“It Led to Great Advances in Science”: What Teacher Candidates Know About the Holocaust

A quarter of a century has passed since lawmakers enacted the New Jersey Holocaust education mandate, and it seems responsible and timely to ask if it, the original Holocaust education mandate, actually encouraged substantive learning about the Holocaust. Despite repeated fanfare about the mandate and its inclusion in educational curricula throughout the state, no existing studies have tested its impact. To fill the gap, this article examines the effectiveness of the New Jersey Holocaust education mandate. It does this by reviewing and analyzing a survey of teacher candidates at a large public university in New Jersey to develop data on the knowledge and attitudes about the Holocaust. The teacher candidates comprised a pool whose primary and secondary education took place under the mandate and who intend to teach within the state-mandated framework. After a review of the current state of Holocaust education, the article examines the New Jersey mandate and curriculum more carefully. It then moves on to explore the results of a mixed-methods survey given to teacher candidates at a public university in that state to offer a measure of the mandate’s success. Finally, it ends with implications for revisions of curriculum and instruction.     

Civics and Student Participation

This article responds to the curricular challenges teachers face with Holocaust education, including cursory treatments and a lack of focus on individual experiences. First, the author argues for a case-study approach to help students reengage concrete and complex features of the Holocaust as a point of departure for subsequent inquiry. In addition to providing a rationale and recommended content for teaching about the Holocaust, the author provides a case-study example in the form of a detailed historical explication of the Holocaust in Latvia. Last, the author situates this case study within social studies pedagogy and offers generative possibilities for practice.     

Student Self-Evaluation in a Core Program

In this historical study, the author reexamines the relationship and role of social efficiency and scientific curriculum making in the early years of the social studies (1916–1929). The author argues that historians have applied the term social efficiency too bluntly to label and ultimately dismiss a variety of educational reformers in the social studies, many of whom offered promising reform agendas. A closer look at scientific curriculum making in the social studies reveals that the movement was not inherently anti-academic, or anti-intellectual—critiques historians commonly associate with the social efficiency and scientific curriculum making—but rather an attempt to update the curriculum to be consistent with its own stated goals.     

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Critical Analysis of a Film Depiction of the Holocaust

Film depictions of the Holocaust have become a ubiquitous part of social studies education, as many states have mandated Holocaust or genocide curricula in recent years; however, the quality of such curricula varies greatly, as does the level of teacher preparation for Holocaust-based instruction. Given the increase in mandates and the lack of more rigorous content knowledge expertise, many teachers turn to films, such as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, to represent, for students, the horrors of the Holocaust. The film, however, is deeply problematic in several ways—historical inaccuracy, questions of agency and gender, and an overarching message that represents a potentially dangerous interpretation of responsibility for the greatest crime in human history. This article explores the failings of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and proposes strategies that teachers may use to mitigate the film’s shortcoming and to provide for a valuable learning experience for students.     

The intricacies of education about the Holocaust in Poland. Ten years after the Jedwabne debate,what can Polish school students learn about the Holocaust in history classes?

In many European countries, disparities have grown between history and the memory of the Holocaust. Debates on Polish–Jewish relations during the Holocaust and empirical studies in the field of education reveal that there is a gap between research and education. The emphasis in this paper is on the content of new history textbooks published after the 2008 educational reforms in Poland.     

American Military Government after Two Wars

Researchers have argued for increased collaboration between teachers and museum educators to improve the outcomes of museum education on students; however, significant gaps in understanding between the two remain impediments to effective collaboration. We surveyed fifty-one museum educators, conducted in-depth interviews with ten of these respondents, and analyzed the data with use of an inductive lens. In this article we use a composite dialogue between a museum educator and a teacher to present a series of questions teachers should ask of, and information they should provide to, museum educators. Such questions and information can be used to initiate more effective collaborative relationships that may ultimately improve the quality of museum education for our students. We argue that gaps in museum educators’ understanding about teachers’ needs, objectives, and concerns about museum visits could be bridged if teachers knew what questions to ask and what information to volunteer to museum educators before arranging a museum visit.     

