This volume on The Challenge of Radicalization and Extremism: Integrating Research on Education and Citizenship in the Context of Migration addresses the need for educational researchers to place their work in a broader social and political context by connecting it to the current and highly relevant issue of extremism and radicalization. At the same time, it is important for researchers of extremism and radicalization to strengthen their conceptual links with educational fields, especially with education for democratic citizenship. The volume was planned in the aftermath of the international conference ‘Migration, Social Transformation, and Education for Democratic Citizenship’, jointly held in 2018 by the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction’s Special Interest Group Moral and Democratic Education (EARLI SIG 13) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Integration and Migration Research of the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. In our capacity as both organizers and attendees of the conference, we realized that the core insights gained from the event should be developed further and should be made available to a wider scientific and non-scientific audience. During our deliberations and based on attendees’ specific interest in the keynote presentation on jihadism and its urban, national, and anthropological dimensions, we decided to expand the intended discourse by inviting contributions that address the pressing societal challenge of extremism and radicalization.1
Our idea was further supported by two main insights. First, in the field of education, we currently observe a confluence of societal, political, economic, and environmental phenomena which link individuals and groups from various generations and with a large variety of different backgrounds. These linkages go beyond the individual level and affect the local, national, and international space—and education. However, education, particularly education for democratic citizenship, is not just passively affected by these current developments. Education also has the power to effect positive social and societal change by implementing prevention and intervention efforts in an educational setting.
Second, the impact of migration and its associated societal changes on the conditions and processes of civic and citizenship education is still an emerging field of research (Banks, 2017a). So far, acculturation processes have not been sufficiently considered in the context of research on civic and citizenship education. Moreover, the potential effects of specific measures of civic and citizenship education which purposely target the societal change caused by migration have also been rarely investigated. Due to the lack of research, we do not know in what ways institutionalized educational processes might contribute to meeting the challenges of education for democratic citizenship in immigrant societies. Several issues remain unclear when it comes to fostering education for democratic citizenship and preventing radicalization, namely: which specific measures have to be taken and under what conditions; and which individual prerequisites must be considered in order to enhance the effectiveness of such measures?
In sum, there is a lack of research-based publications that address these issues across subjects and disciplines to inform both scientific and professional stakeholders in the educational and social sectors. Moreover, to the extent that it does exist, the literature on the potential role of education in counteracting radicalization and extremism appears to be largely dominated by a North American perspective. Accordingly, in order to broaden the scope and to provide additional perspectives, the present volume is more closely linked to European discourse(s) while also including transatlantic and South African contributions.
1 Insights from Extremism and Radicalization Research
During the past two decades, political and religious extremism and radicalization have posed ever-increasing levels of challenge for countries and democratic societies in Europe and around the world (see also Ghosh et al., 2017). Various definitions exist for both extremism and radicalization, and researchers deplore the lack of a generally accepted precise terminology (Lösel et al., 2018). Extremism in all its forms can be described as the active opposition to, or a significant
Theoretical explanations of radicalization include, for example, the ‘lone wolf’ trajectory; difficult childhood experiences like rejection, exclusion, or bullying; association with violent or extremist groups; or identity problems during adolescence (e.g. Beelmann, 2020; Nivette et al., 2017). Various models describe radicalization as a process that develops and intensifies over time; these models increasingly consider the role of social and societal influences in this process and ascribe education an important role in preventing this process from occurring in the first place (Beelmann, 2020; Ghosh et al., 2017; Moghaddam, 2005).
Against this background, the present volume combines research from two different fields which do not usually overlap, namely education (particularly education for democratic citizenship) on the one hand and extremism and radicalization on the other hand. Some of the chapters do not concentrate on education per se whereas others target extremism and radicalization only in an indirect way. To provide a common focus on extremism and radicalization and to establish a basic link between the chapters, those authors who were not familiar with the literature on radicalization and extremism were asked to consult two specific scientific papers so they could familiarize themselves with common concepts and issues. The first of these papers is by Borum (2014). It offers an integrative model of the interplay between individual vulnerabilities and propensities and the contextual and situational factors in the development of violent extremism. It introduces core concepts and offers initial insights into the complex dynamics between individual and contextual factors in contributing towards the development of radical beliefs, intentions, and behaviours. The second paper is by Ghosh et al. (2017). It addresses the role of education in preventing radicalization and religious extremism. This paper also clarifies the complex interrelationships between fundamentalism, extremism, radicalism, and terrorism, and offers pedagogical recommendations for the (Canadian) educational system.
