‘Can You Spot a Terrorist in Your Classroom?’ Problematising the Recruitment of Schools to the ‘War on Terror’ in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This article draws on theoretical insights from Foucault, Rose and the new sociology of childhood to critically examine the development and use of counter-extremism policies and practices in English schools. In particular, the article focuses on the introduction of Learning Together to be Safe: a toolkit to help schools contribute to the prevention of violent extremism and its implications for the rights of British Muslim children and young people. It is argued that this initiative contributes to a process of disciplinary normalisation of young British Muslims, with the intention of producing governable subjects. The analysis reveals a contradictory relationship between the commitment of the British state to upholding and implementing children's social and political rights (as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child), whilst simultaneously pursuing policies and practices that constrain and undermine the social and political agency of British Muslim children and young people.

Student Crisis Prevention in Schools: The NETWorks Against School Shootings Program (NETWASS) – An Approach Suitable for the Prevention of Violent Extremism?

“…By supporting the implementation of the NETWASS program into standard educational practice, school administrators, and policy makers can contribute to a healthy development of students and increase feelings of safety in students, parents, and school staff, considering additionally several important ethical issues (e.g. Baker-Beall, Heath-Kelly, & Jarvis, 2015;Coppock, 2014;Coppock & McGovern, 2014).…”

Le rôle de l’école face à la radicalisation violente : risques et bénéfices d’une approche sécuritaire

“…À l'heure actuelle, plusieurs pays défendent, dans leur plan national, une étroite collaboration entre tous les secteurs de la société civile et les forces de maintien de l'ordre (police et services secrets), sans toujours nommer explicitement la nature des relations que cette collaboration implique, ni les défis éthiques éventuels qu'elle pose. Ainsi, la France, l'Angleterre, l'Allemagne et le Danemark misent sur l'établissement de nouveaux liens entre les agences de sécurité et les secteurs servant une population jeunesse (Andersen, 2015;Coppock, 2014;Messica, 2006;El Difraoui et Uhlmann, 2015). Les milieux de l'éducation, des services sociaux et de la santé sont alors directement appelés à jouer un rôle clé dans la détection des jeunes radicalisés, notamment en intégrant des mesures de surveillance jusqu'alors réservées aux services de sécurité, et leur signalant familles et individus suspects.…”

“…www.acelf.ca (Coppock, 2014), une dimension pourtant essentielle au développement de l'esprit critique.…”

Extending the theory and practice of education for cosmopolitan citizenship

“…Multiple cases of how the Prevent agenda impacts on children and their schools are documented (Webber 2016). The ways in which this duty, imposed on schools, negatively impacts on children's political rights and on relationships between teachers and children have also been discussed (Coppock 2014;Osler 2017). The Prevent agenda is likely to inhibit children's and young people's freedom of speech at an age when they are developing their thinking: "There is a danger that school, a place where learners should have opportunities to discuss ideas and explore opinions, becomes one where students, particularly those of Muslim heritage, may be reluctant to express themselves" (Osler 2017, 154).…”