‘What is this ISIS all about?’ Addressing violent extremism with students: Finnish educators’ perspectives

Abstract

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.

Safe Space, Dangerous Territory: Young People’s Views on Preventing Radicalization through Education—Perspectives for Pre-Service Teacher Education

“…However, they also feel that school has not provided them with sufficient knowledge about topics related to extremism and terrorism, and peace promotion and conflict resolution. Nevertheless, these are themes that are omnipresent in the media and surface regularly and spontaneously in daily discussions between the students and the teachers [102]. These sensitive and often identity-related topics evoke curiosity, strong opinions, and feelings, such as fear and uncertainty.…”

“…Indeed, teachers have reported feeling uncomfortable discussing themes related to terrorism and extremist ideologies with children and youth because of lack of substance knowledge about them. For example, they may feel uncertain to explain to the students the motivations of a terrorist to commit an act and kill people [50] or why some people radicalize while others do not [102]. However, if the youth do not receive support and space in school for dealing with their questions, feelings, and thoughts related to complex phenomena and current local or global incidents, such as terrorist attacks or wars, they may be left with no means of dealing with these themes in a safe environment.…”

“…By providing space and opportunities for open, polyphonic, and unprejudiced dialogue between students who support different worldviews and ideologies, discussions of nonconformist or deviant ideas and values an be facilitated. Additionally, those ideals of the students that may seem extremist or "adrift" from the society's point of view should be discussed together in school as well as at home, in order to create and restore trust [76,102].…”

Online polarization and identity politics: An analysis of Facebook discourse on Muslim and LGBTQ+ communities in Finland

“…However, in recent times, the focus has shifted. The country now grapples with societal divisions and marginalization, particularly concerning Muslim and LGBTQ+ communities (Vallinkoski et al, 2021). The latest statistics on reported hate crimes show that Muslims and LGBTQ+ people were targeted.…”

Extremism in a classroom: topics discussed and Estonian teachers' experiences and self-reflective choices

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Schools are one of the primary settings for fostering skills to support students in understanding the causes, motivations and outcomes of extremism (Vallinkoski et al 2021). This article presents the results of a pilot study focusing on Estonian educators' experiences with discussing and tackling extremism in the classroom.

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