Jewish Primary Schools in a Multicultural Society : Responding to Diversity?

Abstract

In February 2001 the British government announced its commitment to increase the number of schools run by the churches and other religious groups where there was 'clear local demand from parents and the community'. The decision met with approval in some quarters, but was condemned elsewhere on the grounds that such schools, in a multicultural society, are inevitably divisive. In the course of exploring the response of Jewish primary schools in England to cultural pluralism, this article sheds light on the charge of divisiveness. It describes a study that offers little support to the critics, for it highlights the wide variation in attitudes and practices that characterised the schools with regard to the multicultural dimension of citizenship education.