Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2009 Christian Privilege: Do Jewish students feel marginalized in U.S. public schools? Michelle Nichole Garland Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Garland, Michelle Nichole, "Christian Privilege: Do Jewish students feel marginalized in U.S. public schools?" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 11058. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11058 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Christian privilege: Do Jewish students feel marginalized in public schools? by Michelle Nichole Garland A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Education Program of Study Committee: Gary D. Phye, Major Professor Ellen E. Fairchild Geoffrey A Abelson Patricia M. Carlson Mack C. Shelley Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2010 Copyright © Michelle Nichole Garland, 2010. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES .....................................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................1 Critical Review ..............................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................5 In the Beginning .............................................................................................................5 Jewish beginnings in what is now called America ............................................6 Politics, Religion, and Education in North America as Influenced by Europe ..............8 A Protestant perspective ............................................................................................... 8 First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America .......................10 The Establishment Clause ................................................................................11 Separationist v. Accomodationionst ........................................................................... 11 Free Exercise Clause .................................................................................................. 11 How does the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution apply directly to public schools? .............................................................................................. 12 Does having holiday celebrations in public schools cause the establishment clause and free exercise clause of the First Amendment to conflict with one another and is this a violation of the First Amendment? ........................ 13 Supreme Court cases .................................................................................................. 13 Endorsement approach ............................................................................................... 14 Coercion ..................................................................................................................... 15 How U.S. Public Schools Have Unfolded through the Theme of Religion ..........................15 Missionary schools ..................................................................................................... 16 Colonial curriculum .................................................................................................... 18 Common and Progressive school era ......................................................................... 20 Common ........................................................................................................ 20 Progressive school ......................................................................................... 21 An Example of Internalized Oppression and the Power of the School System ....................... 22 Lower East Side ......................................................................................................... 22 School Experience of Jewish Americans: Late 19th Century to Present ......................24 Current Definitions of Terms .......................................................................................25 Anti-Semitism ............................................................................................................ 25 Marginalization .......................................................................................................... 26 Deculturalization ........................................................................................................ 26 Christian privilege ...................................................................................................... 26 Social and Psychological Consequences of the “zations and the isms” .................................. 27 Self-worth and relatedness ......................................................................................... 28 iii Reactive aggression .........................................................................................29 Recent Research Regarding Social Psychology of Religious Minorities Students in Public Schools ..................................................................................................32 Pilot Studies .................................................................................................................33 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................................36 Problem Statement .......................................................................................................36 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................37 Assumption ..................................................................................................................37 Overview ......................................................................................................................37 Research Question .......................................................................................................37 Hypothesis....................................................................................................................37 Participant Information ................................................................................................38 Ethical Treatment of Human Subjects .........................................................................39 Instruments ...................................................................................................................39 Limitations ...................................................................................................................40 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS ........................................................................................................42 Interview Questions and Answers with Selected Commentary ............................................... 42 CHAPTER 5. SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION ...................................................................55 What is Christian Privilege? ........................................................................................56 Examples of internalized beliefs validating Christian privilege ......................58 Illustrations of Jewish students feeling marginalized in the public schools with respect to the calendar following Christian holidays ...................59 Feelings of marginalization due to absence from school for observance of religious holidays .................................................................................61 Feelings of marginalization in relation to holiday celebrations within the public school ........................................................................................63 Final Conclusions.........................................................................................................66 Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................................69 APPENDIX A. HUMAN SUBJECTS APPROVAL AND INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENT ...............................................................................................................70 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & TRANSCRIPTS OF INTERVIEWS ..........74 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................81 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................90 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs…………………………………………………..30 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Enrollment and demographics of the schools ........................................................38 Table 2. Public high school policy for exams