LEADER 04917ctm a2200373Ia 4500001 216095 005 20240621213200.0 008 110411s2010 xx b 000 0 eng d 035 (OCoLC)ocn740901601 035 216095 049 LHMA 040 LHM |beng |erda |cLHM 090 D804.33 |b.M464 2010 100 1 Meliza, Evette, |d1956- 245 10 Holocaust education and the student perspective : |btoward a grounded theory of student engagement in social studies education / |cby Evette Meliza. 264 0 |c2010. 300 ix, 140 pages 336 text |btxt |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |bn |2rdamedia 338 volume |bnc |2rdacarrier 502 Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 2010. 504 Includes bibliographical references (pages 134-140). 520 Too often students perceive history as boring with no relevance to their lives. Although students describe history as boring, this does not seem to be the case with one aspect of social studies education - Holocaust studies. Courses about the Holocaust have grown in number in recent years; and classes are routinely full. Why do students choose to study about the Holocaust, but choose social studies in general as a subject they would least like to study?One problem for social studies education is engaging students in social studies content in a way such that they choose to learn more. Research on social studies education indicates that students often do not choose to learn more; that instead, they are passive rather than active learners (Hootstein, 1995; White, 1997). The challenge for social studies education is to identify factors that will encourage students to choose to learn more about social studies.Focusing on the question "What factors influence students' choice to learn more about the Holocaust?," this qualitative study of one high school history classroom examines the factors which influence students' choice to learn about the Holocaust, in particular, and social studies, in general. Students in an Advanced Placement European History class in a large metropolitan high school in the southeastern United States were asked a number of interview questions to ascertain their perceptions of Holocaust education in the United States and to determine the factors which contributed to their choice to learn about the Holocaust. Students were asked what the Holocaust was, why people are interested in learning about it, if American schools should teach about the Holocaust, and how it should be taught. Students were also asked how they had learned about the Holocaust, the most effective ways to teach about it, and why they chose to learn about it.Findings indicated that students were aware of the Holocaust, believed that distance from the event allowed people to view the Holocaust as history, that the Holocaust should be taught since it is an important event in history, and that it can effectively be taught using Holocaust literature. When data were analyzed, four themes emerged as factors that influenced students' choice to learn. Those factors included: (1) interest, (2) desire for good grades, (3) perceived expectations of others, and (4) obligation to society. Students chose to learn because they were interested in the topic, found the topic relative to their lives, enjoyed the presentation of the topic, or were influenced by the teacher's interest in the topic. Students also chose to learn because they wanted to get good grades. The perceived expectations of others, including friends, family, and teachers, influenced students' choice to learn. As members of society, students felt an obligation to learn the history of their country as well as the history of "other people."Findings from this study suggest implications for history classrooms, in particular, and social studies education, in general. An understanding of the influences on students' choice to learn could provide direction in the continued development of instructional strategies for social studies classrooms. Instructional strategies which could, perhaps, lead to changes in student perceptions of social studies from dull and boring to exciting and interesting. 530 Electronic version(s) |bavailable internally at USHMM. 533 Photocopy. |bAnn Arbor, Mich. : |cUMI Dissertation Services. |e22 cm. 590 Dissertations and Theses 591 Record updated by Marcive processing 21 June 2024 650 0 Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) |xStudy and teaching (Secondary) 650 0 History |xStudy and teaching (Secondary) 856 41 |uhttp://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2098091541&sid=4&Fmt=2&clientId=54617&RQT=309&VName=PQD |zElectronic version from ProQuest 956 41 |uhttp://dc.ushmm.org/library/bib216095/3409983.pdf |zHosted by USHMM. 852 0 |bstacks |hD804.33 |i.M464 2010 852 0 |bscstacks |hD804.33 |i.M464 2010 |tc.2 852 |bebook