Illuminating 8 CASJE Projects and Partners in 2024
Illuminating 8 CASJE Projects and Partners in 2024
Illumination, noun, /ᵻˌluməˈneɪʃən/, def. (1) The action of illuminating, a lighting up; (2) divine inspiration; (3) intellectual enlightenment, information and learning.
Research is a form of illumination. Sometimes research reveals what we can’t see ourselves, unearthing information entirely hidden from view. Other times, it makes that which was always present, but overlooked or impenetrable, brighter and legible for the first time. Finally, research can help us see differently, allowing us to appreciate fresh insight by casting a new light or shadow.
This Chanukah, in celebration of the many forms of illumination research can provide, CASJE is happy to highlight some of our work and partners over the last year.
Thank you for all the ways you help us harness the light of research to improve Jewish education, engagement, and experiences.
This year, CASJE launched our first ever Research Use Group (RUG). This program supports practitioner-leaders in developing skills to access, assess and use existing research in their work. We were proud to partner with so many talented professionals representing organizations including Builders of Jewish Education Los Angeles, Foundation for Jewish Camp, M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, Maccabi USA, and Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools.
In addition to supporting our participants to design unique projects relevant to their organizations’ needs and questions, the program served as a lab, helping CASJE to develop a more nuanced understanding of the ways that research is and could be used in Jewish communal organizations.
Read more about RUG and our first cohort here. CASJE looks forward to continuing the RUG program in 2025 with new cohorts of Jewish professional leaders. Reach out to CASJE if you are interested in joining a future RUG cohort.
Meet Dr. Talia Hurwich, a member of our inaugural cohort of Applied Research Fellows. Talia is currently leading a study in partnership with Lost Tribe to learn more about how young people build Jewish communities online. Phase 2 of Talia’s study will focus on online engagement, as well as information sharing following October 7.
"It has been fascinating to observe how Lost Tribe's vibrant, online community has responded to the events of October 7th. Our study is developing insights into the diverse facets of Jewish and non-Jewish life as shared online, reflecting how members talk about who they are, how they belong and make sense of world events together. I look forward to continuing my work in partnership with Lost Tribe to further explore the dynamics and potential of online Jewish communities"
– Dr. Talia Hurwich, CASJE Applied Research Fellow
Read more about CASJE’s Applied Research Fellowship and meet all of our fellows and mentors here.
Drs. Sivan Zakai and Lauren Applebaum are CASJE Small Grant recipients leading a study that explores what Jewish children think about the world. Read more about some of their early findings here.
The CASJE Small Grants Program supports studies of Jewish learning and development. Past projects have investigated learning across the wide variety of settings where Jewish education and engagement happens. You can learn more about our current CASJE Small Grants projects here.
CASJE is leading an ongoing Research-Practice Partnership with OneTable and recently published a guide to help Jewish organizations measure social connectedness, loneliness, and belonging. We are thrilled to be able to share this tool with BeWell’s Resiliency Roundtable in December. You can access the guide here and learn more about why social connection matters for Jewish engagement and how Jewish organizations can use research to build social connection in their own communities.
“CASJE was inspired to develop this project for several reasons: We wanted to work closely with partners to develop a more robust framework for conceptualizing and measuring the goals and outcomes of Jewish engagement activities; we wanted to test new ways of understanding Jewish practice that centered shared experiences rather than just individual perspectives; and we wanted to contribute to a larger national conversation about loneliness. We deliberately designed our study so that our findings can help other Jewish and civic organizations asking similar questions gain a clearer picture of the social worlds of their own constituents and better understand their needs.”
From an essay in eJP by Drs. Arielle Levites and Gage Gorsky.
Overwhelmed by the amount of research available to the American Jewish community? The CASJE Research Digest offers accessible, expert research summaries to keep leaders and decision-makers informed and up-to-date on the latest research evidence regarding the attitudes, behaviors, and needs of American Jews.
This past year, CASJE published one of the most popular issues ever of our Research Digest, featuring AJC’s study: The State of Antisemitism in America 2023. Catch up on past issues of the CASJE Research Digest here.
More information about new issues of the Research Digest will be coming soon. Sign up to receive the digest here!
This year, in partnership with The Paradigm Project, CASJE introduced a new generation of leaders in Jewish early childhood education to our foundational research in Jewish ECE. During the program, CASJE shared key findings from our ECE study, including how to define and nurture Jewish engagement for families with young children. The participants had the opportunity to discuss what Jewish engagement means in their contexts and how they can use this research to help make the case for investments in Jewish early childhood education.
The CASJE ECE study produced one of CASJE’s most popular research tools ever – our infographic on the many facets of Jewish engagement for families with young children.
This CASJE white paper, by Drs. Meredith Katz, Abigail Uhrman, Jeffrey Kress, investigates how educators in US Jewish day schools understand issues related to race and racism in the context of their school communities. Two thoughtful companion pieces to this exploratory study, authored by day schools leaders Rabbi Heather Miller and Dr. Steven Lorch, help us understand why these questions matter for day school communities today.
“When we are fully committed to seeing each other on deeper levels, we then do our best in each interaction because we believe that our communities are not complete without the richness that each of our sparks brings to them. “ – Rabbi Heather Miller
CASJE was proud to work with GW’s Collaboratory: A Center for Jewish Education to develop a Think-Practice Tank on Teaching Antisemitism and Jewish Inclusion in K-12 Schools. This invitation-only convening brought together 20 key organizations active in this critical arena to network, engage with new research, and imagine new partnerships and possibilities for this burgeoning field.
CASJE is the research arm of the Collaboratory, which also includes the graduate programs in Israel Education, its academic arm; and the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership, its public engagement arm. GW launched the Collaboratory in February 2024.