University students’ attitudes toward extremist activity

Abstract

Study goal: to explore university students’ attitudes toward extremist activity. Methods: The study is conducted on the students of Balashovsky Institute (branch) of the Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Vocational Education “Saratov National Research State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky” (SSU BI) studying in pedagogical areas of education. Results: The study reveals average and high levels of ethnic tolerance in the students; most respondents consider the reasons behind the adoption of extremist ideology to be social factors; every second student condemns the actions of extremist nature in any form; as measures to counter extremism, the respondents suggest educational, outreach, informational technologies. To reduce the risks of the involvement of youth in extremist communities in a multinational region, an additional education program “Prevention of intolerance and extremism among young people” is developed and implemented in the educational component of the university.