Report: Teachers failing pupils in Shoah education
One-in-five educators tasked with teaching about the Holocaust in secondary school have not had formal training in the subject, research by UCL's Centre for Holocaust Education has found.
There’s “widespread misunderstanding” about the Holocaust among secondary school teachers, a major new report revealed.
Research by the University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education found there has been “improved subject knowledge” over the last ten years, but there was “a number of significant gaps and common confusions”.
The report, based on answers by almost 1,000 teachers, says nearly “one fifth of those with recent experience of teaching about the Holocaust had received no formal specialist training at all”.
It warns “many teachers still appear to share a number of widespread misunderstandings, enduring misconceptions and common historical inaccuracies all of which have potentially profound consequence for the teaching and learning of this important history.”
The study flagged major gaps, saying “fewer than half of all teachers were able to correctly identify that Jews comprised less than 1% of the pre-war population of Germany or that systematic mass murder of Jewish people began with the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941”.
Dr Andy Pearce, Associate Professor in Holocaust and History Education said the findings “clearly indicate that formal specialist training.. makes a significant impact on teachers’ subject knowledge of the Holocaust and its history.”
While praising the reported improvement in the last decade, he said many teachers “do not appear to have the subject knowledge required to combat myths and misconceptions that are prevalent in wider society and which we know are held by many young people.
“Not having this knowledge has profound repercussions. It means that teachers are less likely to be able to identify misconceptions among their students, it increases the risk that misunderstandings will be perpetuated, and it undermines the notion that by learning about the Holocaust young people will be able to better understand and respond to persecution and atrocity.
“It is troubling that such myths and misconceptions as these remain among large sections of the teaching profession.”
A spokesperson for the Holocaust Educational Trust said it “has always believed that it is vitally important that educators are equipped with the best tools to teach this difficult subject effectively and with sensitivity in the classroom. This important study from UCL confirms that the route to high quality impact is high quality training. That is why we, alongside others in the sector, place huge emphasis on teacher training but of course there is always more work to be done.”
Teaching about the Holocaust has been a compulsory component of the national curriculum at secondary level since 1991.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