News and Comment

Holocaust education in the United States began as a grassroots movement during the 1970s. Today, more than 30 states mandate the teaching of the Holocaust; however, far less attention is given in schools to other 20th-century instances of genocide. Totten has suggested that by neglecting “other” genocides (e.g., Darfur, Rwanda, and Cambodia), these events may not be perceived as significant (when compared to the Holocaust), and moreover, students may fail to realize that genocide has occurred multiple times since 1945 and thus no longer a threat today. Given the implications surrounding Totten’s assertion and the global nature of genocide and its reach, we aim to provide social studies teachers and teacher educators with a series of accessible suggestions for incorporating “other” genocides into their practice—suggestions that are aligned and situated within Hanvey’s seminal conceptual frame for global education.     

Cast from the Past: Using Screencasting in the Social Studies Classroom

This action research study followed a social studies educator as he developed and implemented screencasts in three ninth-grade world history classes. He focused on ways to increase student-centered learning and meeting the needs of broad ranges of learners. The study revealed an increase in student engagement, instruction in career and college technological skills, and facilitation of special education students’ needs. Few studies investigate the use of screencasting in social studies education. This study reveals the benefits and some of the drawbacks to using this technology in the social studies classroom.     

Fusion of Guidance Objectives and World History

Global education has been debated and studied for the last two decades because of the developments in the world. Although global education involves different approaches and conceptualizations, it has influences on educational systems and curricula across the world. Likewise, the recent curriculum reform in Turkey has brought global education into perspective. The purpose of this article is to analyze the influence of global education on Turkey's current social studies curriculum and to discuss possible revisions of the curriculum to empower global education in Turkey.     

Building competency in self-care for social work students: a course-based case study

ABSTRACT

There is increasing recognition that social work educators must do more to ensure that social work students transitioning into the profession are prepared to engage in adept self-care practices. However, documented curricular efforts targeted at meeting this aim are few. This paper documents the impact of a credit-bearing self-care course on student (N = 40) competency about self-care. The course occurred in a social work education program at a large public institution in the United States. The researcher used a pre-experimental (e.g. pre/post) design to assess course outcomes. Results indicate significant improvements in student knowledge about self-care, skills related to engaging in self-care practices, and value related to self-care. After a review literature, this paper will provide a foundational overview of the course, delineate outcome variables and measures, explicate evaluative findings, and discuss salient implications derived from this endeavor.     

Exploring How an Elementary Teacher Plans and Implements Social Studies Inquiry

Social studies continues to be marginalized in elementary grades, yet the C3 Framework and its Inquiry Arc offer possibilities for high-quality elementary social studies instruction. However, the C3 Framework requires that teachers possess an adequate understanding of how to implement inquiry within the various social studies disciplines, which we argue is an aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge necessary for effective elementary social studies instruction. This single-case study follows an elementary teacher through her use of the C3 Framework, Inquiry Arc, and a related curriculum approach called the Inquiry Design Model as she conceptualized, planned, and implemented inquiries in her fifth-grade classroom. By incorporating this new knowledge into her existing understanding of social studies pedagogy, as well as her knowledge of her students and specific educational context, the teacher was able to successfully navigate some of the challenges associated with implementing social studies inquiry in elementary classrooms.     

Indo-China: Storm Center of Southeast Asia

The authors report the findings of a survey study in which they investigated high school social studies teachers' current practices, challenges, and needs in relation to instruction of English language learners (ELLs). Thirty-three high school social studies teachers in six English as a second language (ESL)-centered schools in central Virginia participated in the study. Drawing on the findings, three themes demand particular attention: the challenges that social studies teachers face teaching ELLs; the accommodations teachers currently make for ELLs; and the types of support teachers need to teach ELLs social studies more effectively. The authors include findings from the field of second-language education to raise social studies teachers' consciousness about their ELLs' needs and conclude with a number of practical suggestions related to instruction and differentiation that are crucial for social studies teachers to help ELLs learn effectively. Further dialogues are needed, particularly regarding ESL inclusion and teachers' critical awareness of serving this particular group of students.     

