History at the Gates: How Teacher and School Characteristics Relate to Implementation of a State Mandate on Holocaust Education

This quantitative study examines implementation by one Florida school district's
fifth grade teachers of a state mandate to teach about the Holocaust. Teachers' responses
to survey questions were analyzed to determine the relationships between choosing to
teach about the Holocaust and factors like exposure to Holocaust content and
teacher/school demographics. In addition, this study explores descriptive data about the
nature of resources, materials, and teaching methods used to teach about the Holocaust in
elementary classrooms. The findings of this study demonstrate the background
knowledge and resources that teachers need to increase their implementation of
Holocaust education in the classroom. Suggestions for the development of more effective
workshops, information dissemination strategies, and teacher resources for Holocaust education and other mandated areas are also included in this study. To provide the
necessary background for the exploration of the implementation of Florida's Holocaust
education mandate, this study examines: the importance of Holocaust education; effective
instructional practices in Holocaust education; connections between Holocaust education
and multicultural goals; and the history of the passage of legislation related to Holocaust
education. As the title suggests, teachers are the final "gatekeepers" of the curriculum:
their decisions determine the extent to which topics will be taught. For this reason, this
study examines the connections between teachers, their experiences, and their decisions
to teach about crucial, mandated subjects like the Holocaust.