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Abstract
This article considers the role of teacher agency and curricular flexibility as pedagogic features of Shoah education in Israeli state schools. The analysis is based on a recent national study which included a quantitative survey (questionnaires), qualitative methods (focus groups, interviews, observations) and a socio-historical review. As teaching of this subject has expanded in both religious and general streams of the Hebrew-language state school system, it has been addressed in diverse ways in terms of method, materials and content. Loosely defined requirements enable educators to be active agents in individualizing the curriculum. It is proposed that this is beneficial when addressing an inherently sensitive subject that is tied to teachers’ and students’ sense of identity and worldview. Implications of a new national curriculum for Shoah education are discussed. Relevance of teacher agency in Shoah education in other settings is considered.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. In this article the Hebrew term Shoah is used, as it refers specifically to the Nazis’ genocidal campaign, whereas the English word ‘Holocaust’ may refer to other atrocities and tragedies; see Gerstenfeld, Citation2008; Petrie, Citation2009.
2. Several researchers from Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem were interviewed, and one from the Massua Institute for the Study of the Holocaust.
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Notes on contributors
Erik H. Cohen
Erik H. Cohen was a Professor of Sociology of Education at the Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel. His research interests spanned from youth culture, the Jews of France, dark tourism -- such as visits to Holocaust sites – to structural data analysis. Born in Morocco, educated in France, and living in Israel, everything human fascinated him.