Resources
Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
1,784 Results found
Arab Teachers and Holocaust Education: Arab Teachers Study Holocaust Education in Israel This paper examined whether change occurred in the attitudes of Arab teachers in Israel toward Holocaust education following an in-service study course. Survey and interview data indicated that after the course, teachers had a better understanding of what occurred during the Holocaust, and their willingness to know about its effects on Jewish people increased. However, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impacted participants' views. (By the author)
Citizenship Initiatives and Pupil Values: A Case Study of One Scottish School's Experience As the education for citizenship agenda continues to make an impact on schools, there is a need to discuss and examine the kind of initiatives that can push it forward. In Scotland the proposals should, it is argued, permeate the curriculum throughout the school. Yet there is the fear that the responsibility of all can become the responsibility of none. This research is designed to examine the impact on the young people involved in a dedicated and intense citizenship programme in one large secondary (high) school in Scotland. The results suggest that there was a marked change in the general values of the young people involved. Further, that there are some stark gender differences in the findings. (By the author)
One country, many cultures! Does Holocaust education have an impact on pupils' citizenship values and attitudes? The Holocaust has been regarded as the defining moment of modern history and perhaps of all time. For most people it still evokes the ultimate in barbarism and inhumanity. The focus of this paper is to examine the impact that Holocaust education has on citizenship values in the primary and secondary stages of schooling. Previous research on teaching the Holocaust, primarily case studies in either the primary or the secondary sectors, suggests that the contribution of Holocaust education to citizenship includes developing pupils' understanding of the notion of justice, tolerance and the many forms of racism and discrimination, and provides opportunities for developing the positive values of empathy, awareness of antiracism, and an understanding that the individual can make a difference. Further, it can make a significant contribution to citizenship in developing pupils' awareness of human rights issues and genocides, the concepts of stereotyping and scapegoating and the exercise of power in local, national and global contexts. Our ongoing longitudinal research (sponsored by the Scottish Executive Education Department and running from November 2003 until summer 2005) aims to examine the value of Holocaust education in achieving aspects of citizenship. It is concerned with the immediate and longer term effects of Holocaust education on pupils' values and attitudes. Initially focused on primary pupils aged 11-12 years, it will follow them into secondary and compare their values and attitudes with pupils in their year who did not study the Holocaust in their primary schools. The proposed paper, which will report on the first stages of this ongoing research, will concentrate on: the relevance of Holocaust education to citizenship; the research methodology; the first results of the understanding of pupils and the impact of Holocaust teaching; tentative conclusions. (By the author)
Holocaust Education: Analysis of Curricula and Frameworks: A Case Study of Illinois This article addresses how far educational institutions have come in designing authentic and meaningful curricula for teaching the Holocaust at the secondary level. Examined in this article are the historical development of Holocaust education in the United States, with a focus on the state of Illinois as a case study, what contributes to the development of a full curriculum, and what constitutes the boundary between a curriculum and a framework, based on examination of the work of scholars and institutions in the field. Analysis of existing frameworks according to criteria developed by the authors has yielded the finding that a framework can only guide teachers to an extent because of its looser structure. A full curriculum, however, is structured with greater detail and more direct ways of determining evidence that demonstrates understanding of the content and mastery of essential skills. Recommendations are provided for Holocaust Education curriculum development, underscoring the significance of an engaging design that makes learning more lasting and meaningful. (By the author)
Educator Resources from Facing History and Ourselves Facing History and Ourselves fights racism, antisemitism, and prejudice and nurtures democracy through education programmes worldwide, with specific focus on the history of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide and mass violence. Facing History proposes various resources, workshops, seminars and online learning opportunities for educators and students.
Understanding Matters: Holocaust Curricula and the Social Studies Classroom Over the past two decades, interest in Holocaust education has grown substantially as individual states, starting in the 1980s, began to mandate and/or recommend Holocaust studies as part of the social studies curriculum. As a result, these mandates and/or interest in the Holocaust have spawned any number of curriculum products, some of which seek less to help the student of history acquire an understanding of this historical event, and more in terms of dictating to the social studies student what he or she should understand. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to critique Holocaust curricula that have been developed under the auspices of a state department of education (SDE) or endorsed by a SDE, as we believe that teachers unfamiliar with the Holocaust will turn to these products as sources of authority. We base this critique on what we refer to as three approaches or considerations to understanding history—the body of work on historical thinking which we view as the underpinning of historical empathy and positionality, historical empathy as articulated by Elizabeth Yeager, O.L. Davis, Jr., and Stuart Foster, and the guidelines on teaching the Holocaust developed for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum by William Parsons and Samuel Totten. These three elements, each in their own way, help us to understand the challenge for teachers and students whose foundation for understanding the Holocaust may solely rest upon curriculum products whose curricular aims and/or design often obstruct the quest to “understand,” e.g., lack of historical accuracy, lack of depth, and historical gaps. (By the author)
Transferring findings from genocide education research into strategies for teaching and learning about genocide in schools In recent years interest in schools outreach and academic enrichment has increased dramatically, reflecting a greater social conscience and awareness of the impact that universities can have on the wider community. The transferable skills that academics bring to schools need to be honed for this new learning environment, as delivery methods and success benchmarks are radically different in a schools context. This collection addresses the numerous issues raised when arts and humanities academics become involved with schools, bringing together practitioners from a broad range of fields within the arts and humanities to share experiences and insights. (By the author)
What can we learn from the dark chapters in our history? Education about the Holocaust in Poland in a comparative perspective The article investigates what research tells us about the dynamics of educational practice in both formal and informal education about the Holocaust. It poses such questions as whether it is possible to identify good practices on a political and/or educational level, whether there are links between education about the Holocaust and human rights education, and how education about the Holocaust relates to attitudes toward Jews. Examples of both international studies (such as those by the Fundamental Rights Agency of the EU and the American Jewish Committee) and some national surveys on education about the Holocaust are discussed, followed by an analysis of empirical studies from Poland based on focus group interviews and individual interviews with educators. The choice of case study was based on the historical fact that occupied Poland was the site of the murder of almost 5 million Jews, including 3 million Polish Jews. In many cases a strong association with a Polish sense of victimhood based on the memory of the terror and the murder of almost 2 million ethnic Poles during WWII creates conflictingapproaches and generates obstacles to providing education about Jewish victims. Nevertheless, following the fall of communism, the number of educational initiatives designed to teach and learn about the Shoah is steadily increasing. The article presents tips for successful programmes of education about the Holocaust which can be generalized for any type of quality education, but are primarily significant for education about tolerance and education aimed at reducing prejudice, counteracting negative stereotypes and preventing discrimination. (By the author) 