We suggested that authors who did not directly address radicalization and extremism should develop links to this common theoretical and empirical basis and outline these links in the theory and/or discussion sections of their
As a result, the topic of acculturation-related extremism is addressed in the context of education—specifically citizenship education—against the backdrop of migration processes. Furthermore, the causes, mechanisms, and development of radicalization and extremism are addressed in the context of multiple disciplines, thereby offering a multifaceted picture of these phenomena. By analyzing and reporting approaches for the prevention of radicalization and extremism that are rooted in citizenship education, the volume establishes links to informed educational practice with a view to educating professionals and to adapting and implementing prevention initiatives in diverse educational settings.
2 The Relevance of Citizenship Education
Citizenship education within democracies has a twofold function. First, it is tasked with assimilating young people into existing structures and with supporting the pattern maintenance of political institutions. Second, it is also intended to empower young people to scrutinize existing structures critically and to promote change in corrupted or otherwise untrusted political institutions or governments.
Based on discourse occurring at national levels, European intergovernmental organizations have formulated integrative definitions of both democratic citizenship and citizenship education (Abs, 2021). The frequently used definition by the European Union (EU) follows closely the idea of socialization within a democratic society. Its leading concept for promoting citizenship education is active citizenship. Active citizenship is defined as ‘participation in civil society, community and/or political life, characterised by mutual respect and non-violence and in accordance with human rights and democracy’ (Hoskins & Mascherini, 2009; Hoskins et al., 2012). By defining the objective of citizenship education in this way, the EU’s emphasis lies on integrating the individual into a given society and political system rather than on the role of the individual as an agent of change.
The Council of Europe’s (CoE) definition, on the other hand, is closer to the idea of citizenship education as a vehicle for empowerment, defining education for democratic citizenship as the ‘education, training, dissemination, information, practices and activities which aim, by equipping learners
Yet both definitions are set in the context of supporting the persistence of liberal democracies, including the respect for human rights and the rule of law. Moreover, they are both connected to a broader concept of competences for democratic culture (Council of Europe, 2018; European Council, 2018). Indeed, this is where citizenship education meets with the prevention of radicalization and extremism. Extremism puts the basic values of democracy aside or restricts them to some people only, while radicalization prepares individuals for the violent enforcement of extremist ideas. However, prevention efforts concern themselves mainly with scrutinizing and prohibiting the articulation of extremist interests. In that sense, prevention efforts do not provide an alternative to extremist beliefs or processes of radicalization. Therefore, prevention may require a lot of effort without yielding satisfactory results. Citizenship education, by contrast, does provide an alternative to extremism and radicalization that allows for the articulation of individual interests and shows individuals how to work towards the recognition and implementation of their ideas. In this sense, citizenship education is the positive approach towards preventing radicalization and extremism.
As part of the Moral Development and Citizenship Education series, the present volume follows a tradition of putting young people’s social and cultural development at the centre of theoretical, empirical, and practice-related scientific endeavours. As indicated in the series description, the aim of the series is both to research and to promote such development by including ‘the social, political, and religious domains, as well as cognitive, emotional, and action-oriented content’ (Oser & Veugelers, n.d.). In the context of sixteen volumes in the series that all address core issues regarding the conditions for (promoting) young people’s cultural development, the present volume is the first to address the threats that radicalization and extremism pose and the potential role(s) that education may play in meeting and counteracting these threats.
3 Chapter Summaries
The chapters of this edited volume establish a basis for exploring the relationship between the prevention of radicalization and citizenship education.
