The purpose of this study was to research the early history of the Vancouver Talmud Torah, from 1913 to 1959, in order to determine how one group of Canadian Jews attempted to retain their separate identity while functioning in Canadian society. Two sources provided the bulk of the material for this study. Twenty-five interviews with former students, teachers, parents and Board members provided first-hand information and back issues of the Jewish Western Bulletin, the Vancouver Jewish community weekly newspaper, from 1925-1959 served as a written primary source. A book of minutes from 1944-1947 was also very useful in verifying facts. All of this information was then integrated with research on Jewish education in other parts of Canada, especially Western Canada, to establish the Vancouver Talmud Torah’s connection with similar efforts across Canada. There are two main divisions to this thesis. The first section covers the period from 19 13- 1948, during which time a group of Vancouver Jews dedicated themselves to the establishment and continuation of a Jewish afternoon school. The second section examines the first decade of the day school from 1948-1959 where a full program of Jewish and secular studies was offered to Jewish children during the regular school day. This study examines why the day school was set up. Some insights are also offered regarding whether both the afternoon and the day schools were successful in meetings the goals set out by the organizers and the needs of the community which it served. There is no easy way to determine the success or failure of a school. Many problems are beyond the control and scope of a school’s mandate. The findings of this research indicate that the Vancouver Talmud Torah endeavoured to provide the best possible Jewish education for its students under unfavourable conditions. The primary obstacle comes in comparing the quality of Jewish education in Vancouver with that in other major Jewish centres in Canada, because of the Vancouver Jewish community’s relative isolation from other communities and its small population. The shortage of qualified teachers and the lack of adequate teaching materials and professional development programs have made it difficult for the school to provide a Jewish studies program on the same level as its secular studies program (which was excellent). Furthermore, too much responsibility for the children’s Jewish education and identity had been placed on the school, with the family and community assuming a lesser role than it historically did. This has not only made the task of the Talmud Torah very difficult, it has also created a chasm between the school and the community, with the teachers and students left to battle it out in the middle. Therefore, under the circumstances, the Talmud Torah has provided the best possible Jewish education for its students. However, if the family and community would have maintained their responsiblity in guiding the religious and cultural education of their children, the Talmud Torah would have been in a much better position to fulfill its supplementary role in the education of Jewish children. It is interesting to note that the same comments could be made today, some 35 years later.

Carmel College, a Jewish Day School, was established to provide Jewish education for the children of the Durban Jewish community. Inasmuch as the school has always had a small contingent of non-Jewish students, a decision was made in 1994 to fill the school to capacity with non-Jewish students. Although, Carmel is in essence, a multi-cultural school in that it has a nearly fifty per cent non-Jewish population, implementing a multi-cultural education programme would be counter-productive to the goals of Jewish education. In that Orthodox Judaism is not assimilatory, it can be conjectured that Jewish education is incompatible with multi-cultural education. This study investigates the attitudes of the Jewish community towards the educational transition taking place in Carmel College, as a result of the change in the student population ratio. The study commenced with a generative phase which comprised of a review of relevant literature, document analysis, semi-structured interviews and a situational analysis. Issues that emerged from this phase of the research became the focus of further investigation using questionnaires. Findings have revealed the dilemma of managing a Jewish school in a multicultural environment. Whilst parents believe in the importance of Jewish education many are unaware of its unique and separate nature. The filling of the school with non-Jewish students has raised important issues. The findings indicated that Jewish studies teachers feel inhibited in their classes and are unable to deal with sensitive issues. The increased enrolment of non-Jewish students has not only created greater potential for assimilation but undertones of cultural dissension within the student body were also evident. As there is little provision made for multi-culturalism, non-Jewish students are recipients of a curriculum which lacks relevance and is foreign to their needs. If Carmel is to continue to provide Jewish education for its community it will have to re-structure the curriculum in order to provide a more intense Judaica programme for Jewish students and at the same time cater more effectively for non-Jewish students. To this end, parents and other stakeholders will have to be enlightened about the purpose of Jewish education and the need for change. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, 1996.

