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Prayer in Jewish Community High Schools: Generation Y Jews in an Era of Unlimited Choices UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 5-2011 Prayer in Jewish community high schools: Generation Y Jews in an era of unlimited choices Yonatan Yussman University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, and the Religion Commons Repository Citation Yussman, Yonatan, "Prayer in Jewish community high schools: Generation Y Jews in an era of unlimited choices" (2011). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 1430. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/3364209 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRAYER IN JEWISH COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOLS: GENERATION Y JEWS IN AN ERA OF UNLIMITED CHOICES by Yonatan Yussman Bachelor of Arts Boston University 1998 Master of Arts Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2002 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Education Degree in Educational Leadership Department of Educational Leadership College of Education Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2011 Copyright by Yonatan Yussman 2011 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Yonatan Yussman entitled Prayer in Jewish Community High Schools: Generation Y Jews in an Era of Unlimited Choices be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Department of Educational Leadership Edith A. Rusch, Committee Chair James Hager, Committee Member Gene Hall, Committee Member Linda Quinn, Graduate Faculty Representative Ronald Smith, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate College May 2011 ABSTRACT Prayer in Jewish Community High Schools: Generation Y Jews in an Era of Unlimited Choices by Yonatan Yussman Dr. Edith A. Rusch, Examination Committee Chair Professor of Educational Leadership University of Nevada, Las Vegas The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine and analyze tefilla (prayer) programs in three Jewish community high schools, as well as professional leadership practices in these schools as they related to prayer. The questions that guided this research were: • What does prayer education and practice look like in Jewish community high schools? • How is prayer education and practice perceived by key constituencies in Jewish community high schools? • How do educators and students in Jewish community high schools describe authentic prayer? Site observations, interviews with students, faculty, and administration, as well as data collected from sources such as school websites and marketing materials were used to create narrative portraits of the schools’ tefilla programs and a cross-case analysis of the programs using the portraiture methodology of Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot. Marshall and Rossman’s seven phases for analytical procedures guided the research analysis, and Barry Chazan’s philosophy of Informal Jewish Education was used as an interpretive framework for analyzing the case studies. The research infers implications for Jewish iii philanthropic organizations, Jewish teacher training programs, researchers, and site-based educational leadership interested in prayer improvement efforts in Jewish community high schools. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people helped me earn my doctorate. Thank you to: My mom and dad, for always making education such a priority and value, and for your love and support. My wife, Lisa, for your encouragement and understanding as you took care of the kids while I was in classes, doing research, or writing. My children, Gefen, Aviva, and Noa. I love you limitlessly, and ultimately I wrote this dissertation for you. My dissertation chair, Dr. Edith Rusch, for your valuable guidance and support throughout the whole process of writing my dissertation. The other members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Jim Hager, Dr. Gene Hall, and Dr. Linda Quinn, for your feedback and encouragement. My professors and colleagues in the Department of Educational Leadership at UNLV. The students, faculty, and administrators at the three schools I observed for my case studies. Dr. Barry Chazan, for introducing me to the philosophy of Informal Jewish Education, for role modeling it, and for providing valuable feedback on my dissertation. The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies for turning me on to Judaism and tefilla. All of my students over the years who have been my guinea pigs. You have taught me much more than I have taught you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................1 Background .................................................................................................................2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................4 Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................................5 Research Questions .....................................................................................................6 Summary of Methodology ..........................................................................................6 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................7 Definition of Terms.....................................................................................................7 Organization of the Study..........................................................................................13 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE...............................................15 Trends in American Spirituality................................................................................15 Trends in American Judaism.....................................................................................20 Independent Prayer Groups..................................................................................25 Youth Empowerment ...........................................................................................26 Alternative Prayer Practices .................................................................................26 Trends in Jewish Education.......................................................................................27 Jewish Educational Leadership .................................................................................29 Jewish Prayer Education ...........................................................................................32 Informal Jewish Education........................................................................................40 Summary ...................................................................................................................45 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY..................................................................................46 Conceptual Frameworks............................................................................................46 Research Paradigms ..................................................................................................47 Qualitative Design.....................................................................................................48 Participant and Site Selection....................................................................................51 Data Collection..........................................................................................................53 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................54 Portraiture Methodology ...........................................................................................55 Goodness Defined ................................................................................................60 Trustworthiness .........................................................................................................61 Limitations ................................................................................................................63 Delimitations .............................................................................................................64 Role of the Researcher ..............................................................................................64 Summary ...................................................................................................................70 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS
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