Schools across England lack the resources and training to teach pupils how to reject dangerous extremist views, a new study reveals.
The research finds that extreme views such as racism, misogynistic views and homophobia need to be tackled more effectively.
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The Addressing Extremism Through the Classroom report, co-authored by a team of academics from the UCL Institute of Education, says that teachers lack the time, training or resources to teach pupils about violent and “hateful” extremism.
The researchers also found that those working in schools believe that the government expects their focus to be on reporting pupils at risk of radicalisation rather than helping them to resist it.
A survey of 96 teachers conducted as part of the research identified particular problems with responding to conspiracy theories in the classroom.
Schools ‘need support to tackle extremism’
It shows that “the majority of participating teachers encountered conspiracy theories in the classroom more frequently than any other forms of disturbing or extremist ideas” and that teachers were “less confident about how to respond to conspiracy theories compared with most other forms of extremism”.
The research also reveals that teaching about extremism in schools across the country was “highly varied”.
Schools and teachers are mandated to report students at risk of radicalisation under the Prevent duty, and to “promote” and not “undermine” fundamental British values.
Many schools - particularly primaries - were treating policy such as Fundamental British Values “tokenistically to ensure compliance with Ofsted”, the researchers found.
But in other schools, anti-extremism education was “highly critical and engaging”, the report says.
It concludes that “much anti-extremism work is well-meaning but is stymied by overcrowded curricula, a lack of resources, a desire to perform policy for Ofsted, and a mandate to detect and report vulnerability to radicalisation rather than necessarily stamp out its root causes”.
More than half of the teachers surveyed had heard pupils express far-right extremist views in their classroom, while around three-quarters had heard “extremist views about women” or Islamophobic views, and nearly 90 per cent had heard conspiracy theories, such as that American business magnate Bill Gates “controlled people via microchips in Covid vaccines”.
The study also shows that many teachers did not discuss extreme views in the classroom because they feared they would “get it ‘wrong’, especially on matters related to race”.
Nearly all teachers reported feeling at least “somewhat confident” in dealing with extreme views when they encountered them but a fifth of teachers felt only “somewhat” or “not at all” confident in dealing with conspiracy theories and far-right extremism.
Teachers from case study schools also raised concerns about pupils’ exposure to extremist views online, often “claiming this had been exacerbated by the pandemic and lockdowns”.
Dr Becky Taylor. of the UCL Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research, said: “This report shows that some schools fail to move beyond surface-level explorations of violence, extremism and radicalisation. However, it is without doubt that schools can play an important role.”
Education policies must consider that fact that some schools may need more help than others to build on what they already have in place, she said.
She added: “Engaging well with their local communities and ensuring that schools and teachers are supported and appropriately resourced can help young people to problematise ‘hateful extremism’.
“We are convinced that teachers need to be able to bring their own pedagogical expertise to the classroom, enhanced through appropriate professional development, to ensure their classrooms are safe environments for open discussion.”
Kamal Hanif, a trustee of education charity Since 9/11, which commissioned the study, and executive principal of Waverley Education Foundation in Birmingham, called the research “a wake-up call”.
He said: “We urgently need to equip schools with the tools to teach pupils how to reject extremist views. Dangerous ideologies must never be swept under the carpet.”
Mr Hanif added: “The findings of this study are particularly pertinent as we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Children in school today were not yet born when the attacks took place.
“Indeed, many of their teachers were themselves only children at the time. It’s vital that we all learn about the attacks themselves and their ongoing impact.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said schools needed more support to tackle extremism.
He said: “Schools have an important role to play in educating young people about the false premises and dangers posed by extremist ideologies, but they cannot do this alone and more support is needed.
“The reality is that schools have to juggle multiple demands on their time in the context of packed timetables and severe funding constraints, all at a time when our society has undergone a digital revolution which allows people to spread hateful views at the click of a button.”
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, called the report “important”.
“It reminds us about the power of education to build societies. Schools and colleges cannot, however, do this on their own, and they do not have control over what occurs outside of school gates,” he said.
“Government must give schools the support, training and resources, as well as space in the curriculum, to tackle these issues in an effective way. This is something they have so far not been prepared to do, leaving schools to shoulder this burden on their own.
“The Department for Education could be doing much more to empower the profession and face up to the actual barriers in the classroom. On race equality, for example, the messages from the DfE have been mixed, confusing and unhelpful when it comes to the importance of actively challenging racism, talking about racism and countering racist stereotypes.”
The DfE has been contacted for comment.
