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Helena Miller

Dr Helena Miller is the Senior Lecturer in Jewish Education Studies at the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS). She has a PhD in Jewish Education and has taught and written widely, after training and working originally as a Primary school teacher, specialising in art.

Dr Miller has instigated and led many innovative projects in the UK and overseas and is the senior editor of the two volume International Handbook of Jewish Education (2011 Springer). She is the senior editor of the Journal of Jewish Education, and leads the Jewish Lives longitudinal research study of Jewish families in the UK. Helena was the co-chair of Limmud International 2009-12. She received the Max Fisher Prize for outstanding contribution to Jewish Education in the Diaspora in 2012.
Helena Miller
Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: Israel
Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: Israel
This report, part of the 'Jewish Lives' cohort study, begun in 2011, examines what Jewish 18 year olds think about Israel and their relationship with the modern State. The data was collected from students in 7 Jewish schools and from students in non-Jewish schools.

Helena Miller and her team compared data collected before attending the post GCSE Israel Tour with information obtained during Year 13. All the Jewish schools in the sample apart from one offer a Year 9 Israel Trip. 73% percent of the student sample went on their Year 9 Israel trip. In addition, one of the schools offers a Year 9 extended
Israel programme for 10 weeks, which typically attracts 10–20% of the eligible cohort.
Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: The First Seven Years of the Study
Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: The First Seven Years of the Study
In 2011 Helena Miller and her team began a project following a cohort of Jewish 11 year-old students as they entered both Jewish and non-Jewish secondary schools. The team were interested in finding out about their school choices and experiences, attitudes to Judaism, Jewish identity and affiliation, sense of belonging in Britain, milestones and significant events. They were also interested in finding out about their life choices after school.

After seven seven years of research, this report looks back at the opinions and attitudes of the students and their families with regard to their Jewish lives and their schooling.
Working towards gender equality in small and medium TSOs: An incremental approach
Working towards gender equality in small and medium TSOs: An incremental approach
This paper describes and discusses a gender equality project conducted with Jewish third sector organisations (TSOs). An adapted version of ‘Project Juno’ was used to support six small or medium-sized TSOs in working towards gender equality. Key learning points for the wider TSO sector are drawn out.
Gap Year: Impact on our Jewish Journeys
Gap Year: Impact on our Jewish Journeys
This paper presents a re-analysis of data from three research projects undertaken by the Research and Evaluation Department of the United Jewish Israel Appeal between 2012 and 2014, extracting data on the experience of the Gap Year in Israel.

Most of the Gap year respondents felt that going on their Gap year had a positive influence on the likelihood to engage with the Jewish community in the future. Most respondents thought their Gap year had been extremely important in shaping their Jewish life, even more so than their family or youth movement. The Gap year research suggested that almost 70% of respondents, who had previously been on a Gap year, felt that the whole experience had positively affected their likelihood to make Aliyah.
Jewish Schools and Britain: Emerging from the Past, Investing in the Future
Jewish Schools and Britain: Emerging from the Past, Investing in the Future
This book chapter reviews the historical context for the development of Jewish schools in the UK, explaining how social, cultural, political and demographic changes have affected the framework and content of Jewish education. An identification of the current issues and challenges facing Jewish faith schools in twenty-first century Britain follows, focusing on external influencing factors as well as issues from within the Jewish community.
Challenging the Status Quo: The Story of Jcoss — The Jewish Community Secondary School
Challenging the Status Quo: The Story of Jcoss — The Jewish Community Secondary School
Until 1981, every Jewish school in the UK had operated under Orthodox auspices. By 1999, three pluralist primary schools were thriving, and the political and Jewish communal climate was ready to support the development of a new kind of Jewish secondary school.

Nine years later, the Jewish Community Secondary School (JCoSS )opened its doors. This article charts the journey of this project, from idea to reality, navigating political, economic and community challenges, and shows how one group of people changed the landscape of Jewish education in the UK.
Secondary School Choice as a Window on Jewish Faith Schools in Contemporary British Society
Secondary School Choice as a Window on Jewish Faith Schools in Contemporary British Society
In this article the authors find a disconnect between the small number of Jewish adults attending places of worship regularly and the growing number of Jewish children attending Jewish faith schools. For many parents, schooling is synonymous with Jewish socialization, or enculturation; developing networks of Jewish friends, providing sufficient cultural resources to enable participation in Jewish life, and nurturing distinctive values.

Jewish schools have therefore become more than places for academic advancement for these families; they have become the primary locus of Jewish community.
Changing the Landscape: Pluralist Jewish Education in the UK
Changing the Landscape: Pluralist Jewish Education in the UK
The ways in which the Jewish community in the UK has met the challenge of living in a pluralist society, as well as within a pluralist Jewish community, are addressed in this book chapter. Defining pluralism in the context of Jewish schools is complex and this chapter looks at what pluralism means both within a school and in the school's relationship with the wider community.
Informal Provision for Young People in the UK Jewish Community
Informal Provision for Young People in the UK Jewish Community
This Commission, set up in April 2013 as a partnership between the Jewish Leadership Council and the United Jewish Israel Appeal, drew on research that aimed to:
a) Map the current Jewish informal provision for young people in the UK
b) Identify and reflect on existing strategy, policy and provision
c) Assess how that provision has changed in the past generation

This publication reports on the analysis of the data and addresses the issues and themes that emerged.
 

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