Abstract: While Holocaust memory underscores the significance of freedom, the actual enactment of freedom varies across different countries, posing a vital question for educating about the Holocaust. How do educators navigate this dissonance? Do they serve as conduits for government perspectives, or do they exercise their teacher autonomy? As part of a comparative study examining shifts in Holocaust memory in Europe from 2020 to 2022, my colleagues and I conducted in-depth interviews with 75 Holocaust educators from Poland, Hungary, Germany, and England, inviting them to share their life stories and professional experiences. This article delves into a recurring theme found within these educators’ narratives: the appreciation of freedom and choice.
To interpret the significance of this theme, I integrate educational theories on ‘difficult history’ and teacher autonomy with theories of psychological reactance and the freedom quotient (FQ). I draw on Isaiah Berlin's concepts of negative and positive liberty to bridge the personal and societal dimensions. The resulting model provides a framework for the study's findings. As expected, teachers from Poland and Hungary felt their negative liberty was constrained, while those from Germany and England reported a greater degree of autonomy. More surprisingly, limited negative liberty led many interviewees from Poland and Hungary to find powerful ways to express their inner freedom. These included resistance to authority, activism within and beyond the classroom, and the application of diverse and creative pedagogical approaches in EaH. The interviews also pointed to a connection between higher levels of negative liberty in Germany and England, and a plurality of content and goals in EaH within these countries. In light of these findings, I offer policy and educational recommendations.
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.
Abstract: 2011 marked 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. This represented a change not just in the content of schools or ideologies, but in the relationships between individuals, institutions, and systems. During this time, the post-Soviet Republic of Lithuania not only had to reimagine its national identity in a local context, but it also had to reimagine itself as a community within the political,economic, and historical imaginations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). Therefore, in Lithuania, as in many other post-Soviet countries, debates over which events should or should not be included as part of the national identity, and thus represented in the school curriculum, are more than just discussions about educational content; they are debates over the moral legitimacy of certain narratives and the ability of sovereign states to define them.
Topics: Antisemitism, Antisemitism: Education against, Main Topic: Antisemitism, Schools: Non-Jewish, Schools: Primary / Elementary, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Jewish Pupils, Jewish Children In Mainstream Schools, Jewish Perceptions of Antisemitism, Teaching and Pedagogy, Universities / Higher Education
Abstract: Malmö stad har under hösten 2020 undersökt förekomsten av antisemitism och förutsättningarna för judiskt liv i Malmös förskolor, skolor, gymnasier och vuxenutbildning. Resultatet presenteras nu i en rapport tillsammans med en forskningsöversikt och förslag på åtgärder framåt. Undersökningen och rapporten är en del av Malmö stad och Judiska Församlingen Malmös samverkansöverenskommelse.
Rapporten handlar om att motarbeta antisemitism och stärka förutsättningarna för judiskt liv i Malmös förskolor, skolor, gymnasier och vuxenutbildning. Studien består av intervjuer med skolpersonal och judiska barn och unga i Malmö, vilket kompletteras med en skolpersonalenkät utförd i några av Malmös grundskolor och gymnasier, samt en forskningsöversikt.
- Antisemitismen i Malmö är ett verkligt problem med tydliga offer, men frågan är mer mångbottnad än vad den ibland beskrivs som. Målsättningen med det här arbetet är att, utifrån kunskap och forskning, identifiera problem och behov i Malmös skolor för att skapa förutsättningar för att arbeta systematiskt med dessa frågor i utbildningen, säger Mirjam Katzin, samordnare för arbetet mot antisemitism och författare till rapporten.
Resultatet visar att det ofta saknas tillräckliga förutsättningar och förkunskaper hos skolpersonal för att arbeta mot antisemitism. För att förebygga rasism och antisemitism är en ökad kunskapsnivå central. Detta gäller i första hand lärare och annan skolpersonal och i andra hand eleverna. Slutsatsen är att det behövs kunskap och utbildning i demokrati, rättigheter, antirasism och specifikt frågor om antisemitism, konspirationsteorier, Israel/Palestina och de nationella minoriteterna.
