Browsing by Subject "Juutalainen kulttuuriperintö"

The goal of the study was to find out how Jewish cultural heritage can be used in craft teaching, and what this process is like from the perspective of the teacher and the students who participated in the study. The research was carried out at the Jewish School of Helsinki whose central task, in addition to the contents and goals of the national curriculum, is to support the students' Jewish identity and to pass on the cultural tradition to future generations, i.e. to preserve the Jewish cultural heritage. The research aimed to find out whether such a project can support the formation of the students' Jewish identity and what kind of reflections the project arouses in the students about their own cultural identity. The study is a qualitative school ethnographic study that used storytelling as a reference for the craft project. The research lessons were held in the spring semester of 2022 as part of the seventh graders' craft lessons, and 9 students participated in the research. During the craft project, the dramatic story of the biblical Joseph and his family was read, in parts, from the book titled Tooran tarinoita juutalaisen tradition mukaan (Torah stories according to the Jewish tradition), and the topics that emerged from the text were discussed together with the students. As a craft project, the students designed and completed "Joseph's overcoat" using different craft techniques. The research material was the observational material collected by the researcher teacher, such as notes and reflection, interviews of the students participating in the research, and the students' products created in the craft project. The material was processed and analyzed using the qualitative research method. The study showed that the Jewish cultural heritage is suitable for a project that combines crafts and cultural education, when the study module is planned and implemented carefully. The starting point of the project must be a topic brought to present day and made meaningful and interesting for the target group. The subject is then worked on functionally and with versatile methods and techniques. Storytelling and discussions add rhythm and structure to lessons, which promotes motivation and peace of mind in the class. The students mostly had a positive attitude towards the project, but the craft project was not found to have a significant effect on the students' perceived cultural identity.