Development of Adolescents’ Values and Jewish Identities via Experiential Philanthropy Education

Abstract

The values that begin to solidify during adolescence can be steered by experiential education programs designed to inculcate a set of attitudes and behaviors in their participants. One such program, Jewish Youth Philanthropy, socializes adolescents into recognizing the importance of donating both to Jewish causes and within a Jewish framework. This paper examines the relationship between these programs and the development of Jewish and donor identities during adolescence. It suggests that surveyed Jewish youth philanthropy participants are more likely than non-participants to perceive themselves as donors, but that their Jewish identities are viewed as justifications for prosocial behavior, not drivers of it.

Service-Learning in Higher Education and Prosocial Identity Formation

“…Considered to be a high impact pedagogical practice, service-learning provides students with opportunities to meaningfully enact, develop, and reflect on various identities (Astin et al, 2000; Eyler & Giles, 1999). Indeed, research has long demonstrated positive outcomes associated with service-learning (e.g., Celio et al, 2011; Tomkovick et al, 2008; Yorio & Ye, 2012) and has linked participation in service-learning to the formation of a number of identities, such as self-identity (e.g., Winans-Solis, 2014), ethnic identity (e.g., Petrov, 2013), civic and political identity (e.g., Iverson & James, 2013; Mitchell, 2015), professional identity (e.g., Beck et al, 2015; Keshwani & Adams, 2017), academic identity (e.g., Dukhan et al, 2008), and religious identity (e.g., Brookner, 2020; Rehnborg et al, 2008).…”