LESSONS FROM AUSCHWITZ
Case study:
The University of Winchester and the Holocaust Education
CASE STUDY
How
the University of Winchester is contributing to Holocaust education pedagogy
across the UK
Project: Lessons from Auschwitz Project evaluation
Collaborating Organisation: Holocaust Education Trust
Highly regarded in the field of Holocaust education, the University of Winchester has had an ongoing partnership with the Holocaust Education Trust for over ten years, most recently completing an evaluation of the Lessons from Auschwitz Project, researching students’ experiences on the programme.
The University of Winchester’s Research and Development Team
Dr Alasdair Richardson is a Reader in Education at the Institute of Education and a specialist in Holocaust education. Alasdair has been at the University of Winchester for 11 years, and his work in Holocaust education has resulted in the University now being highly regarded in the field.
Alasdair’s research is about how people deal emotionally with the sensitive topic of Holocaust education. He has published a book about Catholic priests persecuted by the Nazis; hosted the British and Irish Association for Holocaust Studies
Conference in 2022 as President; worked with schools for Holocaust Memorial Day; and delivered collaboration projects for the Council of Christians and Jews, Association of Jewish Refugees, and the Holocaust Education Trust.
Alasdair explains, “The Holocaust is the only historical event that is a compulsory area of study in the English National Curriculum; it’s a very important part of modern history.”
The Holocaust Education Trust
The Holocaust Educational Trust works to educate students across the UK about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. Through Alasdair, the University of Winchester has worked with the Holocaust Education Trust since 2013 –contributing content for the Lessons from Auschwitz Project, taking university leaders and students to Poland to the AuschwitzBirkenau State Museum, and delivering evaluation projects.
HOLOCAUST EDUCATION TRUST
It’s challenged me methodologically about how we work; you need to give young people space and time to stop, think, and reflect.
Project Overview
The Lessons from Auschwitz Project is an educational and commemorative project offering post-16 students the opportunity to learn about the Holocaust and consider its relevance for today. The Project teaches students through online learning and with a one-day visit to Poland.
The University of Winchester was commissioned to deliver the projects most recent evaluation, producing an 86,000-word report looking at students’ experiences on the programme pre, during, and post COVID.
Project Challenges
Evaluating such a sensitive subject area brings with it unique challenges. Alasdair originally wanted the young people to video blog their experiences, but in realising the students’ reluctance to use video, he moved the evaluation towards
online surveys to give people the space to think about what they wanted to say. More generally, across all areas of research, one of the recurring challenges is practicalities around funding which can affect a project moving forward. An example of this is a piece of work that the University of Winchester is doing with Generation 2 Generation, an organisation that works with children and grandchildren of survivors. The project also poses the challenge of time-limited urgency with the survivor generation not being as active as they were.
And increasingly there are challenges around the current state of the world. The University is part of a group that the Holocaust Education Trust convened, looking at working in the new environment with issues including rising antisemitism in the UK.
What we did
Results and Outcomes
The evaluation of such projects is a balance between the pedagogical development of the projects, the research interests of the University, and the key quantifiables that the funders need to know.
Key results included how students felt about their knowledge of antisemitism, their knowledge of what the Holocaust is, and thoughts and reflections on factors like visiting sites and hearing from survivors.
Essentially, the research shows that experiencing sites is almost an entirely individual experience – different things resonate with different people.
Best Practices
Reflecting on over a decade of partnership with Holocaust Education Trust, Alasdair highlights that best practice in working with partners is about helping them to develop whilst also ensuring that the wider field learns something from the research.
Future Prospects
The University has also secured funding to deliver a separate project looking at the experiences of students in Scotland specifically, which is in its planning stages.
Alasdair also hopes to work with the Holocaust Education Trust and organisations like Generation 2 Generation to look more widely at the role of testimony in the future, when the survivors aren’t here.
The University has done some initial consultancy looking at virtual testimony and using artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology to have interactive recorded testimony at the sites that the survivors have spoken about.
The work that the University of Winchester does with the Holocaust Education Trust contributes to the conversation about Holocaust education pedagogy, particularly looking at the aspects of emotional learning.
Alasdair Richardson, University of Winchester
For further information please contact the Research and Innovation team on collaborate@winchester.ac.uk
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
University of Winchester, Sparkford Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 4NR
winchester.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1962 841515