SRI International and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Publish Report on Holocaust Teaching Practices in U.S. Schools

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 29, 2006 - SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) today announced findings from a Museum commissioned report titled, "National Study of Secondary Teaching Practices in Holocaust Education". The study will be featured in an upcoming issue of Social Education, the membership journal for the National Council for the Social Studies. The Museum, located in Washington, D.C., commissioned SRI to conduct the yearlong study to assess the status of Holocaust education in secondary schools across the United States.

The report, which assessed the prevalence of Holocaust education, was based on a survey that asked English and social studies public school teachers in grades 6-12 about geographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the schools in which they taught, their qualifications and level of knowledge of the Holocaust, and whether they taught or planned to teach the Holocaust during the 2003-04 school year. The survey drew from a nationally representative random sample. In addition to assessing the prevalence of Holocaust education, the report highlights teachers’ rationales for providing Holocaust instruction to their students.

"One way to make sure future generations not only remember these lessons but take them to heart is by providing Holocaust education to the nation’s young people," said lead researcher and author of the report, Mary Beth Donnelly, SRI Center for Education Policy. "While this objective has obtained widespread support, there has been an absence of reliable nationwide information on how the Holocaust is actually taught in U.S. schools."

The findings show that Holocaust education is well-represented in the curricula of the nation’s secondary schools. Nearly three-quarters of all teachers who participated in the study reported that they taught their students about the Holocaust during the 2003-04 school year. An even higher proportion of teachers (87 percent) reported that they had taught about the topic at some point in their teaching career. Students learned the subject most commonly as part of a general course in English/language arts and in a course on U.S. history. English teachers were more likely than social studies teachers to teach the subject and, on average, to spend more time on the subject.

The study also investigated teachers’ rationales for teaching about the Holocaust. Teachers reported that they taught about the Holocaust for personal, educational, and historical reasons, with policy concerns playing a far less important role.  A majority of teachers affirmed the importance of learning about the Holocaust to students' lives and reported that they expected studying the Holocaust to make students aware of the dangers of prejudice and stereotypes and to promote respect for human rights.

Although the report shows that the Holocaust was taught widely in the nation’s schools, the data indicate that there is room for improvement in Holocaust education.  Twice as many teachers cited their own high school coursework as a source of Holocaust knowledge, compared with professional development (52 percent and 23 percent, respectively). Approximately one-quarter of all teachers reported history textbooks as a source of knowledge on the Holocaust.  Finally, nearly one-fifth of all teachers who did not teach about the Holocaust in 2003-04 reported that they did not feel adequately prepared to teach it. 

"These findings indicate that many teachers could benefit from high-quality training in Holocaust education, a conclusion reinforced by the fact that teachers who received professional development training about on the Holocaust were more likely than those who did not to teach about the topic and to spend more time on the subject," said Daniel Napolitano, the Museum's Director of Education.

About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs contract research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.

About the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Created by unanimous act of Congress, the Museum is America’s national institution for Holocaust education and remembrance. A unique public-private partnership, the Museum brings the history and lessons of the Holocaust to Americans from all walks of life through educational outreach, teacher training, traveling exhibitions, and scholarship. Since its dedication in April 1993, the Museum has welcomed 23 million visitors, including more than 7 million children. For more information on the Museum, visit www.ushmm.org.

About the National Council for the Social Studies
Founded in 1921, the National Council for the Social Studies (www.ncss.org) has grown into the largest association in the country for social studies professionals, with 25,000 members in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 69 foreign countries. Membership includes K-16 classroom teachers, curriculum supervisors and specialists, curriculum writers and designers, and teacher educators. The NCSS serves as an umbrella organization for K-16 teachers of civics, history, geography, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and law-related education.  Social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence.