<HTML>I have been following the various threads of curriculum discussion and would like to add a key factor that has emerged as a result of a research project at the Lookstein Center. I mention this now to add an element to Jack Bieler's valuable observations in the last Lookjed Digest.
Researchers in the field had observed that teachers tended
not to use prepared curricula even if the curricula was done
professionally. Of course this challenged the notion that
the major problem for teachers was a lack of curricula for
their field. The question we were asking was: "What is the
key element that influences the successful use of curriculum
by the classroom teacher?" We found that the key was that
the curricula must match the "teaching philosophy" of the
teacher and more often than not, there was a mismatch of
professional curricula and the teacher.
We are now writing a monograph describing the educational
issues and the results of our study of English speaking
Jewish schools in the Diaspora (US, South Africa, England
and Australia).
I would be happy to discuss this with interested educators
(at the junior high and high school levels) at my e-mail
address:
zilbail@netvision.net.il
Steve Bailey, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, 1998
Lookstein Center
Steve Bailey & Feigie Zilberstein (ZilberBaileys)
6a Wedgewood St. Jerusalem 93108
02-563-1508 ( from US: 011-972-2-563-1508)</HTML>
