Over the last two decades, the prevention of violent radicalisation, extremism and terrorism has become a major policy issue in Europe, and educational institutions’ central role in it has become widely acknowledged. However, what has rarely been addressed is that living in today’s media-centred world, in which terrorism receives much dramatic attention, news about violent extremist attacks reach every student and can significantly impact their emotions, beliefs, attitudes and feelings of safety. Since little attention has been given to how educators have addressed issues of violent radicalisation, extremism and terrorism with their students, this study relies on data-driven content analysis to investigate Finnish educators’ experiences regarding two issues in particular: first, what kind of themes associated with violent radicalisation, extremism and terrorism have been brought up in classroom discussions? Second, what provided the impetus for these discussions? The discussions in educational institutions dealt with the motives behind ideologically motivated violence, extreme ideologies, security concerns, immigration and ethical considerations. Recent violent attacks, curriculum content, students’ experiences and jokes requiring educators’ intervention provided the impetus for such discussions. The study findings are important for developing educational approaches to address violent radicalisation, extremism and terrorism-related issues in a pedagogically and ethically sustainable manner and to create ‘safe spaces’ for the discussions.

School safety and security has become a topical issue internationally that concerns both educational research and policy. However, whereas several studies have focused on technical safety, less attention has been given to comprehensive safety and security management (SSM) and policies enhancing schools' safety culture. In order to provide new knowledge on the topic, this study addresses the following research question: What kinds of safety and security management development needs are related to a) technical, b) human and c) pedagogical leadership areas for enhancing comprehensive safety culture in Finnish basic education schools? This study uses a multiple case study approach and a multidimensional auditing tool for evaluating the SSM development needs in four Finnish basic education schools. The main findings highlight several developmental needs in the planning, implementation and evaluation for safety and security work. On these bases, this study suggests that policies and guidelines need to be improved both on the school and national levels. Particularly, special attention needs to be focused on the staff training, competence and comprehensiveness of safety and security management. The findings of this study are topical for both Finnish and international school settings that address enhancing a comprehensive and inclusive safety culture.

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