Radical reform and reforming radicals in Australian schooling

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider historical shifts in the mobilisation of the concept of radical in relation to Australian schooling. Design/methodology/approach Two texts composed at two distinct points in a 40-year period in Australia relating to radicalism and education are strategically juxtaposed. These texts are: the first issue of the Radical Education Dossier (RED, 1976), and the Attorney General Department’s publication Preventing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation in Australia (PVERA, 2015). The analysis of the term radical in these texts is influenced by Raymond Williams’s examination of particular keywords in their historical and contemporary contexts. Findings Across these two texts, radical is deployed as adjective for a process of interrogating structured inequalities of the economy and employment, and as individualised noun attached to the “vulnerable” young person. Social implications Reading the first issue of RED alongside the PVERA text suggests the consequences of the reconstitution of the role of schools, teachers and the re-positioning of certain young people as “vulnerable”. The juxtaposition of these two texts surfaces contemporary patterns of the therapeutisation of political concerns. Originality/value A methodological contribution is offered to historical sociological analyses of shifts and continuities of the role of the school in relation to society.

Preventative Strategy to Solve Radicalism in University: The Case Study in State University of Surabaya, Indonesia

“…A study stated that government supervision and integrity in supporting and playing an active role in solving radical movements in a country (McDonald & Mir, 2011). When radicals create a passionate community of interacting and discussing with students, it will cause high fanaticism (Mayes, 2019). According to Sekerka & Yacobian (2018), who explained that preventive strategy is needed to deal with radicalism based on ethics, religion, race, and belief issues to prevent its effect, such as Islamophobia caused by narrow mindset and prejudice about Islam that generalize this religion as the breeder of terrorism movement across countries.…”