ברקוביץ רות אלה, ד”ר
Background
Ruth Berkowitz, PhD, is a senior lecturer (tenured) at the School of Social Work, University of Haifa, Israel. Her research focuses on school climate, bullying and violence, parental school involvement, and associated prosperity and well-being among students, educators, and families. She studies means to improve schools’ abilities to better support youths, especially those living in contexts of injustice, experiencing increased deprivation, and attending schools where the odds are stacked against them.
She is a current recipient of fellowships, including from the Israeli Science Foundation focusing on violence against teachers; the National Institute for Health Policy Research focusing on mental health services for LGBTQ youth; and from the Ministry of Education focusing on the role of schools in improving youth’s wellbeing following the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has published numerous articles in leading peer-reviewed journals (including Review of Educational Research, the Journal of School Violence, and the Journal of School Psychology).
Research
CO-Principal Investigator
Evaluating the need for gay affirmative therapy in mental health services for LGBTQ youth in Israel
Funding: The Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research
Coinvestigator: A. Gewirtz-Meydan
Principal Investigator
Students’ wellbeing and risk behaviors and emotional wellbeing, job burnout and leaving intention among school staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of schools in ecological perspective
Funding: The Ministry of Education
CO-Principal Investigator
Teachers’ Workplace Victimization in Israel: An Ecosystemic Model
Funding: Israel Science Foundation, 2018
Coinvestigators: S. Tzafrir, G. Enosh
Principal Investigator
Building Positive School Climate and Strong Communities for Children
Funding: The Haruv Institute, 2017
Coinvestigators: I. Lavie, M. Cohen
Principal Investigator
Research Synthesis of the Associations between Socioeconomic Background, Inequality, School Climate, and Academic Achievement
Funding: Israel Science Foundation, 2015
Coinvestigators: R. A. Astor, H. Moore
Publications
Berkowitz, R., & Benbenishty, R. (2011). The relationships between victimization and perpetration of school violence. Hevra Verevaha, 31 (2), 225-254 [Hebrew].
Berkowitz, R., & Benbenishty, R. (2012) Perceptions of safety, teachers’ support and absence from school due to fear among victims, bullies and bully-victims. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82 (1), 64-67.
Berkowitz, R., Bowen, L. G., Benbenishty, R., & Powers, J.D. (2013). A cross-cultural validity study of the School Success Profile Learning Organization measure in Israel. Children & Schools, 35 (3), 137-146.
Berkowitz, R., De Pedro, K. M. T., Couture, J., & Benbenishty, R. (2014). Military parents’ perceptions of public school support for their children. Children & Schools, 36, e1-e8.
Berkowitz, R. (2014). Student and teacher responses to violence in school: The divergent views of bullies, victims, and bully–victims. School Psychology International, 35, 485–503.
Berkowitz, R., Glickman, H., Benbenishty, R., Ben-Artzi, E., Raz, T., Lipshtadt, N., & Astor, R. (2015). Compensating, mediating, and moderating effects of school climate on academic achievement gaps in Israel. Teachers College Record, 117, 1-34.
Berkowitz, R., Glickman, H., Benbenishty, R., Ben-Artzi, E., Raz, T., Lipshtadt, N., Astor, R.A., (2015). Les relations entre milieu social, climat scolaire et réussite scolaire en Israël : les hypothèses de compensation, de médiation et de moderation. Éducation et formations, n° 88-89, MEN-DEPP. [French peer reviewed journal].
Klomek, A. B., Kopelman-Rubin, D., Al-Yagon, M., Berkowitz, R., Apter, A., & Mikulincer, M. (2015). Victimization by bullying and attachment to parents and teachers among student who report learning disorders and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Learning Disability Quarterly, 39, 182-190.
De Pedro, K. T., Astor, R. A., Gilreath, T. D., Benbenishty, R., & Berkowitz, R. (2015). The role of school climate in the mental health of secondary students: A study of students in military-connected schools. Youth & Society, 50, 93-115.
Berkowitz, R., De Pedro, K. T., & Gilreath, T. D. (2015). A latent class analysis of victimization among middle and high school students in California. Journal of School Violence, 14, 316-333. De Pedro, K.T., Astor, R.A., Gilreath, T., Benbenishty, R., &
Berkowitz, R. (2016) Examining the relationship between school climate and peer victimization among students in military-connected public schools. Violence and Victims, 31, 751-766.
De Pedro, K., Gilreath, T., & Berkowitz, R. (2016). A latent class analysis of perceived school climate among middle and high school students: Findings from the California Healthy Kids Survey. Children and Youth Services Review, 63, 10-15.
Capp, G., Berkowitz, R., Sullivan, K., Astor, R.A., De Pedro, K., Gilreath, T., & Rice, E. (2016). Adult relationships in multiple contexts and associations with adolescent mental health. Research on Social Work Practice, 1-8.
