This study employed art-based research with phenomenological qualitative inquiry to understand the perspectives of professionals who are working in the Israeli school system with children diagnosed with selective mutism. Selective mutism (SM) is a disorder originated in anxiety in which a child, between the ages of 3-5, does not speak at school…

This project is a regional case study of higher education institutions, employees, and students in the occupied Palestinian town of Bethlehem. A three-article format, this project employs autoethnography to explore the ways the author's religious community conceived of the holy land; mapping and photo documentation to explore the infrastructures…

The role of Israel in the identity of North American Jews is of concern and interest to community leaders, philosophers of Jewish education, and most important, practitioners in the field. Although there is an awareness of the need to help emerging Jewish educators grapple with the complex questions surrounding Israel engagement, little research…

This dissertation examines a vital catalyst in the globalization of education: international assessments--that involve testing and rankings--of student achievement in academic subjects. Nearly all high-income countries participate in international assessments such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in…

Increasingly, the effects of war--threat towards health, socio-economic stability, and social trust--are felt on the streets of cities and towns in conflict zones. Teachers in two locations, one a conflict zone, one post conflict, talk about the ways they respond to violent conflict in their community. Sderot, Israel, sits two kilometers from…

Although university students are key participants in knowledge-making processes, their insights about learning are sparsely documented, and too rarely considered in contemporary conversations in higher education. In centering the insights and experiences of students enrolled in two women's studies courses at the University of Maryland, this…

The purpose of this research was to examine how internationals, Palestinians, and Israelis interested in developing and articulating a culture of peace understand their work within the broader context of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. This study employed critical qualitative methods including advocacy research and elements of critical…

My study explores a curriculum development project for Israel education in a liberal Jewish high school. Through an action research framework, I investigate the tensions between teaching about Israel to achieve critical thinking goals and to facilitate students' development of positive affinity for Israel. I also explore the affordances and…