Introductory remarks

The subject of attitudes can be approached from many points of view and disciplines, and with different purposes in mind. Why study attitudes, a multidimensional, hypothetical construct, at all? The relative permanence of attitudes is a fact underlined by many authors. The intention here was to contribute to a better understanding of attitudes toward Jews and the Holocaust and Polish-Jewish relations in post-communist Poland, specifically among Polish youth. In definitions of attitude, psychologists frequently emphasise that attitudes, first introduced as a concept in the 19th century, are learned in the social context. In this chapter the focus will be on specific attitudes toward Jews, the Holocaust and the memory of the Holocaust. In many cases of empirical studies, including my own, the variables include: ethnocentrism, xenophobia, self-esteem, attitudes toward other national, religious and ethnic minorities/foreigners and were related both to teachers and students as target groups.

The impact of education on attitudes is increasingly the focus of attention of not only researchers, but also various social actors, including governments and nongovernmental organizations commissioning various studies. The measurement of the impact is complex. For example, factors like family environment, the influence of peers and the media, including social media, may skew the results of studies. Looking into the attitudes of younger generations of Poles toward Polish/Jewish relations might reveal the social context of a memory of difficult past.

The authors of a large comparative study on historical consciousness of youth “Youth and History” underlined the limitations of surveys in the field of education (van der Leeuw-Roord 1998). Scholars with a more pragmatic approach argue that there is a false dichotomy between quantitative and qualitative methods and express the opinion that researchers should use both to understand social phenomena (Creswell 1994, 176; Bauman, Palka, after: Zaręba 1998a 45–54). For the purpose of this study, a two-phase design emerged. Quantitative and qualitative data for this study were collected in separate phases, although partially overlapping, at various times and places and integrating both attitudes and various educational approaches for the purpose of evaluation.