Educational Services

"Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it."

Genocide Education: Postgraduate Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers

Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln, Educational Development Services in partnership with The Aegis Trust and The Holocaust Centre

Genocide Education – a professional challenge

How can we stop genocide from happening again?

What can schools do to make young people aware?

If you are a primary or secondary teacher and have worked with genocide education issues, you can now develop your work and have it recognised as part of your ongoing Professional Postgraduate Development (PPD) at Masters Level.

If you have worked with the Aegis Trust and Holocaust Centre by

• bringing pupils to visit
• doing research
• working with survivors
• engaging with genocide education work
• taking an Aegis field trip to Rwanda
• regularly attending Aegis professional development seminars
• being involved with Aegis in resource development

we would like to discuss how we can support you to extend your work and gain an additional qualification.The Aegis Trust and Bishop Grosseteste College will work in partnership to guide you in further curriculum development or research work.

This will bring benefits and future possibilities for you, your pupils and the profession. It will also help to develop the effectiveness of genocide education – and therefore genocide prevention – both nationally and internationally.

The Aegis Trust was founded in 2000. It grew out of the work of the UK Holocaust Centre, established in 1995 by Dr Stephen Smith and Dr James Smith. The Centre is recognised internationally as an authority in the field of Holocaust education and genocide prevention.

Aegis Education and Research Department

The Aegis Trust's education staff is made up of qualified teachers with experience in the programmes offered by the Holocaust Centre, which have been developed and refined over the last ten years. The Centre has an invaluable collection of reference materials, which will be made available to teachers undertaking the Genocide Education Module. Visiting lecturers and professors include renowned scholars in the field, survivors of the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide, and refugees and survivors from Bosnia, Kosovo and Darfur.

The Holocaust Centre's education work ranges from the regular schools programmes for secondary pupils, PGCE students, teachers, head teachers and research students, to professional programmes offering training to the police, prison officers, clergy and criminology psychologists. The Centre also offers a Creative Programme for Youth Groups, the Gifted and Talented, and Media Students.

Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln, was founded in 1862 as a teacher training college and has a long established reputation for quality in teacher education and Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln: Qualifying Programmes for Serving Teachers

The college specialises in primary and secondary teacher education. Through its CPD department (Educational Development Services) the College provides staff who are qualified teachers with experience and skill to support teachers in building their portfolio of genocide education work. The College's substantial library facilities and virtual learning environment will be available to you.

What could I do?

If you are a qualified teacher with an interest and some experience in educating young people about any aspect of genocide, you are invited to apply and join a course of curriculum development and research. Your work will be guided and the end product will contribute towards the effectiveness of genocide education and prevention.

I am not an expert, but I am concerned and interested.

What subject areas qualify?

We are looking for qualified teachers of any subject and any phase. Genocide education can arise in any part of the curriculum, including English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Art, Music, Religious Education, Citizenship PSHE, Technology, ICT and Modern Languages. If your subject is not in this list, but you are still interested, please talk to us.

What sort of projects could I develop?

We are looking for teachers to develop projects in one of the following areas:

• Evaluating the longer-term impact of Genocide Education and/or a visit to the Centre on adults or pupils. 

This could include values, responsibility, involvement, motivation and behaviour.

• Assessing the value of Genocide Education for the individual, the group, the subject area, other subjects, the wider curriculum, the school, the family and the community.

This could include analysing the effect Genocide Education has on life values, behaviour and opinions.

• Developing a critical commentary on the resources used by Aegis and those generally available for specific age ranges and purposes.

• Identifying the key elements of effective Holocaust education in schools and visits (e.g. discussion, film, survivor testimony, exhibition, resources.)

This could involve developing and trialling/modelling genocide pedagogy.

• Analysing and developing aspects of the new primary-level programme and exhibition at the Holocaust Centre (e.g. resources and impact).

• Participating in a field seminar in Rwanda, then piloting and developing resources and programmes for your school on International Development Issues.

Please talk to us if you would like to pursue other project ideas.

I'm interested. How does this opportunity work?

The programmes are part-time, enabling you to continue teaching in school and use your teaching to develop your Genocide Education project. You can choose from one of the following options:

• Classroom-focussed development: Pedagogy in the classroom in one or more subjects
• School-focussed development: Management and leadership of improvements in pedagogy or staff development in a team or school
• Project development: Advocacy, leadership and implementation of change in a cluster or consortium
• Practitioner Research: Detailed research on effectiveness and improvement in a classroom, school, cluster or community.

Each option leads to the award of a Certificate of Professional Studies in Education and carries 60 transferable M-level credits. An MA needs 180 credits.

What support is available to me?

• Group learning

• Surgeries in study skills

• Full-time Learning Support Coordinator

• Flexible Learning Support Coordinator

• Flexible shape and timing of sessions at the Holocaust Centre or Bishop Grosseteste College

• Flexible assignments, relevant to your priorities

• Virtual Learning Environment at Bishop Grosseteste College

• Access to libraries and staff in both centres

To find out more, contact us:

Education Department, Aegis Trust, c/o The Holocaust Centre, Laxton, Notts NG22 0PA

T: 01623 836627

E: tertiary@aegistrust.org

W: www.aegistrust.org

Educational Development Services, Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln LN1 3DY

T: 01522 527347

E: eds@bgc.ac.uk

Visit www.bgc.ac.uk and follow links to Courses at BGC, then Courses for Serving Teachers