This article explores the widespread use of the 'lessons' of the era of the Second World War in Europe since 1945. This usage proved to be a resilient element of European cultural values, especially in Western Europe during the era of the Cold War. However, with the emergence of a more diverse and pluralist Europe since 1989, so this form of civic…

Michel de Montaigne's "L'art de Conférer" offers a moral groundwork for students' learning of "havruta," a traditional Jewish form of studying in pairs, based on collaborative critical text-based learning, that can be applied to students everywhere. The article attends to the nature of "havruta" learning and to…

This community-based research investigated the relationship among Holocaust knowledge, Holocaust education experiences, and citizenship values in adults residing in the US. This study contributes to the literature an inferential investigation that reports positive civic attitudes associated with Holocaust education. A moderate correlation was…

The aim of this research was to investigate the attitudes of Israeli Arab (n = 259) and Jewish (n = 259) high school students toward extrinsic and intrinsic values. A questionnaire, which consisted of eight value scales in two groups--extrinsic and intrinsic values--was administered. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or…

Exploring how personal inheritances of the Holocaust--the Shoah--shaped particular familial silences, I show how they created a need for philosophy and social theories that helped grasp the truth of what remained unspoken. As my parents' generation insisted on having exclusive ownership of the past, while tacitly contracting that children create…

My professional interest originally focused on curriculum planning and development, but for the last 30 years I have been researching, publishing and teaching in the field of human rights education. Suddenly, I became a human rights educator. Suddenly? No, nothing in our personal and professional life is the result of an abrupt occurrence. We are…

This paper advances the thesis that there is an important role for political engagement in the development of moral identity. When young people take their moral interests into the realm of political action, moral identity is annealed and a lasting new level of maturity is reached. Political participation is not the only path to a mature identity,…

Two trips to Auschwitz (in 1989 and 2003) provide a context for reflection on fundamental issues in civic and moral education. Custodians of the Auschwitz historical site are currently aware of its responsibility to humanity to educate about the genocide against the Jews, as a morally distinct element in its presentation of Nazi crimes at…

The challenge of teaching classic religious texts with flawed moral messages from a contemporary point of view is examined in the case of the Beautiful Captive of War (Deuteronomy 21:10-14). A moral dilemma is generated by contradictory ethical stands within the Jewish tradition, between which students have to choose. This dilemma is explored in…

Contact intervention programs are being used as the main vehicle to enhance positive relationships between conflict groups. Current research seeks to reveal the force driving processes that lead to positive contact between conflict groups, and points to the importance of emotional modification. Acknowledging the centrality of emotional…

Reports on study of teachers in inservice program designed to adapt and modify curriculum unit on Jewish moral texts for their school. Describes factors that determined which parts of unit would be modified and which would be adopted as written. Found that most teachers used the materials to open students' minds to the inherent moral messages in…

Addresses the issue of educating German youth about Auschwitz. Questions whether students feel guilty as opposed to feeling responsible for Auschwitz, and if so, is it reasonable for succeeding generations to assume guilt for the acts of previous generations. (GG)

Reports on a study that examined the effects of the "Facing History and Ourselves" program on moral development and psychological functioning. Asserts that this study adds to the literature suggesting that human rights education positively affects students' moral development. (CFR)