Jewish education and formation in Glasgow: a case study

Abstract

This article explores the formational provision within a faith community when faith schooling ends at the primary stage. A case study, part of a larger multi‐faith study, examined the Jewish community in the greater Glasgow area—a small, and shrinking, community with a long history of relatively peaceful integration but increasingly pressurised by secularisation, assimilation and emigration. There is a well‐attended Jewish primary school, but no secondary school. A range of approaches to youth formation and education for children of secondary age has evolved—approaches linked to a variety of conceptions of Jewish identity. The aim, ultimately, is to include all Jewish children, no matter how they construct their Jewish identity, in the community.

Notes

For the purposes of this research the greater Glasgow area is described as: the city of Glasgow and suburban areas in the north (Bishopbriggs), south (Newton Mearns, Giffnock, Whitecraigs) and west (Bearsden, Milngavie).