Radical Education Reading Forum

Monthly reading group, discussing texts or practices on radical education. All welcome!

This month’s topic: critically reading the government’s ‘Preventing Violent Extremism programme’

Reading: The government’s Preventing Violent Extremism programme, one of the four elements of its counter-terrorism strategy, has been in place for nearly a decade. It is explicitly focused on Islamic terrorism, and as such its main activities are directed towards Muslim communities.

Education workers are integral to the strategy, with police officers visiting educational institutions to brief teachers on how to spot radicalisation and report those they suspect. As fears rise around young British Muslims going to fight in Syria, education workers are likely to be expected to play a greater role in the surveillance of Muslim students.

This month’s reading group will provide a space for us to share our experiences and ideas around the Preventing Violent Extremism programme. How should we respond to a strategy which singles out our Muslim students? What past examples of teachers’ critical responses to discriminatory state agendas can we draw on?

Reading background for a discussion:
‘Between Two Stools? The Government’s Preventing Violent Extremism agenda’ (2009),
The Political Quarterly: http://core.kmi.open.ac.uk/download/pdf/59267.pdf
‘Failed and Friendless: the UK’s Preventing Violent Extremism Programme’ (2010),
The British Journal of Politics and International Relations:
http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/8949/1/Paul_Thomas_Failed_and_Friendless_PVEpdf.pdf

Some guidance for educational institutions:
Higher Education: http://www.safecampuscommunities.ac.uk/
Further Education: https://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/downloadableDocs/17193_DIUS_Next_Steps.pdf
Schools: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/8396/1/DCSF-Learning%20Together_bkmk.pdf

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