The objective of this study was to determine whether formal, primary education could increase the level of ethnicity in children. One hundred Jewish children completing grade 6, and their parents, were measured on a series of instruments designed to evaluate their level of ethnic identity. Half the children had received their full education in private, parochial schools, while the other half had attended public, secular schools. The two samples were further sub-divided so that each sample consisted of 25 children of Ashkenazi descent and 25 of Sephardi descent. The data were subjected to a multivariate analysis of covariance wherein the variance attributable to the parents was partialled out. The results indicated that formal, parochial education does not effect an increase in the level of ethnicity, and that parental and community factors are the primary determinants of a child's ethnic identity. The results also demonstrate that the Sephardi children, despite their affinity to the Jewish people, have a less positive image of the Jewish community when compared to the Ashkenazi majority. The Conflict Theory model, which views the school as a mirror of the forces in society at large, was seen as the best explanation of the data.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.75920 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Hirschberg, Jack Jacob |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Faculty of Education.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000916489, proquestno: AAINL52312, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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