The volume is divided into three parts which each address different facets of extremism and radicalization as a challenge for citizenship education to tackle. The first part—Foundations—provides fundamental research on radicalization and the rejection of democratic values. Although they do in parts refer to the role of education, the two chapters in this part discuss the issue in a broader sense, conceptualizing radicalization as being grounded in a lack of systemic support and a missing sense of societal belonging. Against this backdrop, the second part—Analysis of Preconditions within the Educational Context—explores the key risk and protective factors against radicalization for young people. Focusing on social, cultural, or political aspects, the chapters in this part follow up on experiences and skills that educational systems can impart. A special emphasis lies on the need to counteract the risk of extremist development amongst young people. Finally, in the third and most extensive part—Approaches for Prevention and Intervention—researchers present concrete suggestions for prevention and intervention methods within formal and informal educational contexts. Authors draw on the risk and protective factors established in the first two parts and expand them in their own research. They discuss the specific challenges of implementing preventive measures in actual educational programmes while highlighting the potential that citizenship education offers in this context, whereby this education must be both empowering and inclusive to protect against extremist attitudes and behaviours.
4 Part 1: Foundations
The two chapters in the first part examine the fragility of citizenship in Western democracies, which can, particularly for young people, lead to the rejection of democratic values and to extremist attitudes and behaviours.
In his previously published paper Failed Citizenship and Transformative Civic Education, James A. Banks establishes a typology of ways in which citizenship is being realized. Acknowledging the complexity of the concept of citizenship in general, Banks distinguishes between failed, recognized, participatory, and transformative citizenship. Giving special consideration to core sources of diversity (i.e. racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious), Banks
In the subsequent chapter, Farhad Khosrokhavar dissects the complex sets of conditions and motivations that characterize young people’s path to jihadism. The chapter examines different individual examples of extremist Muslim young people in France, comparing three main groups: socially disadvantaged young male migrants, middle-class jihadist men, and jihadist women. Khosrokhavar identifies as common factors for each of the different social actors a feeling of insignificance and a lack of orientation, belonging, and recognition. The author demonstrates that these factors may manifest themselves in significantly different ways depending on an individual’s respective social position and background. Thus Islamist radicalization can be a response to the disaffection from mainstream society that socially disadvantaged young people experience, or it can be a response to the loss of stability and ideological orientation which young people from the middle class often face. While the extremist role can provide men with a feeling of superiority and heroism, female Islamist radicalization tends to occur to counter women’s perceived lack of belonging through the re-idealization of gender roles and a fixed notion of femininity and womanhood.
Drawing on a shared consideration for democratic citizenship and its shortcomings, both chapters pinpoint the foundations of extremism and radicalization with distinctively different methods and settings. Banks’ approach is based on multicultural citizenship education research and focuses mainly on the national context of the United States. His concept of citizenship offers a comprehensive approach that emphasizes the productive potential of different types or realizations of citizenship as well as the risk of social estrangement and radicalization. In contrast, Khosrokhavar’s sociological perspective is European, with a specific focus on social situations in France. He draws attention to individual experiences to explore a specific religious form of extremism while tracing radicalization processes that already took place.
5 Part 2: Analysis of Preconditions within the Educational Context
The second part of the book consists of four chapters. The analyses in these chapters stem from a European context and provide insights into crucial preconditions for integration and successful citizenship education. Social relationships, ethnic and democratic identity, and language skills are elaborated on as key factors in fostering a strong democratic sense of belonging through the educational context. These factors are thus shown to be major (potential) protective factors against the development of extremist attitudes.
In the first chapter of this part, Eveline Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger et al. explore the role that the quality of social relationships at school may play in students’ endorsement or rejection of pre-extremist attitudes. The authors draw in particular on Beelmann’s (2020) social-developmental model of radicalization and argue that the emergence of pre-extremist attitudes during adolescence needs to be researched more extensively. Using a normative sample from the German data set of the 2016 International Civic and Citizenship Education study, the authors analyse pre-extremist religious attitudes among 14-year-old students in relation to religious identity and practice, civic knowledge, and social relationships at school. The authors’ findings are indicative of a certain preventive potential of civic education and reveal a complex interplay between religious identity and practice in predicting pre-extremist attitudes. That said, their research also shows that the characteristics of pre-extremist attitudes as well as the impact of social relationships require a more targeted evaluation.
