Presented at LILAC 2022

1. Mainstreaming information literacy:
analysing Educational Preventing Violent
Extremism programmes (EPVEs)
• Dr Geoff Walton
• Senior Lecturer
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• g.walton@mmu.ac.uk
• @GeoffWaltoniLit

2. Introduction
• What are EPVEs?
• What is information discernment?
• Methodology
• Headline findings
• Conclusions

3. NB
• I’ve stripped out in-text citations for clarity
• Please see our article for more detail and citations:
• Wong, K., Walton, G. & Bailey, G. (2021). Using information science to enhance educational
preventing violent extremism programs . Journal of the American Society of Information Science &
Technology, 72 (3), pp. 362-376 [Online] http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.24408

4. In summary
Home Office project to evaluate the effectiveness of funded
Educational Preventing Violent Extremism Programmes
(EPVEs)
Heterogenous mix of programmes funded by the Home Office
Programmes remain confidential
Theory of Change used to evaluate outcomes
Information Discernment Framework used as a ‘neutral’ meta-
evaluation to identify design strengths and weaknesses

5. What are EPVEs?
• Controversial and their efficacy highly contested
• PVE policies argue for educational programmes that increase individuals’ awareness of the:
• threat of violent extremism and avenues for help;
• risk factors that may indicate future violent extremism; and
• counter-violent extremism policies and activities
• EPVE programmes are not aimed at those involved in violent extremism or at heightened risk
• They are intended as a primary response
• akin to a public health campaign
• Assessing their effectiveness is important - given that people will avoid information or treat it passively,
even when beneficial; the same response could apply to EPVE programmes

6. What are EPVs?
• There are generally two audiences for EPVE programmes: professionals and non-
professionals.
• Illustrated by the UK’s Prevent duty – professionals including: teachers, youth workers,
social workers, lecturers and the police
• They are required to
• ‘demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the risk of radicalisation’ and
• ‘know what measures are available to prevent people from becoming drawn into terrorism and how to
challenge the [associated] extremist ideology’
• non-professionals: school age children and their parents/carers

7. What are EPVEs?
• Assessing their importance
• Firstly, by increasing individuals’ understanding of radicalisation - increasing their
knowledge and awareness of the causes and signs of radicalisation, and the
appropriate support and actions that they should take
• Secondly, by increasing participants’ resilience to radicalisation, through the
development of critical thinking skills in response to potential misinformation

8. • EPVE programmes (in the UK and other jurisdictions)
have a mixture of provenances: adaptations or extensions
of training and education used for bullying, addiction,
low self-confidence, and online safety; and others better
conceptualised as citizenship education, focusing on
democracy, conflict, and identity
• In the UK the latter have previously addressed violent
extremism where political violence and side-taking
(notably in Northern Ireland and the far-right in
England) has been a concern.
• Additionally, newer projects have been developed, often
by social entrepreneurs with a Muslim background, that
begin with concerns for Muslim people and their
particular experiences and problems.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

9. • Firstly, straightforward education about threat and indicators can motivate an
awareness response
• Secondly, once awareness is raised individuals are better able to identify
risks and report the risks to the responsible authorities: conditional on
awareness of and trust in those authorities
• Thirdly, that the trust in responsible authorities is predicated on them acting
‘fairly’ to such reports;
• that reporting will not lead to an over-reaction from the authorities, driven
for example by Islamophobia – the most common criticism of EPVE
programmes
• To counter this some EPVE programmes emphasise that political violence
and terrorism has more than one ‘source’ : thereby aiming to generate
knowledge of the range of potential risks and to demonstrate that the state is
not merely reproducing anti-Islamic tropes.

10. What is
information
discernment?
It’s the ‘evaluating information’ bit
in information literacy models
The set of processes involved
when people are making decisions
about the information they
encounter – whether to trust, use
or share it

11. • Information
discernment framework
(Walton 2017, p139
adapted from Walton
and Hepworth’s
information literacy
behaviour model, 2011,
p470 itself based upon
Hepworth’s information
behaviour model, 2004,
p705)

12. Person in
context –
norms
Person in
context – role
Person in context –
task(s) – an action
with a purpose,
prompted by a need or
want, even if that is
just to relieve boredom

13. Psychological processes

14. Prior
knowledge, as
well as
knowledge
learnt in
carrying out a
task.
The lens
through which
we view our
information and
communication
Knowledge
state
*

15. Especially – prior knowledge

16. I just
look on
Google
I’ve started
using the library
search
Now I always
go to the library
search page
First

17. Source data
Source character – well
designed interface
Source behaviour –
presents peer reviewed
articles
Source character –
friendly demeanour, open
Source behaviour –
informative, e.g., knows a
lot about psychology

18. Methodology
• Used the ID framework to analyse the theory of change evidence
from EPVEs
• A ‘thematic secondary analysis’
• Qualitative

19. Little evidence
that the
programmes
explored prior
knowledge
Much more
evidence of
components of
learning

20. Sociological
• Norms – “‘British values’
and community
cohesion”
• Roles – “female carers,
Muslim women”
• Tasks – “gain awareness
of extremist ideology”
Psychological
• Knowledge – “prior
understanding of
extremism”
• Worldview –
“preconceptions about
Prevent and extremism”
• Comprehension – “how
to challenge prejudice
constructively”
• Application – “challenge
extremist narratives”
• Analysis – “build
resilience to extremist
narratives”
• Synthesis – “enhanced
thinking skills”
• Affective – “enhance
emotional well-being”
• Style – “increase the
confidence of users”
Metacognition/Reflection –
• “participants […] reflect
on the session and what
they have learned””
Behaviour –
• Existing – “don’t know
fully what children are
doing online”
• New – “basic browsing
ability given to female
carers”
• Changed – “active
parenting”
Information source –
• Source character –
“charity that campaign
only for one thing …
peace”
• Source behaviour –
“online and offline
training for parents”

21. Conclusions
EPVEs are such a
contested area that
objective and neutral
evaluation is problematic –
the IDF provides, arguably,
a neutral pathway
Given that this is a meta
rather than direct
evaluation means the
analysis requires a
cautious treatment
Nevertheless some
interesting findings have
emerged
The most effective
programmes contained the
majority of the components
identified in the information
discernment framework
Information literacy has a
role to play (but is not the
solution) as part of a suit of
tools to combat the
persistent problem of
violent extremism

22. Q and A

23. Geoff Walton
Senior Lecturer
Manchester
Metropolitan University
Email: g.walton@mmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0161 247 6145
Twitter: @GeoffWaltoniLit