AbstractDespite international aims of enhancing peace and preventing violent extremism, work until now remains at the level of practical school education that combines ideals and realities for societal benefit. As a theoretical contribution to these pressing actualities of educational and political circumstances, this chapter will highlight open-mindedness as a central objective for twenty-first century peace education. Open-mindedness here refers to a mindset that is reflective and conducive to new perspectives and opinions. Thus, it is a disposition that is antithetical to prejudices, radicalization, and dogmatism. We approach the concept from two angles, namely, both socio-emotional and epistemic dimensions of open-mindedness and then discuss how these can be developed in students. Bridging ideas from studies on intellectual virtues, values, identity, worldview development, and radicalization, this chapter participates in the global and necessary efforts to promote peace and prevent the proliferation of hate and prejudices through education.KeywordsOpen-mindednessPeace educationPrevention of radicalization through educationPVE-E (preventing violent extremism in education) 

The Emerging Area of Education and Security

States of Mind: Peace Education and Preventing Violent Extremism

Radicalization is a complicated phenomenon, which is caused by multiple factors, including poor housing, low education, and unemployment, according to a study by the French Institute of International Relations (Hecker, 2018; Macaluso, 2016). France has a high number of radicalized terrorists, most of whom are homegrown, often with strong cultural ties to former French colonial countries in North Africa (IFRI, 2018). This paper aims to illustrate how social exclusion and marginalization created and perpetuated by the inequalities in the French society and education system (Bourdieu, 1971; Croizet et al, 2019; Goodman 2019; Jetten et al., 2020; Vanten, 2016), may be contributing to the radicalization of many young French citizens.  This push factor could be a key precondition for radicalization in many Western societies (Ghosh et al., 2016). While critiquing the French education system, this study insists that schools can and must create a sense of connection with their students and construct resilient and inclusive communities (da Silva, 2017, Ghosh et al., 2017; OECD, 2012). Finally, some pedagogical approaches, especially care in education, are suggested for educational institutions and school agents to effectively build a sense of belonging among young students that would enhance their resilience against radicalization.

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The Emerging Area of Education and Security

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States of Mind: Peace Education and Preventing Violent Extremism

What role do French society and its education system play in promoting violent radicalization processes

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