A Linkage of Student Satisfaction in High School Classrooms and Future Jewish Identity

Abstract

Since the 1920s, student feedback has been used to evaluate student satisfaction in the college classroom setting. Later in the 1930s and 1940s, feedback questionnaires were introduced to high school students, and in the 1980s, their use became relatively standardized in colleges across the country. More recently, they have been adopted in high schools as well. However, such questionnaires and feedback mechanisms have yet to be utilized in a standardized fashion in Jewish day schools or Hebrew schools. The purpose of this study was to analyze if there is a relationship between offering students the opportunity to express feedback and future Jewish identity. The sample consisted of 695 students, both male and female, from five yeshivas and day schools. The study measures included the following subscales: Jewish Affiliation, Types of Expression, Demographic, Student Voice, Likeability, Jewish Identity, Future Jewish Identity, General School Satisfaction, and Satisfaction with Jewish Education. The data collected demonstrated that students who were able to express themselves had greater satisfaction with both Jewish studies and general studies. A second hypothesis revealed that students were more likely to share positive comments with fellow students about teachers and classes as opposed to when they had negative experiences; this was contradictory to the original hypothesis. Lastly, students who were satisfied with their Jewish education had a moderate to strong significant positive correlation with Jewish identity and future Jewish behavior. The implications of this study demonstrate that student feedback can play an instrumental role in satisfaction for Jewish day school and yeshiva students and have a significant impact on the identity of those students in the future.