THE SCHOOLS AS CO-CONSTRUCTORS OF MARGINALITY, EXTREMISM AND RADICALISATION
If the school has a vital role to play in the prevention of extremism, some researchers on the contrary point out that schools and teachers actually can participate in the construction of radicalization and oppositional positions among pupils (Gilliam, L., 2010).
The school is based on certain cultural codes, ways of speaking, literature and often a dominant religious identity, that is connected to the middle-class majority population (Bourdieau & Passeron, 1990).
The knowledge that is valued at school and defined as the standard that achievement is measured in relation to, is connected to this part of the population.
Children from ethnic minorities and/or other socio-economic backgrounds than the dominant ones meet this cultural hegemony in school, and experience exclusion and cultural marginalization. The children sense that the majority culture is so dominant, that they feel markedly different if they don´t fit within the expectations to the “normal” child. The feeling of being different, not recognized, identified with a questioned religion and ethnicity, and unable to live up to the specific norms and criteria, can lead to the creation of a counter identification. Sometimes an anti-school culture, and sometimes a search for other communities to gain recognition. It can lead to a vicious circle of alienation from the school where you feel you can’t succeed and participate, oppositional behavior, further exclusion, etc.
This research points to the risk of the school being part of a construction of marginality, which can lead to the creation of a counterculture, where youth build an identity around being different from what they can´t be part of at school. Contrary to this, if the school and teachers are conscious about these mechanisms, their important role as a micro society, and gain capacities and motivation to work towards inclusion, belonging and trust as participating citizens among children and youth across diversities, they can have a tremendous effect, including the anticipation and prevention of radicalization and extremism.