Berkowitz, R., Astor, R. A., Pineda, D., DePedro, K. T., Weiss, E. L., & Benbenishty, R. (2021). Parental involvement and perceptions of school climate in California. Urban Education, 56(3), 393–423. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916685764
Berkowitz, R., Moore, H., Astor, R.A., & Benbenishty, R. A. (2017). Research synthesis of the associations between socioeconomic background, inequality, school climate, and academic achievement. Review of Educational Research, 87, 425–469.
Berkowitz, R., Tzafrir, S., & Enosh, G. (2017). Exposed in the turret: Teachers’ workplace victimization. The Study of Organizations and Human Resources Quarterly, 2, 7-31. [Hebrew].
Siegel, A., Esqueda, M.C., Berkowitz, R., Sullivan, K., Astor, R.A., Benbenishty, R. (2019). Welcoming parents to their child’s school: Supporting diverse needs and backgrounds. Education and Urban Society, 51, 756–784.
Berkowitz, R. (2020). Students’ victimization in schools: The role of gender, grade level, socioeconomic background and ethnocultural affiliation. Children and Youth Services Review, 114, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105048.2020.105048
Berkowitz, R. (2022). School matters: The contribution of positive school climate to equal educational opportunities among ethnocultural minority students. Youth & Society, 54(3), 372-396. https://doi.org/0044118X20970235.
Pat-Horenczyk, R., Bergman, Y., Schiff, M., Goldberg, A., Cohen, A., Leshem, B., Jubran, H., Worku-Mengisto, W., Berkowitz, R., & Benbenishty, R. COVID-19 related difficulties and perceived coping among university and college students: The moderating role of media-related exposure and stress. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1929029.
Berkowitz, R. (2021) School Climate and the Socioeconomic Literacy Achievement Gap: Multilevel Analysis of Compensation, Mediation, and Moderation Models. Children and Youth Services Review, 130, 106238.
Lopez, V., Salgado, M., & Berkowitz, R. (2023). The contributions of school and classroom climate to mathematics test scores: a three-level analysis. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 34(1), 43-64.
Berkowitz, R., Bar-On, N., Tzafrir, S., & Enosh, G. (2022). Teachers’ Safety and Workplace Victimization: A Socioecological Analysis of Teachers’ Perspective. Journal of School Violence, 21(4), 397-412.
Berkowitz, R. & Winstok, Z. (2022). Teacher-student and peer relationships and students’ school-based victimization: A structural equation modeling analysis. Child Indicators Research, 15(6), 2243-2265.
Berkowitz, R., Sowan-Basheer, W., & Winstok, Z. (2023). Bystanders’ behavioral responses to intimate partner violence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 32 (5), 651-668.
Ghadban, M. (#), Berkowitz, R., & Enosh, G. (2023). Teachers’ Workplace
Victimization, Job Burnout, and Somatic and Posttraumatic Symptoms: A
Structural Equation Modeling Examination. Education Sciences, 13(2), 179.
Ding, X., Lightfoot, E., Berkowitz, R., Guz, S., & Franklin, C. Characteristics and Outcomes of School Social Work Services: A Scoping Review of Published Evidence 2000- June 2022. School Mental Health, 1-25
Berkowitz, R., & Ben-Artzi, E. (2024). The contribution of school climate, socioeconomic status, ethnocultural affiliation, and school level to language arts scores: A multilevel moderated mediation model. Journal of School Psychology, 104, 101281.
Sowan, W., Berkowitz, R., & Winstok, Z. (2024). Neighbors’ Negative Emotional Responses to Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Gender. Partner Abuse, 15(1).
Articles or Chapters in Scientific Books
Berkowitz, R. Bar-On Shmilovitch, N. Ghadban, M., Tzafrir, S., & Enosh, G. (forthcoming). Understanding violence against teachers in Israel: Prevalence, risk factors, outcomes, theory, and implications for research, practice, and policy. In In J.S. Hong, H.C.O. Chan, A.L.C. Fung, & J. Lee (eds.), Handbook of school violence, bullying, and safety. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Encyclopedia Entries
- Berkowitz, R., Iachini, A., Moore, H., Pinter, R., Astor, R. A., & Benbenishty, R. (2017). School climate. In G. Noblit (Ed.), Oxford research encyclopedia of education. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Iachini, A. L., Berkowitz, R., Moore, H., Pitner, R., Astor, R. A., & Benbenishty, R. (2017). School climate and school social work practice. In C. Franklin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social work online. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Pitner, R. O., Moore, H., Capp, G., Iachini, A., Berkowitz, R., Benbenishty, R., & Astor, R. A. (2016). School safety, victimization, and bullying: An overview of violence interventions and monitoring approaches. In G. Noblit (Ed.), Oxford research encyclopedia of social work. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Capp, G., Moore, H., Pitner, R., Iachini, A., Berkowitz, R., Astor, R. A., & Benbenishty, R. (2017). Promoting school safety: How educators and school leaders can address and prevent school violence and victimization. In G. Noblit (Ed.), Oxford research encyclopedia of education. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
