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Facing History and Ourselves aims to promote core character education values and to help middle and high school students develop moral reasoning skills. Students examine historical events, in particular the events that led to World War II and the Holocaust. Teachers participate in professional development seminars and apply the content and approaches to their own teaching or school program. Facing History and Ourselves also includes schoolwide components (such as guest speakers and videos), an optional part of the program evaluated.
One study of Facing History and Ourselves met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards with reservations. The study, which included approximately 350 middle school students attending school in the northeast, examined results on students' behavior and knowledge, attitudes, and values. The program implementation evaluated in this study did not include schoolwide components.1
Facing History and Ourselves was found to have no discernible effects on behavior and knowledge, attitudes, and values.
| Behavior | Knowledge, attitudes, and values | Academic achievement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | No discernible effects | No discernible effects | Not reported |
| Improvement index2 | Average: +8 percentile points Range: +8 percentile points |
Average: +4 percentile points Range: -7 to +17 percentile points |
Not reported |
|Institute of Education Sciences
Character Education