High school students participating in one of the Sydney Jewish Museum's education programs. (Sydney Jewish Museum)

How effective are Holocaust education programs?

Associate Professor Avril Alba will lead research with three Jewish and Holocaust museums around Australia to assess the long-term impact of Holocaust education programs.
The University of Sydney will partner with the Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM), the Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM) and the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre (AHMSEC) to lead a first-of-its-kind inquiry into the long-term effectiveness of Holocaust education programs in Australia.

Holocaust expert Associate Professor Avril Alba will lead the research team, working closely with the three museums and scholars from Deakin University and UTS. Associate Professor Alba is a leading historian in the School of Languages and Cultures, where she focuses on modern Jewish history and contemporary Jewish and Holocaust museums.

Associate Professor Alba said: “Given the rise of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and extremism, both in Australia and abroad, a key goal of the research is to chart and measure whether, and to what extent, Holocaust education programs empower students to make informed connections between historical events and contemporary issues such as human rights and racism.”

“There is a pressing need to understand how learning can be more effective in countering the current rise in racist, antisemitic, and religiously motivated attacks in Australia and internationally.

“Such work cannot be based on assumptions – it must be rigorously tested. The success of these educational initiatives is essential, as they link directly to the social cohesion of current and future generations of Australians.”

Read the article from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at The University of Sydney.