Facing History and Ourselves

Product or Programme · All products and programmes
Evidence · 4 claims (1 for, 1 mixed, 2 against) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description

A character-education curriculum developed and delivered by Facing History & Ourselves that uses historical events, especially the Holocaust, to help middle and high school students examine identity, moral reasoning, and civic responsibility.

Components

• Facing History and Ourselves character education curriculum: Facing History and Ourselves is a character education program aiming to promote core values and help middle and high school students develop moral reasoning skills through examining historical events, particularly those leading to World War II and the Holocaust. The report describes that the curriculum 'begins with self-reflection on questions about identity, group membership, and obligations to others.' Typical units run 4-8 weeks or a semester and include class discussions of readings from the Resource Book, films with study guides, guest speakers, literature, and journal writing, with teachers guiding in-depth examination of a case study of pre-war Germany and the Holocaust and reflection (What Works Clearinghouse (2006))

Claims

• Four of seven knowledge, attitudes, and values outcomes favor the comparison group, including ethnic identity (effect size -0.19) and both moral reasoning measures, none statistically significant [-W]
• The evidence base for Facing History and Ourselves is limited: only one of eight reviewed studies met WWC evidence standards, and it used a quasi-experimental rather than randomized design [~W]
• Facing History and Ourselves shows no discernible effects on student behavior, with self-reported fighting differences neither statistically significant nor substantively important [-W]
• Three of seven knowledge, attitudes, and values outcomes favor Facing History and Ourselves, including relationship maturity (best response) with effect size 0.45, but none remain statistically significant after WWC corrections [+W]

Related Products and Programmes

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Key Sources

• What Works Clearinghouse. (2006). WWC Intervention Report: Facing History and Ourselves. U.S. Department of Education. www.facinghistory.org. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/WWC/InterventionReport/169

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	product
id	facing-history-and-ourselves
title	Facing History and Ourselves
description	A character-education curriculum developed and delivered by Facing History & Ourselves that uses historical events, especially the Holocaust, to help middle and high school students examine identity, moral reasoning, and civic responsibility.
status	review
moved_from	element/facing-history-and-ourselves-curriculum
product_kind	curriculum
generated	by process:sweep-kinds on 2026-10-10
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — what-works-clearinghouse-2006

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