More open to diversity? The longer term citizenship impact of learning about the Holocaust

This is the third stage of a longitudinal study that investigates the learning of the Holocaust on pupils' citizenship values. We firstly compared primary pupils' values before and after their learning of the Holocaust; and secondly tracked these pupils into secondary to compare their attitudes with their peers who had not studied the Holocaust in primary school. It involves 200 pupils from a predominantly white rural community in the West of Scotland with very few ethnic minority pupils. The core group are now aged 15-16 years and this study continues to investigate their citizenship values using a values survey. This study is of interest to those involved in citizenship education, Holocaust education, antiracist and values education

'Why are we learning this?' Does studying the Holocaust encourage better citizenship values? Preliminary findings from Scotland

The relationship between learning about the Holocaust and the development of positive values may seem common sense but in reality there is a complex level of development and understanding. This research (which was sponsored by the Scottish Government) was designed to ascertain whether learning about the Holocaust impacts on young people's general citizenship values and attitudes; does learning about the Holocaust allow them to extrapolate from the events of the Holocaust to present day issues, such as racism and discrimination. The research followed a cohort of approximately 100 pupils (aged 11-12) who had studied the Holocaust and compared their values one year later both in comparison to their earlier attitudes and compared to their peers who had not studied the Holocaust. This paper reports the findings. As we might expect, the results were not always as predicted, particularly when it came to the pupils understanding of anti-Semitism or genocide; in general though, our core group had maintained more positive values than they had before their lessons on the Holocaust and were more positive than their peers

Seeing the world today from a different viewpoint: the impact of the lessons from Auschwitz project on schools in Scotland

Auschwitz remains the epitome of inhumanity and barbarism. In 2007, the Holocaust Educational Trust organised the first Lessons from Auschwitz (LFA) project for Scottish schools. Its participants were two plane-loads of Scottish pupils and teachers from 31 local authorities - typically two pupils from a school accompanied by a teacher. This research, funded by the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Pears Foundation, involved these participants being invited to complete an online questionnaire with selected follow-up interviews. The aims were to evaluate the LFA project and provide insight into the impact this project had on individuals, schools and communities. This paper will report on: Student evaluation of the LFA project; The impact of the LFA project on individuals, schools and local communities; Conclusions as to the value of the LFA project in Scotland

'We don't learn democracy, we live it!' : consulting the pupil voice in Scottish schools

As the education for citizenship agenda continues to impact on schools, there is a need to begin the discussion around examining the kind of initiatives that can push it forward. In Scotland the proposals should, it is argued, permeate the curriculum throughout the school. Yet there is the fear that the responsibility of all can become the responsibility of none. This paper examines, through case study research carried out by the authors, initiatives in schools designed to take forward the citizenship agenda in the light of children's rights. The first two relate to firstly the impact of pupil councils in primary schools and secondly the impact of discussing controversial issues in the primary classroom. The third outlines the impact on values and dispositions of developing more participatory, democratic practice in the classroom. The paper concludes by calling for both more initiatives of this type and more evaluation of their worth