The Causes of Youth Extremism and Ways to Prevent It in the Educational Environment

Abstract

The article sketches the main theoretical approaches that account for the phenomenon of youth extremism. It compares the theoretical description of the causes of extremism to the opinions of specialists in its prevention in the educational environment. It explores the limited nature of perceptions that a leading role is played by ideology in the formation of extremist behavior and emphasizes the inadequate effectiveness of preventive measures that consist solely of cultural and educational measures. A number of directions of preventive work in educational organizations are proposed.

This article is the republished version of:

The Causes of Youth Extremism and Ways to Prevent It in the Educational Environment

Notes

English translation © 2015 Taylor & Francis, from the Russian text © 2013 “Sotsiologiia obrazovaniia.” “Prichiny molodezhnogo ekstremizma i ego profilaktika v obrazovatel'noi srede,” Sotsiologiia obrazovaniia, 2013, no. 10, pp. 4–18. D.G. Davydov is a candidate of psychological sciences and a senior science associate in the Interdepartmental Resource Center for the Monitoring and Expert Appraisal of the Security of the Educational Environment, at Moscow City University of Psychological Pedagogy. Translated by Kim Braithwaite. Translation reprinted from Russian Education and Society, vol. 57, no. 3. DOI: 10.1080/10609393.2015.1018745