Kerstin Göbel and Zuzanna M. Preusche explore the complex dynamics between the ethnic identity, perceived discrimination, and self-esteem of minority students in Germany. Their chapter compiles and compares recent international findings that inform their own study on adolescent students with minority ethnic identifications in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In particular, their findings emphasize the importance of self-esteem for school adjustment and success, suggesting a strong preventive effect of self-esteem against social disaffection and radicalization. Furthermore, their analyses
Sabine Manzel investigates the potential effectiveness of citizenship education classes for preventing the emergence of right-wing extremism in Germany. In light of recent terrorist incidents committed by the extremist right, Manzel examines the development of right-wing tendencies in Germany. Her analysis also sheds light on the current state of citizenship education and adolescent participation in Germany, both of which are particularly challenged by the rise of right-wing attitudes. In so doing, Manzel provides fruitful insights into a specific extremist challenge for citizenship education. Additionally, by combining theoretical approaches to the emergence of extremist attitudes with instructional concepts such as Helmke’s learning opportunities model, she carves out a theoretical foundation regarding the preventive potential of civic and citizenship education in schools, which can inform further research.
In the final chapter of this part, Hanna Beißert and her colleagues focus on the crucial role of immigrant and non-immigrant children’s host-country language skills in integration processes. The authors characterize language as being all at once a communication medium, a resource, and a symbol of relatedness; language is vital for educational and professional success as well as for the social relationships of immigrants in their new country of residence. Emphasizing the reciprocity of integration processes and the need for openness in the host society, the chapter specifically focuses on the symbolic function of language skills as a significant social resource. Based on two empirical studies conducted in a secondary school and in universities in Germany, the authors show how language skills are a key influence on social integration in different educational contexts. The contribution by Beißert et al. therefore highlights the preventive importance of a specific skill while shedding light on the dynamics of prejudice that education needs to counteract.
6 Part 3: Approaches for Prevention and Intervention
The third part of the volume comprises eight chapters from seven national contexts (Austria, Canada, Germany, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and United Kingdom) which analyse a diverse range of prevention and intervention approaches that may be deployed in the context of citizenship education. The measures presented are implemented at the political, activist, or school level. Many chapters present best-practice examples; others critically discuss educational policies that hinder the sustainable prevention of extremist
The part starts with a critical analysis of (educational) policies regarding immigration as well as extremism prevention in the United Kingdom. Hazel Bryan demonstrates how ‘preventive’ political measures that restrict and depreciate cultural diversity in fact counteract the potential preventive effects of social cohesion, understanding, and belonging as they unfold in educational contexts. She describes the political abandonment of the concept of multiculturalism that the British government has undertaken in the last two decades. Bryan focuses on educational policy and teaching requirements that mirror the political concepts of a muscular liberalism and a hostile environment towards immigration. Dismantling the roots of these policies in othering and racism, the chapter makes a strong point for education as a safe space for marginalized voices in order to prevent extremist attitudes, an effort which is severely weakened by culturally exclusive politics.
The two subsequent chapters take up and support Bryan’s concluding point by discussing the preventive potential of educational policies that foster democratic values while encouraging communal linkage and diverse individual identities instead of regulating them. With a specific focus on southern Norway, Inger Marie Dalehefte and her colleagues present the initiative ‘Democratic Preparedness Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (DEMBRA)’ and its potential as an intervention to foster democratic values and prevent extremism. Against the backdrop of violent extremist acts in Norway as well as global political developments exposing the vulnerability of democratic values, the authors emphasize the importance of democratic education in school as well as in teacher training. The chapter examines recent implementations of DEMBRA in both of these contexts. The authors suggest that the combination of the guided courses and self-initiative, knowledge transfer, and the identity work that the DEMBRA programme provides makes it a promising model for fostering democratic skills and values. At the same time, they highlight open issues and thematize the need for further developments that characterize the DEMBRA programme just as they characterize democratic citizenship itself.
