Age-specific manifestations of dispositions towards violent extremism in the educational environment

The prevention of extremism in the academic environment is one aspect of ensuring the safety of the educational process and society as a whole. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is a person-centered approach, taking into account the value-semantic content of individuals' worldviews across different ages. The purpose of the study is to identify the age-related characteristics of the manifestation of violent extremism dispositions in the educational environment and to assess the extent of these dispositions among students and teachers. Hypothesis: age affects the intensity of violent extremism dispositions, with adults exhibiting lower levels than young people. Research methods and organization. The study involved university students and faculty members aged 18 to 64. Diagnostic tool: the method for diagnosing dispositions toward violent extremism by D.G. Davydov and K.D. Khlomov. Literary sources were also analyzed. Methods of mathematical statistics were applied. Research results and conclusions. It has been found that the educational environment demonstrates a favorable picture according to the studied criterion: the average indicators of the manifestation of violent extremist dispositions in the sample are within normal ranges. The average levels of the expression of violent extremist traits in adolescent students (ages 18-21) are higher than those in the older group (over 30 years). This indicates that the expression of violent extremist dispositions decreases with age. The difference between the groups of young students (ages 22-30) and adults (over 30) proved to be insignificant. There is an age-specific pattern in the manifestation of violent extremist dispositions in the educational environment: extremist attitudes are more typical of adolescents. An individual approach is required in preventive work within educational institutions, taking into account the identified patterns of age-related distribution of these dispositions.