The Effects of Holocaust Education on Adolescents' Civic Values

• In Event: Special Topics in Education

Abstract

American adults agree that the Holocaust should be taught in schools, yet few studies investigate the potential benefits of Holocaust education. We evaluate the impact of a Holocaust education conference on knowledge and several civic outcomes, including upstander efficacy, likelihood of exercising civil disobedience, empathy for the suffering of others, and tolerance of others with different values and lifestyles. We recruit two cohorts of students from three local high schools and randomize access to the Arkansas Holocaust Education Conference, where students have the chance to hear from a Holocaust survivor and to participate in breakout sessions led by Holocaust experts. We find evidence that the conference increased participants’ upstander efficacy, and marginally significant evidence that the conference improved knowledge.

Authors

• Matthew H. Lee, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

• Molly I Beck, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

• Emily E. Coady, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

• James D. Paul, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville