...

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

This paper is based on a study of daycare center managers participating in a project aimed at cha... more This paper is based on a study of daycare center managers participating in a project aimed at changing the communal approach in early childhood education (ECE) centers. The project was implemented by the ECE system of Israel’s Association of Community Centers for ages birth to three, based on the Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The study aimed at learning about the managers’ views and attitudes toward the project, expanding knowledge in the sphere of ECE management and proposing relevant methods for policy improvement. The study applied qualitative methodology and was based on in-depth interviews with managers who participated in the first year of the project, and on observations at the daycare centers and on the project’s implementation process. The findings reveal that the managers are influenced in various ways, by the complex economic and organizational reality of their workplace. The position of the daycare managers as responsible for both implementing the pro...

Early Child Development and Care

Journal of Jewish Education, 2016

This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood... more This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood and specifically explores the problems and opportunities concerning inclusion in the United States
and Israel that arise in Jewish education. Through semi-structured interviews, four Israeli and three American educators participating in communities of practice were asked to look at themselves and
the beliefs that inform their attitudes towards inclusion. The researchers created a qualitative rubric suitable to analyze the interviews from participants. Results indicate that a majority of the teachers
voiced support for inclusion of children with special needs but felt tension in implementing an inclusive classroom due to multiple variables. The most challenging issues for the teachers involve lack of efficacy, lack of support, balancing needs of all stakeholders, and family cooperation. The
article concludes with recommendations to leaders and policy makers about the needs of teachers to more effectively achieve high quality inclusive classrooms.

This article deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state-religious kindergartens t... more This article deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state-religious kindergartens tell the Torah stories to the children. The state-religious educational stream is part of Israeli state education and run by the state. At the same time this stream enjoys legal autonomy regarding religious content to be taught, thus representing the complexity of Religious Zionism: democracy vs. religious law, tradition vs. modernism, responsibility to the state vs. responsibility to religious law, etc.
Kindergarten teachers in state-religious kindergartens are part of Israeli Zionist society. They belong to different communities at the same time, and function at a crossroads of identities. It is to be expected that their identity will be complex, reflecting the built-in dissonance of their lives. In their educational work in the kindergartens, these teachers represent to the children, among other things, the educational and religious establishment. Through them the children meet the cultural elements outside of the family for the first time, facing a complex identity.
The Torah stories are central in the state religious kindergarten, being the departure point for the children’s formal Torah study. The stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel) told in kindergarten include an additional complexity based on the characters. The present article deals with the teachers’ manner of dealing with the above-mentioned complexities.
The study, which included interviews with eight state-religious kindergarten teachers and observations of their story-telling, exposed tentions between the teachers’ comprehension of the biblical characters and their attempts to hide this complexity from the children and even from themselves. The article presents the different explanations the teachers offered for these tentions, and an attempt to provide additional interpretation is made.

"A Life Full of Meaning": The Lifework and Educational Approach of Malka Haas, 2024

Malka Haas (1920–2021) was a key pioneer in the founding of Israeli kibbutz kindergartens, and sh... more 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 kindergarten as a whole life,” based on the significant experiences of the child in connection with the community and the Jewish tradition. The article also describes the sources of inspiration from which Haas drew her ideas and the impact of her approach on educational concepts for ECE in Israel today.

Journal of Jewish education, Apr 8, 2024

Malka Haas (1920–2021) was a key pioneer in the founding of Israeli kibbutz kindergartens, and ... more 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 kindergarten as a whole life,”
based on the significant experiences of the child in connection
with the community and the Jewish tradition. The article also
describes the sources of inspiration from which Haas drew her
ideas and the impact of her approach on educational concepts
for ECE in Israel today.

Early Child Development and Care, 2023

The kindergarten teachers of the Religious Kibbutz movement (RK) as a unique group are connected... more The kindergarten teachers of the Religious Kibbutz movement (RK) as a
unique group are connected both to the educational approaches of the
kindergartens in the general Kibbutz Movement and the state religious
kindergartens. A qualitative study included semi-structured interviews
with 15 RK kindergarten teachers in order to explore their self-identity.
The identity of the RK kindergarten was designed to be an encounter
between four axes: the connection to Jewish tradition, the kibbutz
community, nature and agriculture, and a constructivist approach. The
study findings brought to light the RK kindergarten teachers’ unique
educational approach, which includes both similarities and differences
with the general kibbutz movement kindergartens and the state
religious kindergartens. The study contributes to highlighting a specific
group of early childhood (EC) educators, reflecting both the diverse
mosaic of EC educational approaches among different groups in Israel
and the potential that these groups have for enriching each other.

Bloomsbury Academic eBooks, 2022

Early Childhood Jewish Education explores some of the fundamental questions of early childhood Je... more Early Childhood Jewish Education explores some of the fundamental questions of early childhood Jewish education in today’s societal, moral, and educational debates. The book examines the challenges of transmitting Jewish heritage using developmentally appropriate pedagogy in the context of modern democratic society through the lenses of multiculturalism, gender awareness, and constructivism. Researchers from Israel and the United States consider some of the core Jewish foundational subjects, including teaching the Bible, holidays and ceremonies, Hebrew, Jewish literature, and spirituality, as well as leadership issues in relation to these contemporary debates. The book represents the ongoing collaboration of leading researchers from Israel and the United States who have worked together since 2010 as the International Research Group on Jewish Education in the Early Years.

