Political socialization in kindergartens: Observations of ceremonies of the Israeli Jewish holidays and memorial days

Abstract

This study investigated political socialization in Israeli‐Jewish kindergartens. Specifically, it examined the scope of conflict supporting and peace supporting themes that Jewish‐Israeli kindergarten teachers transmit to children during ceremonies of national events. Sixty‐eight observations in 17 state‐secular and state‐religious kindergartens were conducted during five ceremonies: Passover, Holocaust Day, Memorial Day for Israeli Fallen Soldiers, Independence Day, and Jerusalem Day. The findings reveal that teachers transmit messages that comply with the conflict supporting themes to the children. The most dominant themes were collective self‐perceived victimization, justness of one’s own goals, positive collective self‐image, ingroup security, and patriotism. These themes were more dominant in state‐religious than in state‐secular kindergartens. Thus, we found that the kindergarten teachers serve as agents of political socialization who transmit the hegemonic national narratives to the younger generation.

Ethno‐political socialization of young children in societies involved in intractable conflict: The case of Israel

“…One way children learn about the conflict narrative is described in a recent observational study in kindergartens in Israel. In this study, ceremonies of key holidays and memorial days were observed (Nasie & Bar‐Tal, 2020). The findings showed that in these ceremonies, Jewish‐Israeli teachers transmitted major themes of the ethos of conflict to children, and provided clear explicit references to the zero‐sum Jewish narrative.…”

Under a constant shadow: The Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the traumatic memory of the Holocaust.

“…In research examining Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies in Israeli kindergartens, kindergarten teachers were found to transmit messages that justify ingroup goals, including collective victimhood, which is salient during these ceremonies. For example, in one kindergarten, the teacher made a comparison between Jews defending themselves during the Holocaust and Israeli soldiers who fight against “all the Arabs who tried to harm us” (Nasie & Bar-Tal, 2020, p. 694).…”

Intergroup conflict runs in the family: Parental social attitudes and political ideology predict the ethos of conflict in their offspring

“…Scholars hypothesize that the role of parents, among other factors of socialization, is even more important in the context of violent intergroup conflict (Nasie & Bar-Tal, 2020). Evidence shows that parents actively transfer the attitudes and beliefs regarding the intergroup conflict to their offspring (Nasie, Diamond, & Bar-Tal, 2016).…”