Extreme views are widespread in classrooms in England

Schools across England lack the resources and training to teach pupils how to reject and discuss dangerous extremist views and ideologies according to a major new study by UCL researchers and commissioned by education charity SINCE 9/11. The research, published just days before the 20th anniversary of 9/11 - the worst terror attack in history, reveals that extreme views such as racism, misogynistic views and homophobia are widespread in classrooms across the country. The authors note that the findings come amid warnings from police of a rise in the number of children being radicalised by neo-Nazi and other extremist groups* and the report not only looks at violent extremism but 'hateful extremism' (homophobic, misogynistic and racist attitudes and behaviours). The Addressing Extremism Through the Classroom report, co-authored by a team of academics from the UCL Institute of Education - found that teachers are not being given the time, training or resources to teach pupils about violent and 'hateful' extremism and that schools believe instead that the Government expects them to focus on seeking out and reporting pupils who are thought to be at risk of radicalisation. The study found that due to an already crammed curriculum, teaching about extremism in UK schools is "highly variable", and in some cases "superficial" and "tokenistic". While much anti-extremism work in schools is "well-meaning", the study argues, it 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".