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Abstract
This research examines the purposes of education perceived by teacher education students preparing for a career in Israeli public religious schools. Participants were 164 men and 364 women in their first or final year of teacher education. They responded to questionnaires that explored educational purposes in four ways. Twenty-four students also were interviewed. Major results indicate that: 1) universal and religious purposes of education are considered highly important; 2) men attribute greater importance than women to religious-Torah purposes; 3) academic-intellectual growth is not considered an important educational purpose. Implications of these and other findings are considered for educational policy and practice in public religious schools.
This report is based on a comprehensive investigation of the religious, social, and educational thoughts and beliefs of students in seven Israeli colleges that prepare teachers for careers in elementary and junior high "public religious" schools serving families that observe Jewish religious practice. While some research has been conducted to learn about the social attitudes of these prospective educators ( Auron 1999), no systematic effort has been made to examine their thoughts and beliefs regarding teaching and the teacher role. Yet, as recent research has demonstrated (e.g., Putnam and Borko 2000), these may be critical to their development as teachers and may significantly affect the quality of their teaching.
Motivation for conducting this study stemmed from several sources, all dealing with important educational and religious trends in Israel and elsewhere. Two of these will be described in order to provide an appropriate frame for interpreting the research results. Prior to that we will present information on the Israeli educational system that will facilitate understanding of these issues. In particular, focus will be on those changes in public religious education in Israel that are intended to improve preservice teachers' pedagogical and subject matter knowledge.
Formal public education in Israel differs in several important ways for four different sectors of the population who study in separate educational systems. Among Jewish students, the largest number is registered in the "general public" sector where education is supposed to be geared to the entire citizenry regardless of the religious beliefs and practices of individual students. In fact, the vast majority of students are from secular homes or from families who may value...