You probably have not heard of either Jacob S Golub (1875-1960) or his near contemporary, Julius B Maller (1901-1959). Well, they were both respected Jewish education professionals, who wrote, in 1929, articles in the first volume of Jewish Education – the forerunner to the academic Journal of Jewish Education.
In these articles, they each argued forcefully for the pressing need to conduct research in Jewish education.
A century later, we still need to conduct research into Jewish education.
I would like to suggest that serious and robust research can do the following:
- Build knowledge and understanding
- Positively impact policy and practice across the community
- Drive innovation by encouraging exploration of effective education strategies
Engaging in evidence-based research develops problem-solving skills and cultivates curiosity and a habit of questioning. It should push us out of our comfort zones.
I have conducted many research projects and I know that research projects should never sit on shelves. The point of research is to lead towards change. The following are three community-wide research projects that have added to our knowledge of the community and are driving change.
The first is the Future of Jewish Education, which is co-led by the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) and UJIA. This project created space for cross-communal and cross-organisational conversations about Jewish education and has led to the creation of two new initiatives which we are working towards: a benefits scheme and a sabbaticals programme for teachers in Jewish schools.
The second is Forge the Future, a project led by the JLC, which is working towards a strategy for young adults in the UK Jewish community post October 7. The initial findings of a number of focus groups have just been published and will lead to a practical stage in the coming months.
And the third is Jewish Lives, my own longitudinal study, co-led with Alex Pomson, which has been following a cohort of Jewish families since 2011 to document the development of their Jewish lives over time. We are currently collecting data for the sixth time from our cohort, who are now 25 years old.
What all of these three projects have in common is that they are all contributing to a process of setting a new agenda for Jewish education in the UK. Each of the above has already begun, or is in the process of developing, and they are all initiatives to help future-proof different aspects of Jewish education and Jewish life.
Jacob Golub and Julius Maller might be a little frustrated if they were around now, in 2025, reading this article. They would probably sigh and think that not much has changed in 100 years regarding the need for research in Jewish education.
But I think that they would also be excited by the fact that, 100 years on, we still understand the imperative to conduct research. They would appreciate that the need to keep researching, to keep revisiting Jewish education, is because each generation is different. A teenager in 2025 is different in so many different ways to a teenager in 1995, let alone in 1929, when Jacob and Julius were writing.
If we want our children to embrace Judaism with enthusiasm; if we want our children to grow up with a secure Jewish identity; and if we want our children to have a shared Jewish literacy, then we need to act now.
We need to invest in understanding the needs of the generation with whom we are working.
If we don’t address these issues, we will only have ourselves to blame when our children find Judaism irrelevant to the ways they want to live their lives. We need to do that now, so that our children and grandchildren are excited to be part of a vibrant Jewish future.
Dr Miller is director of degrees and teacher training programmes at LSJS