The purpose of this study was to research the early history of the Vancouver Talmud Torah, from 1913 to 1959, in order to determine how one group of Canadian Jews attempted to retain their separate identity while functioning in Canadian society. Two sources provided the bulk of the material for this study. Twenty-five interviews with former students, teachers, parents and Board members provided first-hand information and back issues of the Jewish Western Bulletin, the Vancouver Jewish community weekly newspaper, from 1925-1959 served as a written primary source. A book of minutes from 1944-1947 was also very useful in verifying facts. All of this information was then integrated with research on Jewish education in other parts of Canada, especially Western Canada, to establish the Vancouver Talmud Torah’s connection with similar efforts across Canada. There are two main divisions to this thesis. The first section covers the period from 19 13- 1948, during which time a group of Vancouver Jews dedicated themselves to the establishment and continuation of a Jewish afternoon school. The second section examines the first decade of the day school from 1948-1959 where a full program of Jewish and secular studies was offered to Jewish children during the regular school day. This study examines why the day school was set up. Some insights are also offered regarding whether both the afternoon and the day schools were successful in meetings the goals set out by the organizers and the needs of the community which it served. There is no easy way to determine the success or failure of a school. Many problems are beyond the control and scope of a school’s mandate. The findings of this research indicate that the Vancouver Talmud Torah endeavoured to provide the best possible Jewish education for its students under unfavourable conditions. The primary obstacle comes in comparing the quality of Jewish education in Vancouver with that in other major Jewish centres in Canada, because of the Vancouver Jewish community’s relative isolation from other communities and its small population. The shortage of qualified teachers and the lack of adequate teaching materials and professional development programs have made it difficult for the school to provide a Jewish studies program on the same level as its secular studies program (which was excellent). Furthermore, too much responsibility for the children’s Jewish education and identity had been placed on the school, with the family and community assuming a lesser role than it historically did. This has not only made the task of the Talmud Torah very difficult, it has also created a chasm between the school and the community, with the teachers and students left to battle it out in the middle. Therefore, under the circumstances, the Talmud Torah has provided the best possible Jewish education for its students. However, if the family and community would have maintained their responsiblity in guiding the religious and cultural education of their children, the Talmud Torah would have been in a much better position to fulfill its supplementary role in the education of Jewish children. It is interesting to note that the same comments could be made today, some 35 years later. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Orthodox Jewish adolescents develop and mature within a very structured environment. The aim of this study was to explore adolescent psychosocial identity development within Orthodox Jewish education. The secondary focus was the nature of the religious identity acquired through religious education, specifically Jewish Orthodox education. The literature study explored adolescent identity and development (within Erikson's framework), religious orientation and Orthodox Jewish education. The qualitative research was conducted empirically, in the form of a case study of seven adolescents from a single-sex Orthodox school based in Johannesburg. The themes that emerged from the empirical study are as follows: the community; Orthodox Judaism; education; parents, family and peers; adolescent and religious identity. The study indicated that the participants' identity development is dominated by their religious psychosocial world that paradoxically provides the structure that supports and complicates their identity development. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counseling)

Orthodox Jewish adolescents develop and mature within a very structured environment. The aim of this study was to explore adolescent psychosocial identity development within Orthodox Jewish education. The secondary focus was the nature of the religious identity acquired through religious education, specifically Jewish Orthodox education. The literature study explored adolescent identity and development (within Erikson's framework), religious orientation and Orthodox Jewish education. The qualitative research was conducted empirically, in the form of a case study of seven adolescents from a single-sex Orthodox school based in Johannesburg. The themes that emerged from the empirical study are as follows: the community; Orthodox Judaism; education; parents, family and peers; adolescent and religious identity. The study indicated that the participants' identity development is dominated by their religious psychosocial world that paradoxically provides the structure that supports and complicates their identity development. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counseling)