Following this discussion of the preventive role of educational policies and systematic approaches, the part sheds light on a variety of different intervention programmes. Three European contributions examine the potential of specific tools for democratic education and for preventing extremism, mainly implemented in non-formal contexts. First, Sieglinde Weyringer and her colleagues discuss the Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE) model as an intervention tool. Working with first-generation migrants in Austria, they establish ‘pillar values’ for integration and cultural interaction. Next, the authors identify the competencies that must be promoted to enable first-generation migrants to act according to these values. VaKE is presented as a method for identifying diverse value systems and fostering cultural integration values, hence combining values education with knowledge transfer. The authors present two intervention studies from Austria in which different groups of first-generation migrants were confronted with political or moral dilemmas. Acknowledging the need for further research to confirm their exploratory findings, the authors discuss the potential of VaKE for the development of stable democratic values and their preventive impact.
Joanna Leek and Marcin Rojek focus on the potential of digitalization for promoting civic attitudes. Using a sociocultural approach to learning as a lifelong process and exploiting the democratic potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) in general, the authors present two interventions conducted across multiple countries including the United Kingdom, Poland, Cyprus, Sweden, and Spain. One of these interventions used virtual reality in the classroom, and the other implemented intergenerational ICT learning. Both projects proved to be successful in fostering participants’ mutual understanding and social purpose. The authors conclude that ICT tools, if used in a collaborative learning environment, can be particularly helpful with the
Ewa Bacia focuses on social innovation processes within grassroots activist structures as a prevention model. Her chapter examines five grassroots initiatives in Germany that foster social innovation with respect to migration and refugee issues. Bacia rethinks integration in a postmigrant society, positing that it must be necessarily linked to social diversity and inclusion. Offering an alternative to assimilationist approaches to acculturation, this model calls for innovative visions of societal structures. Bacia’s analysis shows how private and small institutional initiatives can be catalysts for this visionary process and can thereby create educational, psychological, and social effects that assist in preventing radicalization.
The last two chapters of the third part present educational approaches and programmes designed to promote social cohesion and democratic consciousness in the classroom. Jan Pfetsch et al. present a universal prevention programme developed for 5th graders at a school in Germany. The authors draw on comparative definitions of prejudice and tolerance and the development of these respective attitudes throughout childhood and adolescence. With a particular focus on the interactions between refugee and non-immigrant children, they evaluate existing empirical findings on preventing prejudice in schools, emphasizing the generally positive effect of such efforts (especially on majority groups), and particularly the potential positive impact of intergroup contact and multimodal/multifaceted programmes. The results further confirm the effectiveness of intergroup contact in a structured, multimodal school setting for reducing prejudice held by non-immigrant children against refugee children.
Finally, Saloshna Vandeyar proposes a pedagogy of compassion against the backdrop of the specific global migration and radicalization tendencies in South Africa. The author presents current theoretical approaches to these challenges and discusses the crucial role of education as opposed to ‘hard power’ strategies for preventing extremism. Linking these findings with the concept of cosmopolitan citizenship education, Vandeyar sets forth the pedagogy of compassion as a ‘soft power’ concept that aims to forge dialogue, ambiguousness, and the questioning of belief systems as a means for dealing with diversity. Classroom observations demonstrate the application of these principles and their potential to prevent radicalization in South Africa.
The contributions compiled in this volume highlight the importance of continuing to integrate research on citizenship education and research on integration for the purposes of counteracting or preventing processes of radicalization. They do so by considering and evaluating various theoretical and
Note
All contributions in this volume were invited based on the authors’ previous research, their expertise in the fields of radicalization, citizenship education, and/or migration, and the respective potential to create linkages between these fields through their work. To ensure the scientific and textual quality and coherence of the book, all chapters went through a thorough process of double peer review. Additionally, all chapters were professionally copy-edited.
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