Ultra-orthodox education graduates` perceptions and coping with the Covid-19 crisis and the impact of their socialization processes on how they coped with the Crisis (Hebrew)

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of ultra-orthodox education graduates in the context of dealing with the Corona epidemic, with the aim of identifying the resources and the role of the education system, in coping with the epidemic.

The Covid-19 epidemic that occurred in the world became an acute existential crisis that affected the lives of people, both at the level of the individual, at the level of the community and the state. The ability to withstand crisis situations and recover in a short time, as much as possible, depends on the resilience of the individual and the society in which he lives. The current study is based on Antonovsky's salutogenic model (Salutogenesis), which describes the individual's or the group's search for resources that will reduce stress and promote successful coping in crisis situations. The concept of a sense of coherence, with its three components: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness, represents the internal and external resources of the individual in dealing with stressful situations. The sense of coherence is formed as part of the socialization processes of the individual to the society to which he belongs. It influences the way the individual chooses to deal with and respond to stressful situations. Religious belief may also be used as a helpful factor in the various struggles, to understand a new meaning and thus reduce stress and pressure. The ultra-orthodox society, in which this work deals with, is a religious society, and therefore the place of religion and faith in relation to coping must be examined.

Using the slotogenic model may provide an explanation of the contribution of the personal and group coping resources of the ultra-Orthodox education graduates in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis, their sources of strength, and the role of the socialization and faith processes in ultra-Orthodox society in shaping the perceptions of coping with stressful situations

The research questions:

   1.What are the personal and social perceptions of the ultra-Orthodox graduates regarding the Covid-19 epidemic?

   2. What is the role of the education and socialization processes that the ultra-Orthodox graduates went through in coping with the epidemic?

. What is the role of religious faith in coping with the epidemic?3

The chosen research method is the qualitative method that tries to understand meanings and

actions and how people construct them. The qualitative approach makes it possible to describe and analyze the aspects and experiences of the participants from subjective perspectives regarding the research questions. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 men and women who graduated from ultra-Orthodox education aged 30-50 and belong to the ultra-Orthodox stream. The research population was randomly sampled from the ultra-orthodox society, and they can teach about the phenomenon under study. The findings obtained were analyzed according to the Gross method (1995) which includes four stages of analysis: word, category, relationship between categories when each of the interviews were divided into sayings and episodes and reclassified into a theoretical model. Also, the research was aided by an analysis that was also done according to the approach of the theory anchored in the field Glaser & Strauss, 1967).)

The findings of the present study point to challenges created by the epidemic among ultra-Orthodox graduates. These challenges stemmed from the aspects related to their way of life, community characteristics and their adherence to tradition, in the face of the restrictions set by the authorities. The instability and uncertainty that characterized the epidemic, created among the ultra-Orthodox believers, a sense of ambivalence regarding the "correct and desirable" conduct. This situation undermined the balance in the community's life. There were ultra-Orthodox who adhered to the instructions of the state institutions, and ultra-Orthodox who believed that the ultra-Orthodox way of life should be maintained. The socialization processes and the characteristics of the ultra-Orthodox community, which provide its members with health and resilience, created psychological distress reflected in high morbidity rates.

The conclusion of the present study is that the ultra-Orthodox education and socialization processes made it difficult for ultra-Orthodox society to cope during the epidemic and damaged its resources of resilience and sense of coherence on all its components. On the other hand, aspects of religious faith and family capital, contributed to the promotion of health and resilience of the graduates of ultra-Orthodox education.

The main findings of the present study testify to the connection between education and socialization processes in ultra-Orthodox society and the ability of ultra-Orthodox society and its graduates to cope with crisis situations such as the Covid-19 epidemic and sharpen the importance of ultra-Orthodox education in shaping the perceptions of its graduates not only in everyday life but also when dealing with crises.

 It is recommended to develop additional studies such as: an in-depth comparative study on ultra-Orthodox society in other crisis situations while examining the effects of the ultra-orthodox education system on the ultra-Orthodox society's coping and its resources of resilience and coherence. Another study may deal with the examination of the differences between the various groups in ultra-Orthodox society (Lithuanians, Hassidim, sepharadic Orthodox) and the examination of the effects of the socialization processes on each of the groups in the society. Also, follow-up research can assess the place of faith as an educational tool in the coping of different religious populations with crisis situations. Finally, a study combining quantitative data with qualitative interviews can be conducted to yield additional insights.