Abstract: Welche Erfahrungen machen Lehrer*innen mit Antisemitismus und Diskriminierung an Schulen? Welchen Umgang mit antisemitischen Phänomenen praktizieren sie? Welche Praktiken, Präventions- und Interventionsansätze sind bereits etabliert, welche könnten zusätzlich vorgeschlagen, entwickelt und implementiert werden?
Die qualitative Studie „Umgang mit Antisemitismus im Kontext Schule – Berlin“ ist eine Bedarfsanalyse, die vom Kompetenzzentrum für Prävention und Empowerment (ZWST) durchgeführt wird. Hierin wird nach den Sichtweisen, Strategien und Ansätzen von Lehrer*innen, Schulleitungen und Bildungsverwaltung in Bezug auf Antisemitismus und weiteren Diskriminierungsformen an unterschiedlichen Schulen gefragt. Ein wissenschaftlicher Beirat berät die Umsetzung des Forschungsprojekts. Die Umsetzung der Studie findet mit Genehmigung durch die Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie statt.
Der Ausgangspunkt praxisorientierter Forschung im Kompetenzzentrum sind langjährige Erfahrungen im Präventions- und Interventionsbereich unterschiedlicher Bildungseinrichtungen. Sowohl die pädagogische Beratung von Schulen als auch die zahlreichen Anfragen seitens betroffener Familien begründen den Bedarf an empirischer Fundierung pädagogischen Handelns im Umgang mit antisemitischer Diskriminierung. Dabei ist es dem Kompetenzzentrum wichtig, mit Lehrer*innen ins Gespräch zu kommen und ihre Anliegen zu erfassen, um gezielt unterstützen zu können.
Auf der methodischen Grundlage der qualitativen Sozialforschung finden vertiefende Einzelinterviews, Gruppendiskussionen sowie fallbezogene Praxisgespräche mit Lehrer*innen, Schulpsycholog*innen und weiteren schulbezogenen Akteur*innen statt.
Dabei werden folgende Forschungsfragen bearbeitet:
Welches Verständnis von Antisemitismus bringen Lehrer*innen in den schulischen Alltag ein?
Welche Umgangsweisen praktizieren Lehrer*innen?
Auf welche Unterstützungssysteme greifen Lehrer*innen dabei zurück?
Welche Ansätze und Methoden können Lehrer*innen darin unterstützen, Antisemitismus und Diskriminierungen vorzubeugen und mit Vorfällen umzugehen?
Welche institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen können hierfür geschaffen werden?
Das Ziel der Studie ist eine Bedarfsanalyse in Bezug auf den Umgang mit Antisemitismus unter Berücksichtigung von Handlungsräumen und Strukturen der Institution Schule. Auf dieser Grundlage werden Empfehlungen für die Prävention und Intervention formuliert. Die Perspektive von Lehrer*innen bietet dabei zentrale Einsichten für die Erstellung einer Gesamtstrategie gegen Antisemitismus auf schulischer, struktureller und bildungspolitischer Ebene.
Abstract: The fight against antisemitism through the means of education should begin from as early an age as possible. Various informal, educational projects exist that work towards this goal, using a number of different methods. However, these projects often operate separately and on an ad hoc basis in educational institutions, hence they lack an overarching concept or idea for the students. This makes the projects less efficient, and their short and long term impact becomes more difficult to evaluate. Generally speaking, Jewish history and religion are not part of the national curriculum in secondary schools. In the rare cases when aspects of Judaism are taught, the main focus is on the Holocaust, which often has a negative and counterproductive effect. For this reason, the main objective of the New World project was to educate students on topics such as Hungary’s role in the Holocaust (which is still not fully accepted by Hungarian society), prejudices, radicalisation and Jewish identity.