‘States of change’? One hundred years of the JUC

ABSTRACT

The Joint University Council for Social Studies (JUCSS) was formed 100 years ago at the end of the First World War in 1918. Its expressed aim was to coordinate and develop the work of social study departments across the UK, as part of the larger project of post-war reconstruction. In October 2018, an event entitled ‘States of Change?’ was held in London to celebrate this history and to explore what, if any, kind of future the JUC (as currently constituted) should have. At the event, I gave a short historical presentation that examined social work education’s history in the context of the JUCSS’s origins and development. This paper picks up some of the key ideas from this presentation in more detail. It will be argued that tensions which existed in the formation of the JUCSS in 1918 still exist today, not least because they are emblematic of the ambivalences and complexities that are at the heart of social work and social work education, then and now. Furthermore, it will be suggested that social work as an academic discipline must pay heed to these tensions if it is to survive—and thrive—in the academy today. (192)     

Twenty Years of Social Studies Textbook Content Analysis: Still “Decidedly Disappointing”?

In an article published in 1993, Rahima Wade reviewed the quality of social studies textbook content analyses published in three major social studies journals between 1982 and 1992. She concluded that the quality of this research was disappointing. Borrowing and refining Wade's methods, this article presents the findings of a review of all 29 textbook content analyses published in the same journals between 1994 and 2016 to see whether textbook content analysis research has improved during the past two decades. The results indicate that the quality of this research has improved little: many studies were unclear in their sampling strategies, validity and reliability of coding variables, and data collection and analysis procedures. The methodological limitations rendered their substantive findings questionable. This article concludes with recommendations for textbook researchers to explicate their data collection and analysis processes and make their results more useful to social studies teaching and learning. It also has implications for social studies teachers on how to use textbooks critically to provide students a more meaningful and powerful learning experience.     

Teaching Disability History: The Case of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Abstract

This article addresses the teaching of disability history, specifically concerning the historical figure of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). Drawing upon literature from multicultural education, disability history and disability studies in education (DSE), the authors discuss historical content and teaching ideas for instruction about FDR. The authors present findings from a content analysis of six middle level and secondary United States history textbooks, noting unanimous coverage of FDR’s disability resulting from polio. These textbooks noted how he overcame his disability and strengthened his character, referenced his decision to conceal his disability, and quoted FDR directly regarding his disability. The authors follow this analysis with discussion of several middle and high school teaching ideas that might augment textbook coverage and representation about FDR. This article explores how teachers of United States history might further develop their teaching of history through the inclusion of disability history within the context of a famous historical figure.     

Learning from survivors: mapping the past onto the present

This article presents findings from an exploratory study of the impact that one educational program had on public and private school participants from high schools on the west coast of the United States of America. Students interacted with Holocaust survivors and created cultural products in the form of short films relating to present-day events. Students transferred what they learned about the past into a message about the present. This article presents the educational impact that learning from survivors had on teenage students. I also argue that similar methods could be transferred, or exported, for use with a number of different, more local, ‘difficult history’ education initiatives.     

Silver Inflation and the Senate in 1933

Along with the ever-increasing racial/ethnic diversity in U.S. schools, researchers began to investigate the impact of racial/ethnic identity on young people's understanding of the nation's history. Compared to other racial minorities, Asian American students have received little academic and educational attention. This article seeks to address this gap through a qualitative study on Korean American youth. Drawing from in-depth interviews with twenty Korean American high school students, this article examines how Korean American youth make sense of U.S. history and how their sociocultural backgrounds affect their historical perspectives as well as their ideas and experiences of learning history historical perspectives.     

A Transdisciplinary Approach to Teacher Preparation: Providing Equitable Access for All Students to Learn Social Studies Content,Skills, and Processes

Abstract

Contextualized in the critical pedagogies of universal design for learning (UDL) and social justice education, our study aimed to equip teacher candidates (TCs) to provide students with equitable access to learning social studies content knowledge, skills, and processes as a way to equally empower all students to be civically engaged, and thus to disrupt the social reproduction of empowering privileged students and disempowering marginalized ones in the public schools. An earlier study indicated that our TCs did not transfer or generalize the UDL framework from foundation courses to subsequent classes or in practice. This case study describes how and in what ways elementary education faculty used a transdisciplinary approach, integrating the UDL framework taught in the foundation’s course into a social studies methods course to facilitate TCs’ continued learning and application of theory into practice. The results of this case study suggest that TCs that TCs had not yet internalized the UDL framework or critical consciousness and that these must be intentionally transferred and generalized to new coursework by the faculty on a consistent, ongoing basis.