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History at the Gates: How Teacher and School Characteristics Relate to Implementation of a State Mandate on Holocaust Education

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Date Issued:
2008
Summary:
This quantitative study examines implementation by one Florida school district's fifth grade teachers of a state mandate to teach about the Holocaust. Teachers' responses to survey questions were analyzed to determine the relationships between choosing to teach about the Holocaust and factors like exposure to Holocaust content and teacher/school demographics. In addition, this study explores descriptive data about the nature of resources, materials, and teaching methods used to teach about the Holocaust in elementary classrooms. The findings of this study demonstrate the background knowledge and resources that teachers need to increase their implementation of Holocaust education in the classroom. Suggestions for the development of more effective workshops, information dissemination strategies, and teacher resources for Holocaust education and other mandated areas are also included in this study. To provide the necessary background for the exploration of the implementation of Florida's Holocaust education mandate, this study examines: the importance of Holocaust education; effective instructional practices in Holocaust education; connections between Holocaust education and multicultural goals; and the history of the passage of legislation related to Holocaust education. As the title suggests, teachers are the final "gatekeepers" of the curriculum: their decisions determine the extent to which topics will be taught. For this reason, this study examines the connections between teachers, their experiences, and their decisions to teach about crucial, mandated subjects like the Holocaust.
Title: History at the Gates: How Teacher and School Characteristics Relate to Implementation of a State Mandate on Holocaust Education.
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Name(s): Dobrick, Alison
Fritzer, Penelope, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2008
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 215 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: This quantitative study examines implementation by one Florida school district's fifth grade teachers of a state mandate to teach about the Holocaust. Teachers' responses to survey questions were analyzed to determine the relationships between choosing to teach about the Holocaust and factors like exposure to Holocaust content and teacher/school demographics. In addition, this study explores descriptive data about the nature of resources, materials, and teaching methods used to teach about the Holocaust in elementary classrooms. The findings of this study demonstrate the background knowledge and resources that teachers need to increase their implementation of Holocaust education in the classroom. Suggestions for the development of more effective workshops, information dissemination strategies, and teacher resources for Holocaust education and other mandated areas are also included in this study. To provide the necessary background for the exploration of the implementation of Florida's Holocaust education mandate, this study examines: the importance of Holocaust education; effective instructional practices in Holocaust education; connections between Holocaust education and multicultural goals; and the history of the passage of legislation related to Holocaust education. As the title suggests, teachers are the final "gatekeepers" of the curriculum: their decisions determine the extent to which topics will be taught. For this reason, this study examines the connections between teachers, their experiences, and their decisions to teach about crucial, mandated subjects like the Holocaust.
Identifier: FA00000662 (IID)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.
College of Education
Subject(s): Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Study and teaching (Elementary)--Florida
Curriculum planning--Florida
Effective teaching--Florida
Multicultural education--Florida
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000662
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.