Understanding and preventing violent extremism in school settings

Violent extremism (VE; i.e., terrorism) is an issue of increasing relevance in school settings. Worldwide, terrorist actors have increasingly targeted youth in schools both for victimization via attacks as well for radicalization and recruitment to their ranks. Although violent extremism as an ideologically motivated act can be distinguished from mass shootings in school settings in that most school-based mass shootings are not ideologically motivated, there is obvious overlap. The threat of violent extremism, however, also represents a distinct issue that warrants increased attention from school professionals. We present an overview of several related issues before exploring strategies to mitigate the threat of targeted violence in school settings, including opportunities for school personnel to assist in identifying, assessing, and managing threats of violent extremism. In the final section, we focus specifically on ways that school psychologists can increase awareness and help bring about individual and systemic changes to prevent violent extremism in schools.