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Continuity and Change: Ten Years of Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust in England’s secondary schools

Author(s): Hale, Rebecca; Pettigrew, Alice; Karayianni, Eleni; Pearce, Andy; Foster, Stuart; Needham, Kane; Nienhaus, Luisa; Chapman, Arthur

Date: 2023

Topics: Holocaust Education, Curriculum, Main Topic: Holocaust and Memorial, Teachers, Teaching and Pedagogy, Schools: Non-Jewish, Schools: Seconday / High Schools

Abstract: Continuity and Change: Ten Years of Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust in England’s secondary schools, published in 2023, explores the development of Holocaust education in the decade following the Centre’s landmark 2009 study Teaching about the Holocaust in English Secondary Schools: An empirical study of national trends, perspectives and practice The Continuity and Change study examines teachers’ aims, definitions, content, pedagogy, assessment, knowledge, understanding, curriculum planning, challenges encountered and training experiences in 2019/20 and explores how this compares with the situation in 2009. Like its counterpart in 2009, the Continuity and Change study took a mixed methods approach. In total, 1,077 teachers from across England completed a comprehensive survey with 964 of them reporting they had taught about the Holocaust during the previous three years. Interviews were conducted with a subsample of survey respondents to discuss their teaching practice in greater depth. In total, 134 teachers from 45 schools across England took part in either small group or individual interviews.

Jewish lives Interrupted

Author(s): Miller, Helena; Pomson, Alex

Date: 2021

Topics: Coronavirus/Covid, Main Topic: Other, Jewish Students, Jewish Schools, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Youth, Mental Health, Surveys, Focus Groups, Jewish Youth, Jewish Youth Work, Youth Movements, Israel Tours

Abstract: During February and March 2020, the world was plunged into responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. This saw unprecedented restrictions to people’s lives in an effort to prevent the spread of a highly infectious disease.

In the UK, from 23rd March 2020, the entire population was put into “lockdown” by the government, effectively suspending almost all forms of activity outside the home. By the time of writing, in the Autumn of 2021, the UK has endured three lockdowns resulting in enormous disruption to every sphere of life. The country has not yet returned to normality.

The effect on every aspect of people’s lives – family, mental wellbeing, social, economic, educational and religious - has been immense. This study explores the effect of the pandemic on the Jewish lives of teenagers. It pays
special attention to three key moments in their Jewish development: bar/bat mitzvah; Israel
tour and summer camp; and their graduation from school.

Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: Israel

Date: 2018

Topics: Longitudinal Studies, Teenagers, Jewish Schools, Main Topic: Education, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Israel Tours, Israel Attachment, Attitudes to Israel

Abstract: What do Jewish 18 year olds think about Israel and their relationship with the modern State? As this cohort enters late adolescence, their consciousness regarding their relationship with Israel will be forming. They will be leaving secondary school at the end of this academic year and if they continue onto further education, they will be confronted with the complex relationship with Israel that exists on campus. We are interested in the changing lives of adolescents and understanding how this cohort view their relationship to the modern State of Israel.

This study is conducting an in-depth and sustained exploration of the changing Jewish lives of young people and their families. Our data is collected from students in 7 Jewish schools and from students in non-Jewish schools.
We compared data collected before attending the post GCSE Israel Tour with information obtained during Year 13. All the Jewish schools in our sample apart from one offer a Year 9 Israel Trip, which is a two to three week educational tour of the country, taking place towards the end of the summer term. 73% percent of the student sample went on their Year 9 Israel trip. In addition, one of our schools offers a Year 9 extended
Israel programme for 10 weeks, which typically attracts 10–20% of the eligible cohort.

Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: The First Seven Years of the Study

Date: 2019

Topics: Longitudinal Studies, Teenagers, Jewish Schools, Main Topic: Education, Schools: Seconday / High Schools

Abstract: In 2011 we started following a cohort of Jewish 11 year-old students as they entered both Jewish and non-Jewish
secondary schools. We were interested in finding out about their school choices and experiences, attitudes to Judaism, Jewish identity and affiliation, sense of belonging in Britain, milestones and significant events. We were
also interested in finding out about their life choices after school. As we reach the end of seven years of research, we are able to look back at the opinions and attitudes of our students and their families with regard to their Jewish lives and their schooling.

Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: School Choice

Date: 2015

Topics: Longitudinal Studies, Teenagers, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Jewish Schools, Main Topic: Education

Abstract: For the first time in the history of Jewish schooling in the UK, researchers are following the Jewish lives of children who entered one of seven Jewish secondary schools at a particular moment in time. More than 1,000 families
are participating in a study that aims to explore the changing Jewish lives of families during the seven years their
children spend in secondary school, and possibly beyond. This publication focuses on what we have learned from parent surveys and interviews about secondary school choice. We have been able to explore how and why Jewish
families in the UK make their secondary school choices, a topic that can pre-occupy them for several years before their child actually makes the transition from primary school to secondary school.

Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Date: 2015

Topics: Longitudinal Studies, Teenagers, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Jewish Schools, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, Main Topic: Education

Abstract: For the first time in the history of Jewish schooling in the UK, researchers are studying the Jewish lives of more than
1,000 children who entered one of seven Jewish secondary schools in 2011. We are also studying a comparison group of close to 100 Jewish families whose children did not enter a Jewish secondary school in 2011.
This publication focuses on what we have learned from parent surveys and family interviews about Bar/Bat Mitzvah – a key stage within the Jewish life cycle. When we surveyed and interviewed families in 2013–14, their
children were in Year Nine. They reflected on the extent to which Bar/Bat Mitzvah played a role in their lives. We were able to ask if, where and how this moment was celebrated as well as the role their school played.

Jewish Lives: a longitudinal study to explore changing lives of Jewish secondary school students and their families. Focus: Project Overview

Date: 2015

Topics: Longitudinal Studies, Teenagers, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Jewish Schools, Main Topic: Education

Abstract: Six Jewish secondary schools in the greater London area and one in Manchester, are taking part in a longitudinal study to understand the school’s significance in the lives of the families whose children are enrolled
in the school. It is not intended to evaluate the school’s performance. This project represents a unique opportunity to help understand the school’s significance in the lives of students, their families and the wider community. Our work will help with policy and planning for the short and medium term future.

Home and away: Jewish journeys towards independence - Key findings from the 2011 National Student Survey

Author(s): Graham, David; Boyd, Jonathan

Date: 2011

Topics: Students, Surveys, Antisemitism, Universities / Higher Education, Main Topic: Education

Abstract: The first study of Jewish student identity in the UK. It demonstrates that certain universities are particularly popular among Jews, and shows that whilst anti-Israel activity at university is of some concern, most Jewish students are comfortable being open about their Jewishness on campus.

The Student Survey offers a perspective that has never previously existed. It includes the views of 925 Jewish students from multiple different Jewish backgrounds, based at 95 different academic institutions, and studying a plethora of different courses.

Committed, Concerned and Conciliatory: The attitudes of Jews in Britain towards Israel

Author(s): Graham, David; Boyd, Jonathan

Date: 2010

Topics: Israel-Diaspora Relations, Israel Criticism, Israel Education, Attitudes to Israel, Surveys, Politics, Zionism, Main Topic: Identity and Community

Abstract: The Israel Survey is a landmark study in British Jewish research. Based on the largest national sample of British Jews ever constructed, it paints a detailed portrait of the place of Israel in Jewish identity, and clearly demonstrates how Jews in Britain feel about some of the key political issues facing the country.

It is clear from the findings that Israel constitutes an important part of British Jews' sense of self, which goes some way towards explaining why it can be such a contentious topic when discussed in the public realm. It also demonstrates that the vast majority of Jews in Britain regard Israel as the ancestral homeland of the Jewish People, and many have close familial or social ties with Israelis.

However, the British Jewish population is far from uniform in its views about social and political issues in the country. Opinions differ greatly, but taken as a whole, a clear majority is both pro-security and pro-peace - eager to see Israelis living free from the threats of extremism and violence, and eager to see the country reach a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians.

The study was commissioned by Pears Foundation as part of itscommitment to ensure that policy debate should be based on empirical research. An extended methodological report is available on request to researchers associated with JPR.

Teaching About the Holocaust in English Secondary Schools: An empirical study of national trends, perspectives and practice

Author(s): Andrews, Kay; Foster, Stuart; Lenga, Ruth-Anne; Pettigrew, Alice; Salmons, Paul

Date: 2009

Topics: Holocaust Education, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Schools: Non-Jewish, Main Topic: Demography and Migration

Abstract: This research was commissioned by The Pears Foundation and the Department for Children,
Schools and Families (DCSF). The aims were to examine when, where, how and why the
Holocaust is taught in state-maintained secondary schools in England, and to inform the
design and delivery of a continuing professional development (CPD) programme for teachers
who teach about the Holocaust. A two-phase mixed methodology was employed. This
comprised an online survey which was completed by 2,108 respondents and follow-up
interviews with 68 teachers in 24 different schools throughout England.
The research reveals that teachers adopt a diverse set of approaches to this challenging and
complex subject. In the report, teachers’ perceptions, perspectives and practice are presented
and a range of challenges and issues encountered by teachers across the country are explicitly
identified. The research shows that, although most teachers believe that it is important to
teach about the Holocaust, very few have received specialist professional development in this
area. It also shows that many teachers find it a difficult and complicated subject to teach, and
that they both want and need support to better equip them to teach about the Holocaust
effectively.
The report is the largest endeavour of its kind in the UK in both scope and scale. The authors
hope it will be of considerable value to all those concerned with the advancement and
understanding of Holocaust education both in the UK and internationally

Moving Israel Education: Report About Israel Education Within the UK Jewish Community

Author(s): Ariel, Yonatan; Gringras, Robbie

Date: 2013

Topics: Israel Education, Israel-Diaspora Relations, Israel Tours, Youth, Main Topic: Education

Abstract: The foundations of Israel Education in the UK are sound.
 Participation in trips to Israel is higher than in nearly every country in the world.
 Commitment is deep and strong, and Jewish educational and communal
leadership in general are intelligent, nuanced, and realistic. The UJIA is an
established central body that now defines Israel education as its primary
mandate, and other organisations such as the New Israel Fund, The Jewish
Agency for Israel, Yachad, Zionist Federation to name but a few have Israel at
their heart.
The challenge for Israel Education in the UK is to bring the quality of its vision, reach, and
programming up to the level of those who lead, plan and fund them.

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