Social Education in Primary Schools. A Didactic Reconstruction of the Subject Matter ‘The Holocaust’ in the Context of Holocaust Education in Primary School General Studies

Research interest:

With regard to addressing the topic of the ‘Holocaust’ in the context of Holocaust education within primary school general studies, there is a lack of broader empirical research into children’s prior knowledge or pre-understanding of children – on this point, arguments are predominantly based on assumptions or practical experience without empirical evidence. Furthermore, there is a lack of reflection on potential prior knowledge in this context, viewed through the lens of integrative approaches, in order to address questions relating to past, present and future everyday life. This will be addressed as part of my doctoral research project on ‘Social Education in Primary Schools’. The aim is to define and analyse ‘social education’ – understood as an integrative educational approach to basic and general education within social studies – through the didactic reconstruction of the exemplary subject of study, the ‘Holocaust’, in the context of Holocaust education.

Research question of the thesis:

The overarching research question is:

How can the subject matter ‘the Holocaust’ be didactically structured within the context of Holocaust education in primary schools for integrative social studies?

General introductory considerations:

Positioning within the model of didactic reconstruction:

• Identification of learners’ perspectives
• Dimensions of subject-specific clarification – guided by general studies didactics as a ‘meta-science’
• Outlook on didactic structuring – towards ‘social education’ in primary school general studies

Perspectives of the research project:

• Assessment of the prior knowledge of Year 3 and Year 4 primary school pupils on the topic of the ‘Holocaust’ (semi-standardised, focused individual and group interviews) – Analysis and evaluation using qualitative content analysis and didactic structuring with a view to integrative educational elements
• Derivation of guidelines for a didactic-methodological approach to the subject of the ‘Holocaust’ in the context of Holocaust education (in primary school general studies)
• Development and elaboration of a theoretical concept: ‘Social Education in Primary School’

Curriculum Vitae

Date of birth: 11 February 1978
Place of birth: Rotenburg/Wümme
Marital status: single

• 1990–1997 Attended the Ratsgymnasium in Rotenburg/Wümme, obtaining the Abitur
• 1997–1998 Studied to become a secondary school teacher at Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel – subjects: Geography, Economics and Politics, German
• 1998–2003 Studied to become a teacher at primary, Hauptschule and Realschule schools at the University of Lüneburg – Subjects: General Studies (with History as a core subject), Mathematics, German
• January 2003: First State Examination for teaching at primary, secondary and lower secondary schools
• April 2003 to March 2005: Postgraduate studies in Educational Sciences at the University of Lüneburg
• Since April 2005: Member and Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg Fellow in the doctoral programme ‘Subject-Specific Teaching and Learning Research – Didactic Reconstruction’ (ProDid) at the University of Oldenburg
• Since July 2005: doctoral candidate at the School of Educational Sciences at the University of Oldenburg

Publications

Articles in anthologies and journals (including online)

• in collaboration with Pech, Detlef: ‘Holocaust Education as a Contribution to Social Education in Primary Schools’. In: Cech, Diethard/ Giest, Hartmut (eds.): General Studies in Practice and Research. Klinkhardt: Bad Heilbrunn 2005, pp. 87–102
• with Pech, Detlef: Discovering the World through ‘You’. An Approach to History through Learning from Biographies. In: Primary School Religion. Learning to Remember: The Holocaust. 12/2005, pp. 7–9
• Material: Four Little Pebbles (adapted from Perl, Lila and Blumenthal Lazan, Marion: *Four Little Pebbles*. The Story of the Blumenthal Family from Hoya. Grafschaft Hoya Local History Museum Association 1996). In: Primary School Religion. Learning to Remember: The Holocaust 12/2005, pp. 1–4 (resource section)
• Holocaust Education in Primary Schools – Understanding Society through Learning from Biographies. Documentation of the workshop at the 22nd German-Israeli Seminar of the GEW in Bonn. (to be published on the GEW website)
• – Compiled – A teaching project on ‘learning through biographies’ in primary school general studies. In: Pech, Detlef/ Rauterberg, Marcus/ Stocklas, Katharina (eds.): ‘Possibilities and Relevance of Engaging with the Holocaust in Primary School General Studies’. widerstreit-sachunterricht.de, supplement 3, Frankfurt am Main 2006, pp. 17–34
• Discovering the (un)familiar city on our doorstep – an alternative city tour with primary school pupils. (Report on a city tour of a different kind). To be published in: Grundschulmagazin: Begegnung mit Geschichte 3/2007
• “I think the Nazis helped Hitler conquer the world.” Research into children’s perceptions of the Holocaust and National Socialism. To be published in: Pfeiffer, Silke (ed.): Neue Wege im Sachunterricht. Vol. 2, Oldenburger VorDrucke, Oldenburg 2007

