An educational response to the “Prevent duty” in England and Wales

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 2015, the UK government was the first to introduce a statutory obligation, also known as the “Prevent duty”, on all education institutions, including Higher and Further Education, universities and colleges, in England and Wales, to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. The duty, promoted by the UK Home Office as another safeguarding measure, acted as an extension to the UK’s Prevent Strategy (CONTEST), first published in 2006. The duty in schools came under scrutiny as national security measures of surveillance and reporting conflict with what education stands for, that is, a space for social, intellectual growth and the formation of one’s identity. There is little literature examining how secondary school teachers attempt to prevent radicalisation through teaching practices. To fill this gap, interviews were carried out with 13 secondary school teachers, teaching different subjects at Key Stage 3/4 in England to investigate their views on what informs their choice of pedagogical methods to prevent radicalisation and how they engage with the curriculum to enact the duty. To contrast teachers’ views, 14 Prevent Practitioners in England were interviewed to examine whether correct interpretation and implementation of the Prevent duty was taking place. Findings show that whilst the duty’s main objective in schools is for teachers to signal and report potential radicalised students, teachers feel that Prevent policy and training requires strengthening to equip them with a sound knowledge of what violent radicalisation entails, and pedagogical tools to help them prevent radicalisation through educational teaching practices and their subject curriculum.