Teachers are trusted by the public to tell the truth, so we should trust and train them to challenge untruths in schools. Today, this increasingly means tackling conspiracy beliefs.
As the work of the Commission into Countering Online Conspiracy Theories in Schools has shown, we face a growing challenge in helping young people navigate a more complex world of information and, more pertinently, misinformation.
The commission has also shown the expectation that teachers should be playing the primary role in combating conspiracy theories: 53 per cent of young people and 73 per cent of parents support this.
That should come as no surprise. Teachers have consistently remained one of the most trusted professions. Naturally, parents and children want to lean on them when it comes to combating the pernicious influence of conspiracy theories.
However, we need to recognise that too few teachers are equipped to tackle this growing issue. Teachers are people too! They have been just as much at the mercy of changing technology, attitudes and approaches as anybody else, and they are just as likely to be targeted by sophisticated and ill-intended algorithms.
Because this is all new to them too, teachers need support in two key ways: training and trust.
School staff are eager to get better training (for all teachers, not just dedicated specialists). The work of the commission shows 73 per cent of school staff want schools to provide more resources and training for teachers to address conspiracy theories effectively.
What they tell us they are looking for is expert-led professional development to help them keep up with the evolving nature of conspiracy theories and to give them foundational knowledge to help them manage emerging challenges.
This is no easy thing we are asking teachers to do
As one teacher put it in a focus group explained, young people are “always one step ahead of you”. Entire new platforms emerge and shape their views before teachers even know they exist.
So it makes sense to think about how training could be embedded into ITT and early career induction programmes in the future as well as how we support current teachers.
To that end, this summer saw the launch of two national programmes, led by the National Institute of Teaching (NIOT) and the Institute of Education (IoE), and funded by the Pears Foundation, that will provide teachers and school leaders with new training and resources.
Their key focus tackling conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation and their ultimate aim is to protect pupils and strengthen critical thinking in the digital age.
This work is a necessary first step to help demystify and respond to a challenge that can otherwise feel bewildering. But we need more than simply training and development.
As the evidence shows, the best professional development is unlikely to prove successful unless it exists in a culture of trust. This includes training being developed in conjunction with teachers (which it is) and being implemented in a school environment in a collaborative way.
It also includes ensuring that school leaders understand the training and issues, and stand ready to support teachers when they engage with sometimes controversial subjects.
Many conspiracy theories are driven by highly emotive misinformation and disinformation, sometimes supported by family and other influences. This is no easy thing we are asking teachers to do, especially as they will often be doing so as the only adult in the room.
So they need to be confident that they will be backed for doing the right thing, that their practice is sensitive and based on solid evidence, and that the leadership and prevailing culture of their school supports their actions.
That is why it is so important that every member of the school body – from leaders and governors through to support staff – understand the underlying challenges of dealing with conspiracy theories.
The ongoing work of our commission, we hope, will continue to support this.
This article is part of an exclusive Schools Week series exploring the ongoing work of the Pears Foundation’s Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools. Read them all here as they appear
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