Sẇgyŵt ḥebratiyŵt ḃ-yiśraʾel, 2022

Bloomsbury Academic eBooks, 2022

Bloomsbury Academic eBooks, 2022

British Journal of Religious Education

International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 2016

This study examines Israeli and American teachers' attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood... more This study examines Israeli and American teachers' attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood and specifically explores the problems and opportunities concerning inclusion in the United States and Israel that arise in Jewish education. Through semi-structured interviews, four Israeli and three American educators participating in communities of practice were asked to look at themselves and the beliefs that inform their attitudes towards inclusion. The researchers created a qualitative rubric suitable to analyze the interviews from participants. Results indicate that a majority of the teachers voiced support for inclusion of children with special needs but felt tension in implementing an inclusive classroom due to multiple variables. The most challenging issues for the teachers involve lack of efficacy, lack of support, balancing needs of all stakeholders, and family cooperation. The article concludes with recommendations to leaders and policy makers about the needs of teachers to more effectively achieve high quality inclusive classrooms.

Journal of Jewish Education, 2013

This study deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state religious kindergartens in ... more This study deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state religious kindergartens in Israel tell the Torah stories to children. It examines the influence of the teachers’ identity, being part of the religious Zionist society, on the way in which she tells the stories. These kindergarten teachers function at a crossroads of identities. It is to be expected that their identity will be complex, reflecting the built-in dissonance of their lives. The Torah stories include an additional complexity based on the characters. The present study deals with the teachers’ manner of dealing with the above-mentioned complexities.

International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 2016

This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood... more This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood and specifically explores the problems and opportunities concerning inclusion in the United States and Israel that arise in Jewish education. Through semi-structured interviews, four Israeli and three American educators participating in communities of practice were asked to look at themselves and the beliefs that inform their attitudes towards inclusion. The researchers created a qualitative rubric suitable to analyze the interviews from participants. Results indicate that a majority of the teachers voiced support for inclusion of children with special needs but felt tension in implementing an inclusive classroom due to multiple variables. The most challenging issues for the teachers involve lack of efficacy, lack of support, balancing needs of all stakeholders, and family cooperation. The article concludes with recommendations to leaders and policy makers about the needs of teachers to...

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

This paper is based on a study of daycare center managers participating in a project aimed at cha... more This paper is based on a study of daycare center managers participating in a project aimed at changing the communal approach in early childhood education (ECE) centers. The project was implemented by the ECE system of Israel’s Association of Community Centers for ages birth to three, based on the Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The study aimed at learning about the managers’ views and attitudes toward the project, expanding knowledge in the sphere of ECE management and proposing relevant methods for policy improvement. The study applied qualitative methodology and was based on in-depth interviews with managers who participated in the first year of the project, and on observations at the daycare centers and on the project’s implementation process. The findings reveal that the managers are influenced in various ways, by the complex economic and organizational reality of their workplace. The position of the daycare managers as responsible for both implementing the pro...

Early Child Development and Care

Journal of Jewish Education, 2016

This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood... more This study examines Israeli and American teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in early childhood and specifically explores the problems and opportunities concerning inclusion in the United States
and Israel that arise in Jewish education. Through semi-structured interviews, four Israeli and three American educators participating in communities of practice were asked to look at themselves and
the beliefs that inform their attitudes towards inclusion. The researchers created a qualitative rubric suitable to analyze the interviews from participants. Results indicate that a majority of the teachers
voiced support for inclusion of children with special needs but felt tension in implementing an inclusive classroom due to multiple variables. The most challenging issues for the teachers involve lack of efficacy, lack of support, balancing needs of all stakeholders, and family cooperation. The
article concludes with recommendations to leaders and policy makers about the needs of teachers to more effectively achieve high quality inclusive classrooms.

This article deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state-religious kindergartens t... more This article deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state-religious kindergartens tell the Torah stories to the children. The state-religious educational stream is part of Israeli state education and run by the state. At the same time this stream enjoys legal autonomy regarding religious content to be taught, thus representing the complexity of Religious Zionism: democracy vs. religious law, tradition vs. modernism, responsibility to the state vs. responsibility to religious law, etc.
Kindergarten teachers in state-religious kindergartens are part of Israeli Zionist society. They belong to different communities at the same time, and function at a crossroads of identities. It is to be expected that their identity will be complex, reflecting the built-in dissonance of their lives. In their educational work in the kindergartens, these teachers represent to the children, among other things, the educational and religious establishment. Through them the children meet the cultural elements outside of the family for the first time, facing a complex identity.
The Torah stories are central in the state religious kindergarten, being the departure point for the children’s formal Torah study. The stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel) told in kindergarten include an additional complexity based on the characters. The present article deals with the teachers’ manner of dealing with the above-mentioned complexities.
The study, which included interviews with eight state-religious kindergarten teachers and observations of their story-telling, exposed tentions between the teachers’ comprehension of the biblical characters and their attempts to hide this complexity from the children and even from themselves. The article presents the different explanations the teachers offered for these tentions, and an attempt to provide additional interpretation is made.