Motivations of Jewish adolescents in a British Hebrew school: Identity, socialization, and language learning

There have been a limited number of studies regarding Jewish adolescents and their motivations for pursuing further Jewish education and training once they have completed b'nai mitzvah. Furthermore, related studies have focused primarily on American and Israeli populations where the numbers of Jews are considerably larger than those in the United Kingdom. This study sought to investigate the motivations of Jewish adolescents in a synagogue on the southern coast of England where the Jewish population is small, especially in comparison to the overall British population. Qualitative methods of inquiry were employed in this case study through the use of observations, open-ended questionnaires, and lengthy dialogues with the seven participants. From the data gathered, the researcher was able to develop data tables in order to organize motivational lists and compare them to literature on the topics of identity, socialization, self-determination theory, the socioeducational model for second language acquisition motivation. The most prominent results involved the participants' desire to maintain relationships with their Jewish friends, their desire to contribute to both the synagogue community and the outer community, their love for social action, and their dedication to the perpetuation of Judaism and Biblical Hebrew language usage. They also enjoyed working with and teaching the younger children, being able to demonstrate creativity, and their abilities to take on adult roles and responsibilities. Through the socialization process, both at home and at school, the participants in this study have developed their identities, not only as Jews, but also as Britons, athletes, musicians, artists, dancers, and more. The setting of the Hebrew school provided a positive socializing environment which motivated the students to further learn and teach both Jewish studies as well as Hebrew. The participants also expressed the desire to raise their children in Jewish homes, an indicator of strong religious socialization in this case.