The goals of this study were to (a) examine differences between two age groups of adolescents with and without learning disabilities (LD) in their general and specific self-efficacy beliefs (in history and mathematics), their academic achievement (in history and mathematics), and their loneliness, effort, and hope; and (b) identify predictors of…

National history and collective memory and their impact on adolescents' knowledge and attitudes are the topic of this article. A follow-up study, it examines the long-term impact of a journey to historical monuments. Israeli Jewish high-school students have the option of experiential study, visiting cities and death camps in Poland. The first…

Teaching students about the former Yugoslavia can be difficult--so much diversity, so much conflict, so much culture. Yet, teaching students about the country matters for two reasons: (1) because the former Yugoslavia is an essential part of understanding World War I and the reemergence of nationalism in a postwar era, and (2) because a study of…

How often do our students long for black and white rather than the shades of grey that history generally presents us with? Understanding the Arab-Israeli conflict is all about understanding diversity and complexity in all their shades of grey. Alison Stephen, teaching in an immensely diverse school herself, is determined not to over-simplify the…

The attacks of September 11th, followed by U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, have brought greater attention to the simmering conflict between Islam and the West--a conflict most brutally played out historically during the Crusades. The series of holy wars for control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land stretched over centuries--from 1096…

The article discusses an Israeli study of the effect of traditional and non-traditional history of programs on pupils' perception of the nature of historical learning, and on their attitude toward a variety of learning activities. The results presented here indicate that a new program may create increased interest in studying history. (Author/RM)

Argues that the subject matter of history should be presented in terms of conflicting ideas and agenda rather than merely outcomes. Reviews theoretical approaches to history instruction and related policies in Israel, highlighting progressive and reactionary movements. Describes the Oranim group, history teachers who incorporate social-democratic…

Exposes the sources of anti-Jewish education in Zionist thought and praxis by examining an unsuccessful attempt to educate for sensitivity to the suffering of others in Israel. Argues that this form of education conflicts with themes of Jewish tradition leading to oppressions of the Palestinian "other." (CMK)

Students at an international school learn the history and geography of their host country, Israel, through an historical narrative communicated through participation in a game activity. (RM)

Presents a classroom lesson based on the walls of old Jerusalem. Maintains that cooperative-learning techniques used to build a model of the wall helped students understand the meaning of the original wall and the division of modern-day Jerusalem. (CFR)

The author frequently teaches introductory courses in what was once generally called "Western Civilization" and has often been called upon to referee all or parts of the manuscripts of new editions of "Western Civ" textbooks. Through his own reading, he has become aware that much current scholarship on ancient Israel and Judah…

Suggests that students can learn to recognize media bias by studying media reports of current events or historical topics. Describes a study unit using media coverage of the second anniversary of the Palestinian uprising against Israel. Discusses lesson objectives, planning, defining bias teaching procedures, and criteria for determining bias. (DK)

Asserts that terrorism, in its domestic and international forms, is a subject worthy of attention in social studies. Provides a list of causes of terrorism, a list of reasons why the United States is often a terrorist target, and three application lesson ideas. (CFR)

A group of Israeli high school students (h = 11) from two socially distinct schools read aloud a textbook account of a 1920 bloody encounter between Jews and Arabs. The study aimed at examining the relation between the textbook account and the students' formation of historical perceptions. Prior to reading the textbook excerpts, students wrote…

The book, intended for senior high school students, is one of a series concerned with problems of world order. The bipolar system (domination of the international system through maintenance of a balance of power between the United States and the Soviet Union) is described and defined by presenting case studies of the Hungarian rebellion in 1956,…