From the Constitution to the Classroom: Educational Freedom in Antwerp’s Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Schools

Abstract

This study explores how the constitutional right to educational freedom penetrates to the schools of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish (Haredi) community in Antwerp, which is one of the largest Haredi communities in the world. The findings indicate that the constitutional educational freedom is altered by various legal rules, social norms, and implementing agents that transform it on the way down to the Haredi schools. The complex, illusive operation of the cogwheels of education policy demonstrates that education laws should be shaped with considerable thought, taking into account their long journey across the arenas of education policy.