National survey launched into how the Holocaust is taught
07 November 2008
The first large scale national survey into how the Holocaust is taught in English secondary schools will be launched by the Institute of Education, London (IOE) in November.
The launch coincides with the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass, 9 November 1938), when violent acts against Jews in Nazi Germany were legitimised and close to 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps in a single night.
Dr Stuart Foster, reader in history in education and director of the project, explained that while the Holocaust is a compulsory part of the national curriculum, little is known about teachers' attitudes and perceptions about it, and existing small-scale research suggests that many feel ill equipped to handle such a difficult and emotive subject. "This survey will shed light on the challenges that teachers face when teaching this complex and demanding subject," he said.
The researchers hope to find answers to such questions as: Why do teachers choose to teach about the Holocaust? How much time do they devote to it? Are there reasons why a teacher may hesitate to teach the subject? Does the background of the students affect this decision in any way?"
The survey is part of a three-year £1.5 million project funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the charitable Pears Foundation, with support from the Holocaust Educational Trust. It will culminate in a national programme of courses to help teachers address the concerns and issues they encounter when teaching about the Holocaust.
Questionnaires will be sent to teachers in all secondary schools in England between November and the end of this term, followed early next year by interviews and case studies. The content of the courses, to be delivered from eight regional centres, will be informed by the results.
Ruth-Anne Lenga, a visiting fellow at the IOE and a specialist in Holocaust education, said: "As survivors of the Holocaust are decreasing, the greater is the responsibility on teachers to develop powerful strategies that will ensure the universal warnings of this atrocity are firmly understood in ways that encourage our children to conceive of and work for a more humane future."
The survey will be available at http://www.hedp.org.uk/page_viewer.asp?page=Bringing%20research%20and%20scholarship%20into%20the%20classroom&pid=1 from November 9.
Notes for editors
Further information from Helen Green, press officer, +44 (0)20 7612 6459, h.green@ioe.ac.uk. Many see Kristallnacht (9 November 1938) as a turning point in the reign of Nazi terror against the Jews. Nearly 300 synagogues were burned to the ground; Jewish shops were looted and smashed; Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, homes for the elderly, schools and houses were vandalised. The police watched but did nothing. Many Jews were beaten to death or arrested and held in concentration camps. The news hit the world press along with adverts from desperate Jews searching for guarantors to secure their escape. It is estimated that half of the Jews in Germany left their homes after Kristallnacht to try to find sanctuary elsewhere. This movement included 10,000 children who escaped to Britain via the Kindertransport between 1938 and 1939.
A year ago the largest synagogue in Germany, partially destroyed during Kristallnacht, was restored and re-dedicated. The ceremony took place in August 2007 and was attended by political leaders and Holocaust survivors from all over the world.
The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice.