Growing up radical? The role of educational institutions in guiding young people’s worldview construction

This interdisciplinary project examines young people’s (ages 15-19) life trajectory and worldview development in the Finnish context.

Special interest is in youth who identify strongly with a political or worldview ideology. The study aims to deepen the educational understanding of young people’s worldview development, their conceptions of ‘radical’ thinking and the factors that are significant in the development of fundamentalism or radicalization along youths’ life trajectories. The project will bring new light into the role of educational institutions in worldview development, which is vital in the development of structures aiming to guide these processes and in preventing radicalization. The mixed method data for the enquiry will be gathered through a combination of an online survey (N=500) and in-depth interviews (N=20-30) with youth residing in different parts of Finland.

Identities and Resilience in Times of Enhanced Nationalisms: Perspectives from Finland and the UK

The growing up radical -research group organised an international symposium “Identities and Resilience in Times of Enhanced Nationalisms: Perspectives from Finland and the UK” at the Department of Education, University of Oxford in October 2019. The event was supported by a grant received from the Finnish Institute in London.  The symposium focused on offering critical multi-disciplinary analyses of these geopolitical complexities by focusing on young people’s values and worldviews constructions.

Lead International Co-investigator: Liam Gearon

Non-departmental project members include, Professor Arniika Kuusisto (Principal Investigator, and Professor of Education, University of Stockholm, Docent, University of Helsinki, and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Oxford), with postdoctoral fellows Dr Pia-Maria Niemi (University of Helsinki) and Dr Saija Benjamin (University of Helsinki).

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