Using a survey of grade 6–12 English language arts and social studies teachers in the American Teacher Panel, the authors of this report examined education on the Holocaust, genocide, antisemitism, Israeli history, and Jewish life. This report fills critical gaps in the understanding of whether, how much, how, and why teachers are providing students with instruction about these topics.

Public School Instruction on the Holocaust and Topics Related to Jewish People

Understanding How Secondary English Language Arts and Social Studies Teachers Address These Complex Topics

Anna Shapiro, Ashley Woo, Julia H. Kaufman

ResearchPublished Jan 21, 2025

Note: This report was revised on January 22, 2025, to correct the sample size and survey completion rate and on April 23, 2025, to correctly align the data with the categories in Figure 6 on page 13.

Drawing on a survey administered to a sample of grade 6–12 English language arts and social studies teachers in the American Teacher Panel, the authors of this report examined Holocaust education and education on other topics related to Jewish people and history. The American Educator Panels are nationally representative samples of teachers, school leaders, and district leaders across the country. The panels are a proud member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research's Transparency Initiative.

This report fills critical gaps in the understanding of whether, how much, how, and why teachers are providing students with instruction about topics related to the Holocaust, genocide, antisemitism, Israeli history, and Jewish life. With the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, teaching about these sensitive and nuanced topics has become even more challenging as teachers and schools grapple with how to provide students the opportunity to engage in careful discussion about these complex topics while also ensuring a safe learning environment. Although multiple sources have indicated rising antisemitism in the past decades, the ongoing conflict has accelerated instances of antisemitism nationwide and heightened concerns about antisemitism on kindergarten through grade 12 school campuses. The findings are timely in that they shed light on the state of U.S. public school instruction about the Holocaust, genocide, antisemitism, Israeli history, and Jewish life at a time when teachers might need more support than perhaps ever to provide high-quality instruction.

Key Findings

  • Nearly all surveyed grade 6–12 public school English language arts and social studies teachers reported teaching about at least one of nine topics related to the Holocaust, genocide, antisemitism, Israeli history, or Jewish life.
  • Nearly all surveyed teachers indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed with the idea that all students should learn about the Holocaust and that they were open to teaching about present-day antisemitism.
  • Of teachers who said they taught about these topics during the 2023–2024 school year, most reported having spent two hours or less addressing each topic, excluding the Holocaust. Current events might influence the emphasis that teachers place on these topics.
  • Forty-two percent of English language arts teachers and 32 percent of social studies teachers who said that they had taught about the Arab-Israeli conflict during the 2023–2024 school year also said that they had spent more time on the topic during that time than in prior school years.
  • When asked what materials, other than those from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and their schools' main curriculum materials, they used most to teach about these topics, teachers most commonly reported using YouTube, Teachers Pay Teachers, or self-created materials.
  • Less than half the surveyed teachers reported having received professional learning on teaching about the Holocaust, genocide, antisemitism, Israeli history, or Jewish life.

Recommendations

  • Provide teachers with guidance to address such topics as genocide, antisemitism, Israeli history, and Jewish life alongside instruction about the Holocaust.
  • Support teachers in finding and using high-quality instructional materials to teach about focal topics.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Shapiro, Anna, Ashley Woo, and Julia H. Kaufman, Public School Instruction on the Holocaust and Topics Related to Jewish People: Understanding How Secondary English Language Arts and Social Studies Teachers Address These Complex Topics, RAND Corporation, RR-A3615-1, 2025. As of April 30, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3615-1.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Shapiro, Anna, Ashley Woo, and Julia H. Kaufman, Public School Instruction on the Holocaust and Topics Related to Jewish People: Understanding How Secondary English Language Arts and Social Studies Teachers Address These Complex Topics. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3615-1.html.
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This study was sponsored by the One8 Foundation and RAND Education and Labor.

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