Listening to the needs of teachers to plan effective interventions to prevent radicalisation

Nowadays, students are bombarded with information, news and opinions difficult to be managed, while it is easier for them to rely uncritically on them, than to reflect with an open mind and spirit of analysis.

It is often difficult for teachers to manage discussions on sensitive issues, helping students to reflect autonomously and to create their own opinions, avoiding extreme positions and “radical” thoughts.

The PRACTICE project aims to provide secondary schools’ teachers with innovative training and effective tools to develop the critical thinking of their students and help them to consciously approach the complexity of today’s world.

For these reasons, the PRACTICE project’s partners in the last months have met with teachers, school leaders and education experts to gather their views on the topic of critical thinking and radicalisation prevention, to understand the role that school can have and to plan the most effective intervention that can meet the real needs of the local contexts on which we will act.

On the last 2nd and 3rd of April, the project partners met in Liverpool (UK) to discuss in depth the results of the research carried out, to analyse the local contexts and needs in different countries and territories and to plan a specific intervention action.

In the coming months, the partners will work on the development of a teacher training programme, with theoretical contents and practical activities to support students in strengthening their critical thinking with specific reference to the most sensitive issues that characterise current public discourse, while developing their social, civic and intercultural skills and promoting the common European values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination.

The results of the research carried out in recent months will be available shortly, as well as the training program that will be tested in Italy, Austria, Greece, Germany, Denmark and the UK from the next school year.