Learning Activity 3.1

Introduction

The goal of this article was to look at how young people view the First World War. Specifically, if they hold common views about the war or whether or not they have a variety of different perspectives. Specifically the battle at Gallipoli, which is largely accepted as a great moment of national identity emerging.

Methods

A total of 1,453 participants were chosen according to age range. There was a purposeful mix of genders included. In addition, students were picked from a wide range of schools from small to big regional areas to ensure that the results reflected as much of New Zealand as possible. Surveys were administered in two parts. For the first one 43% were European, 16% indigenous, 1% as Pacific Peoples, and 22% Asian (Sheehan & Davidson, 2015, p.263). The survey, in this case, asked two questions: 1) Is Gallipoli a significant event for us to remember? 2) If so, what aspects of Gallipoli are significant for us to remember? (Sheehan & Davidson, 2015, p.263).

The second survey was given to a smaller amount of 329 students from twelve secondary schools. These schools were chosen due to their broad range of cultural representation. Of this group 46% were European, 23% Asian, and 11% Maori (Sheehan & Davidson, 2015, p.263). For this survey, all students were in social studies unlike in the first study. They are also provided with different questions. By looking at the sample page from the survey included in the article, students in survey two were asked to choose which images from Gallipoli they would choose to share in creating a museum display.

Results/Findings/Conclusions

The first was a survey showed that while many viewed the Gallipoli conflict as important they didn’t draw on any historical evidence to support this idea. Then again, it was noted in the article itself that Gallipoli is not taught specifically at this level in the curriculum. The second survey was given to the same age range but only 345 people who were actually enrolled in social studies courses at school. This time the results showed that while common ideas of Gallipoli were still present there were a great number of people who “demonstrated a range of perspective that challenged the cultural memory messages of the war remembrance in New Zealand in diverse, nuanced and critical ways” (Sheehan & Davidson, 2015, p.260).

The results showed that while young people believe that Gallipoli is important to commemorate they had very little understanding of the actual conflict itself. The results given for why Gallipoli should be commemorated had a large range. The majority, being 45.5%, attributed their reasons to loss of life and sacrifice. Meanwhile, 32% said it should be remembered because it contributes greatly to New Zealand’s national identity. The rest had a mixture of reasons including relatives who fought in the war, the 100th commemoration ceremony, no reason, or that violence was something not to be celebrated at all. All in all, although there were some students who did show knowledge about the conflict, however, this number was small in comparison.

Personal Comments

I found this study to be interesting yet slightly obvious. It was very interesting to see all of the reasons that students gave as to why they should commemorate Gallipoli. I was a little shocked and embarrassed that some simply attributed it to merely the 100th anniversary in 2015. Yet, as an educator, I am aware that students ages thirteen and fourteen wouldn’t know specific details about war conflicts. Specific conflicts in war are not looked at in Canadian curriculum until grade twelve due to its mature content. I don’t expect that pre-teens would have a complex and educated response to the conflict. As far as my research question goes, this study is useful because it gives me insight on how much pre-teens know as far as conflicts of war go in history. It definitely alludes to how much educators have taught on this level for this topic.

Reference

Sheehan, M., & Davison, M. (2017). We need to remember they died for us: How young people in New Zealand make meaning of war remembrance and commemoration of the First World War. London Review of Education, 15(2), 259-271. doi:10.18546/lre.15.2.09