Unprecedented Study Will Explore How Professional Development Experiences Help Jewish Educators and Leaders Throughout Their Careers
January 8th, 2024
Research Team Will Follow Study Participants Over Five Years to Understand Impact of Programs
A first-of-its-kind longitudinal study aims to understand how professional development programs influence the growth and career advancement of Jewish educators and Jewish educational leaders throughout their careers. A research team at Rosov Consulting will survey participants of Jim Joseph Foundation professional development programs multiple times over the next five years to follow their continued professional learning and career trajectories.
“Effective professional development is key to attracting and retaining these individuals in the field,” said Stacie Cherner, Director of Learning and Evaluation at the Jim Joseph Foundation. “This unprecedented study will help grow the pipeline of talented, highly skilled leaders and educators who are vital to Jewish communities. We are grateful to all of the educators that take part in the study as we all learn together.”
Rosov Consulting will survey educators and educational leaders who work in Jewish serving organizations and participated in a professional development opportunity in 2023 that was supported by the Jim Joseph Foundation. Those include programs offered by: Birthright Israel, Foundation for Jewish Camp, Hillel International, M²: Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, Jewish New Teacher Project, Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Leading Edge, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools, Repair the World, Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, SVARA, The iCenter, The Jewish Education Project, UpStart, and The Wexner Foundation.
The surveys will include questions about the participants’ attitude towards professional development and career commitment; other influences in their life, such as supervisors and current events; and outcomes of participation in professional development.
“We’re excited to have been given the opportunity to track the career trajectories and professional growth of educators and leaders across the various sectors of Jewish education,” said Alex Pomson, Principal at Rosov Consulting. “Real-time panel studies are quite common in general education. As far as we know, this is the first study of its kind in the Jewish community. We have a chance not only to observe how educators grow over time, but to see how their roles evolve in response to tumultuous times.”
Learn more about the study at gelsresearch.org.