Holocaust Education in Sydney and Regional New South Wales Classrooms

Abstract

This thesis has examined the challenges faced by educators when teaching about the Holocaust to Stage 5 classes (Years 9 and 10) in schools across Sydney and in some regional areas in New South Wales. It is based on completed online questionnaires from 75 teachers, qualitative research with over 20 respondents, pre- and post-teaching questionnaires completed by 170 students, media reports and annual surveys of antisemitism by the ECAJ. It presents a thoroughly detailed picture of the state of Holocaust education in Sydney and regional classrooms. While many respondents teach about the Holocaust in great detail, spending well above the required hours and covering the essential aspects of Holocaust education, others spend far less time and some do not teach this topic at all. This is despite the Holocaust being a compulsory topic in New South Wales schools. While teachers noted a range of challenges in teaching about this topic, including available time and the confronting nature of the Holocaust, this research has demonstrated that racism and antisemitism present some of the greatest challenges for educators working across a range of sectors and schools. Almost 25% of teachers reported that racism and antisemitism were significant classroom challenges in their schools. Three key strands of antisemitism in Sydney schools have been identified, each of which has different historical antecedents and manifests itself in quite distinct ways. These differences in the nature of antisemitism across Sydney schools can be ascribed to demographic variations, especially with regard to socio-economic position, education, ethnicity and religion. This research has also shown the importance of gender, with very few respondents noting female students as perpetrators of racist or antisemitic incidents, and has highlighted the role that teacher professional development can play in preventing and responding to antisemitism in the classroom.