Students faced with religious radicalization leading to violence: The more you know, the more you prevent

The departure to Syria or the departure attempts by a number of students from Collège de Maisonneuve caused quite a stir. Both religious radicalization and the preventive role of schools received major media coverage.

The research component is part of a social psychological approach. It puts the question of social identity construction at the forefront. This research consists of interviews with students (27), teachers (10) and stakeholders (6). In addition to these interviews, we conducted two focus groups with students. At the same time, we tested prevention measures in partnership with teachers and stakeholders, during classroom and extra-curricular activities.

Our research initiative shows that students from immigrant backgrounds have a number of “vulnerable areas”. This is particularly the case for people of Muslim culture or faith. The college environment can effectively and efficiently act on these areas through primary prevention activities.

Consult the research initiative report (PDF, 1 MB)

Type of service: Applied research
Persons responsible at IRIPI: Frédéric Dejean
Co-investigators: Sarah Mainich, Bochra Manaï, Leslie Touré Kapo.
Partner: Carrefour des langues, de l’international, de l’interculturel et de la collectivité (CLIIC) du Collège de Maisonneuve
Funding source: Ministère de la Sécurité publique, Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion et Ministère de l’Éducation, de l’Enseignement supérieur,
Project start date: September 2015
Project end date: March 2016