Presentations and lectures

• 17 February 2004 “He killed the Jews in gas chambers or shot them …” – Talking to children and young people about the Holocaust. Workshop at the GEW Education Days 2004 “Communication in schools – more than just talking?!” at the University of Lüneburg
• 12 March 2004 Holocaust education as a contribution to social education in primary schools (in collaboration with Detlef Pech). Lecture at the 13th Annual Conference of the Society for the Didactics of General Studies (GDSU) in Potsdam
• 1 August 2005 Holocaust Education in Primary Schools – Understanding Society through Learning from Biographies. Workshop at the 22nd German-Israeli Seminar organised by the Education and Science Union (GEW) in Bonn
• 17 January 2006 Social Studies in Primary Schools. Didactic Reconstruction of the Subject ‘Holocaust’ in the Context of Holocaust Education in General Studies. Presentation at the IZRG Colloquium in the winter semester 2005/06 in Schleswig
• 21 March 2006 Holocaust education in primary schools – understanding social history through learning from biographies. Workshop at the Lüneburg Teacher Training College – General Studies subject
• 4 October 2006 ‘Look, if that’s happened before, then definitely no one wants to take part today’. Social education in primary schools – Didactic reconstruction of the topic of the Holocaust in the context of Holocaust education. Poster at the DGfE Annual Conference on Primary Education in Münster
• 8 November 2006 “I think the Nazis helped Hitler conquer the world”. Research into children’s conceptions of the ‘Holocaust’ in general studies. Lecture in the series of lectures “New Approaches in General Studies” in the winter semester 2006/2007 at the University of Oldenburg
• 16 January 2007 “Hitler, the German military leader, who wanted Germany to take over the whole world.” Children’s conceptions of National Socialism and the Holocaust. Lecture as part of the seminar ‘Addressing the Holocaust in primary school general studies’ by Dr Detlef Pech in the Department of General Studies at the University of Lüneburg
• Scheduled for March 2007 “He wanted to exterminate the Jews and then he had them gassed or starved to death.” Can ‘education after Auschwitz’ in general studies be ‘education without Auschwitz’? Lecture at the 16th Annual Conference of the Society for the Didactics of General Studies (GDSU) in Kassel

Teaching and other areas of activity

Teaching post:

• Spring Semester 2006: Seminar for trainee teachers at primary, secondary, Realschule and special schools (former PVO) on the Interdisciplinary General Studies/General Studies degree programme at the University of Oldenburg: ‘Possibilities and Limits of Holocaust Education in General Studies’

student assistant:

• June 2001 to September 2002 inclusive, employed as a student assistant on the DFG research project ‘Problems of Acquiring Professional Competence in the Context of University-Level Teacher Training’ (PROKOM) – Institute for School and Higher Education Research at the University of Lüneburg, under the supervision of Prof. Dr Kurt Czerwenka and Dr phil., Dipl.-Päd. Karin Nölle
• September 2003 to November 2003 inclusive: employed as a student assistant in Department IV – Institute for Environmental Communication at the University of Lüneburg, under the supervision of Prof. Dr Gerd Michelsen

Contracts for services:

• November 2000: Contract for services with Prof. Dr Kurt Czerwenka (Institute for School and Higher Education Research at the University of Lüneburg) on ‘Education in Europe. Foundations of the EU Member States’ agreement on a common education system’
• June 2001 and November 2001: Contracts for services with Prof. Dr Kurt Czerwenka (Institute for School and Higher Education Research at the University of Lüneburg) on ‘Research and compilation of the latest publications on hyperactivity’/ “Research into the current state of the debate on hyperactivity”
• June 2003 and March 2004 Contracts for services with Prof. Dr Ute Stoltenberg (Institute for Integrative Studies – IKARUS at the University of Lüneburg) on ‘Classification of books from the Agenda 21 Library collection according to a new classification system. Scholarly classification and evaluation”

Other activities:

• April 2003 to March 2005: voluntary work on and for the Agenda 21 Library at the University of Lüneburg, which is integrated into the “Sustainable University” project run by the Institute for Environmental Communication at the University of Lüneburg.
• Since April 2003: Implementation of the work and research project ‘Holocaust Education and Children’. Design and development of teaching materials for use with children in primary and secondary schools in co-operation with Dr Detlef Pech, University of Lüneburg

Academic contacts, co-operations and memberships:

• Society for the Didactics of General Studies (GDSU)
• Education and Science Trade Union (GEW)
• Primary Schools Association
• RÖSA – Regional Ecological General Studies Collection / General Studies Learning Workshop at the University of Oldenburg
• Online journal ‘widerstreit-sachunterricht’
• Bergen-Belsen Memorial
• Kamp Westerbork Memorial Centre (NL)
• Marion Blumenthal-Lazan (USA) [www.fourperfectpebbles.com]

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