Combatting antisemitism in the school playground

The aim of Gross and Rutland’s paper is to analyse the problem of
antisemitic bullying in contemporary Australian state schools by investigating the case
of Jewish children in those schools. The study is interdisciplinary, drawing on historical
data and educational methodology, and employs a qualitative approach through semistructured
interviews conducted in Sydney and Melbourne with all the major actors:
students (55), teachers (10), principals (4), parents (13) and Jewish communal leaders
(10). Gross and Rutland argue that classical anti-Jewish stereotypes are perpetuated in
the school playground, transmitted by children from one generation to the next. This
finding provides an additional perspective to the general literature, which argues that
racial prejudice and stereotypes are acquired primarily through home socialization,
religious institutions and the media, and neglects the role of the school playground.