A study of alumni self-report on the impact of a yeshiva high school education: Exploring academic and spiritual development

Abstract

A study of alumni self-report on the impact of a yeshiva high school education: Exploring academic and spiritual development A growing body of research has documented the impact of non-academic factors on academics and the role those factors play at the college level (Webber & Ehrenberg, 2010; Massi, 2012; Wasielewski, 2014), however, little is known about these influences at the high school level. This research aimed to address this question by studying how yeshiva high schools may contribute to the continued strengthening of the Jewish community through their impact on the students they graduate. An alumni survey was created as a joint effort between the Yeshiva University's Institute for University-School Partnership (YUSP) and 11 Jewish High Schools and was administered to a participant sample consisted of 1,312 high school alumni comprised of both males and females. Strong relationships with Judaic studies faculty in high school were found to have a positive impact on students' religious observance and on their self-report of preparedness for college-level Judaic studies. An increase in religious observance in high school was also found to have a positive impact on religious observance post-high school. This study serves as a starting point to inform future research into how yeshiva high school programming contributes to student development and to the maintenance of strong Jewish communities around the United States and around the world.