With the professional leadership and support of the Tom Lantos Institute, a complex educational project was realised. Its components build on each other, following a single line of thought: it incorporates the performance of the play New World, a subsequent drama-based pedagogical session and finally, 2-3 weeks later, an informal educational class led by the Haver Foundation. Each step of the programme was evaluated using a variety of methods such as mini-interviews, participants’ reports and questionnaires. Following a short literature review, this report intends to give a summary of the concept, structure, conclusions and results of the project. The report is dedicated to participants and leaders of similar initiatives, as well as to a wider audience of individuals interested in the topic.
Abstract: Los instrumentos y técnicas docentes, tanto en estudios primarios y secundarios como en el ámbito universitario, se adaptan a los nuevos métodos desarrollados por la ciencia de la didáctica para un mejor entendimiento y asimilación. Este hecho encuen-tra también formas en las nuevas tecnologías (TIC) que sirven como refuerzo para el aprendizaje. Sin embargo, herramientas clásicas tales como el uso del teatro aún siguen teniendo resultados destacables. El objetivo de estas páginas es el de ofrecer el modo en que se articula el género dramático en la adquisición de elementos lingüísticos, culturales e histórico-sociales y su practicidad en los estudiantes de grado en la Uni-versidad de Granada a través de dos ejemplos prácticos, el teatro en lengua hebrea y en judeoespañol o sefardí. 1. El género teatral en el contexto pedagógico: técnicas y aprendizaje de idiomas La enseñanza de técnicas teatrales no está programada en las guías docentes ni for-ma parte de ellas como una materia optativa, en nuestro caso, en el grado de Lenguas Modernas y sus Literaturas de la Universidad de Granada. Esta tarea, aunque requiere importante consideración y queda en manos de los responsables del taller, docentes que actúan como los directores del mismo. Las claves que se aplican en esta actividad, destinada a alumnos de idioma y cultura, tienen que ver con las formas de comuni-cación y la construcción de un conocimiento intercultural. El espacio teatral genera un lugar en el cual el alumno/actor puede discutir su personalidad y confrontarla con
Abstract: Most Jewish day schools in the United Kingdom underperform in the teaching and
learning of Hebrew. Indeed, prominent figures in the UK Jewish establishment have
singled out the teaching of Ivrit (Modern Hebrew) in Jewish day schools as in need of
improvement. Former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks argues that whilst children are undoubtedly
better educated Jewishly now than in the past, many challenges remain.
I contend that the physical separation between the Jewish Studies and the Hebrew
departments in Jewish day schools does a disservice to both by shutting the door to
crucial teaching and learning opportunities of Hebrew. I recommend that Jewish day
schools should be working towards breaking down these ‘barriers’. In the present
research, I address this issue from the perspective of my own interest, namely Hebrew
pedagogy. My research investigates the extent to which creating connections between
Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew can enhance the teaching and learning of Hebrew in
Jewish day schools.
I employ an Action Research methodology within the context of a case study using
elements of Appreciative Inquiry and written through the lens of Autoethnography. From a
theoretical perspective, I draw on research regarding second and foreign language
acquisition and suggest that Ivrit cannot be separated from its religious, cultural and
historic framework. That is, while Hebrew is taught in the United Kingdom as a Modern
Foreign Language, I propose that we are in fact teaching a cultural language. This term
more aptly describes a modern living language bound up in a particular religion, culture
and time, as is Ivrit. Using the Hebrew root letters as the route to link Biblical and Modern
Hebrew, my research demonstrates that this integration can enhance the teaching and
learning of both. My case study shows that schools and teachers who choose to integrate
Biblical and Modern Hebrew can successfully embrace educational change, a process
which will require them to confront their belief systems as well as accepting new teaching
approaches and materials.
The Hebrew language has evolved, survived and thrived over the millennia and for me it is
the essence of Jewish survival.
