Hanna David

Intelligence Differences between European and Oriental Jews in Israel

A number of studies have found that Ashkenazi Jews in the United States have a high average IQ. It has been proposed by Cochran, Hardy and Harpending (2006) that this can be explained by the occupational constraints imposed on the Ashkenazi for many centuries in Europe, when they were largely confined to money-lending. They propose that this selected for the high verbal and mathematical intelligence that has several times been found in American Ashkenazim. The current study investigates how far this theory holds for European and Oriental Jews in Israel. A review of studies shows that Oriental Jews in Israel have an average IQ 14 points lower than that of European (largely Ashkenazi) Jews. It is proposed that this difference can be explained in terms of the Cochran, Hardy and Harpending theory because Oriental Jews were permitted to engage in a much wider range of occupations and hence did not come under the selection pressure to develop the high verbal and mathematical intelligence that was present for Ashkenazim.

Diagnosis of the Gifted in Israel.

Many parents of gifted, talented and high-ability children seek counseling in the belief that a diagnosis of their child as ‘gifted’ will solve the problems they and their child are encountering. In Israel, most children are screened for giftedness using the Szold examinations in grade 2 or 3 between the ages of 7 and 9 years. The Szold test screens for mathematical–logical and verbal abilities, but it does not screen for creativity. In the letter of ‘acceptance/rejection’, the only information given is whether or not the child is entitled to participate in the local program for the gifted. In this article I will endeavor to explain why it is not always desirable or necessary to seek an additional clinical diagnosis of potential ability because the problems expressed by both parents and children derive from emotional causes, particular learning disabilities or a mismatch between the child’s potential and the level of curricula provision.

Understanding Giftedness: A Chinese-Israeli Casebook

The Understanding Giftedness: A Chinese-Israeli Casebook is a collaborative work of two educators and researchers. The first author, Hanna David, is an Israeli researcher, and the second author, Echo Wu is a Chinese researcher. This book is a collection of case studies about gifted Chinese and Israeli children. These detailed cases examine giftedness in a variety of settings, focusing on the children’s family backgrounds and environmental factors that affect their growth and development as gifted young persons.

Sibling Relationships among Eilat Families with at Least One Gifted Child.

Abstract A most common belief is that giftedness is the cause of problems in sibling relationships when the family is •mixed•, has at least one gifted child, and at least one non-gifted one. This belief has been accepted not only by parents and educators of the gifted, but also by researchers in the area of gifted education in general and counseling the gifted family in particular. However, quantitative studies have shown that in most case gifted families maintain healthy connections, a high level of psychological adjustment and positive coping strategies (Mathews et al., 1986; Silverman, 1993a). Relationships among gifted and non-gifted siblings have not been widely studied. Thus, until the Chamrad et al. (1995) study the common belief was that having a gifted child has a negative influence on the sibling relationships. Our work is the first Israeli one that examines a whole population, all gifted children invited to participate at the enrichment program for the gifted in Eilat, the most southern Israeli city, with a population of approximately 50, 000, in the year 2007/2008. We studied the 6 following parameters of sibling relationships: friendship, empathy, learning, rivalry, conflict and avoidance. We found that the labeling of one sibling as •gifted• in Eilat did not have a negative influence on the sibling relationship. This result is of crucial importance, as many parents prefer not to send their gifted children to the enrichment program for the gifted I order not to harm the relationships between the gifted and the no-gifted sibling.

Learning Mathematics in the Israeli Junior High School: The Gender Issue and beyond it Women and Mathematics Learning: A Feminist or an Economic Question?

One of the main reasons for social and economic gender inequity in our society is closely connected to the unsatisfactory level of math and science that girls choose to learn while in high school Not learning enough mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science limits the access of many girls to high prestige professions, whether mathematics-related, e.g. engineering, economics, or management, or not necessarily math-related, e.g. law or psychology.

The Talented Arab Girl: Between Tradition and Modernism.

Since Israels independence in 1948 Arab females were the main beneficiaries of the law of mandatory education. Arab women aged 65+ have, on average, less than one year of formal education. Their granddaughters, aged 18–24, have about 12.5 years of schooling – a number that increases each year. As in many Arab countries, Arab girls in Israel tend to enhance their education while observing the rules of tradition and acting within the socially accepted norms (David & Khalil, in preparation). Unlike in many Western societies, in Arab society in Israel – Muslim, Druze and certainly Christian – educational aspirations are not perceived as contradicting religion. Thus, a young educated Arab woman has no restrictions on her education per se. If she is judged by significant others it is only her behaviour that is criticized. As long as she does not behave against the strict laws of “family honour” she is encouraged to excel, even in co-educational programs. Her achievements, high intellectual abilities, good grades and higher degrees make her family proud (Abed-el-Kader Yichya, 1995; David, 2002, 2007). This paper examines a few areas where Arab girls excel, e.g., in school, in the professions and in social achievements. Also included is an analysis of their hardships and suggestions regarding potential ways to overcome or partially overcome these hardships.