The ‘Digital Discourse Initiative’ is a project provided by TIE and ISD for educators in Scotland as part of a new international collaboration.
Children and young people are exposed to false and harmful information, extremist ideologies and content, and hate across online spaces. They often do not have the tools to critically navigate this and therefore their sense of identity, world views, and interactions with others around them can be impacted by what they are consuming online.
Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) is an education charity based in Scotland with expertise in anti-prejudice education. Their core work is the delivery of the LGBT Inclusive Education policy in Scotland. The charity works with schools, teachers, and pupils across the country delivering a range of educational interventions including professional learning and curriculum materials. |
Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a globally focused, independent “think and do tank” committed to safeguarding public safety, national security, human rights, and democracy in the digital age. They have an international team of researchers, digital analysts, policy and capacity building experts, and frontline practitioners who monitor extremism and disinformation, and develop interventions. |
The E-Learning module launched as part of this project also features a written case analysis from Zero Tolerance, a Scottish charity working to end men’s violence against women by tackling its root cause: gender inequality.
This ongoing project will provide schools and education settings with the knowledge, understanding, and tools to equip children and young people to navigate online environments critically and safely; build resilience to disinformation; and to better identify and disengage from prejudicial, hateful, or extremist content.
Digital Discourse Initiative was launched in January 2025 with the publication of a professional learning course for teachers, school staff, and educators in Scotland. This intends to up-skill educators with educational strategies to counter the effects of online hate and disinformation on children and young people. It has been provided free-of-charge.
Focus Group Discussions were held with over 200 secondary school pupils (S3-S6) in 2024 to inform the development of this project. They found that pupils were concerned about the “normalisation” and “minimisation” of extreme hate and prejudice online – particularly misogyny, homophobia and racism – and the effects this was having on their school experiences. Pupils wanted their schools to do more to address this phenomenon.
"Prejudice becomes their entire focus."
S3 Focus Group (2024)
National Research
Education in Scotland is currently undergoing a period of reform which includes changes to Scotland’s Curriculum. As part of this, a series of national reports have been commissioned and published.
Behaviour in Scottish schools: research report (2023)
The Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research report (BISSR) identified themes relevant to this project, including problematic use of social media, a perceived increase in misogynistic views by male pupils related to online influencers, and an increased use of and reliance upon social media.
- “The qualitative research identified new and emerging patterns of disruptive behaviour including vaping and in-school truancy, a rise in misogynistic views expressed by male pupils, and problematic use of mobile phones and social media.” (p. 8)
- “A perceived increase in levels of misogyny and gender-based abuse among male pupils, potentially related to use of social media and the impact of influencers.” (p. 195)
All Learners in Scotland Matter – national discussion on education: final report (2023)
The final report from the National Discussion on Scottish Education had several relevant analysis points related to this project and the wider work of TIE and ISD, including addressing the effects of online disinformation, prejudice, and hate.
- “Overall, there was a concern to ensure that all people were represented in education. This includes addressing stereotyping, racism, gender inequalities, sexism, disabilities, and LGBT+ rights in creating safe and inclusive school cultures.” (p. 32)
- “There were calls for schools to support young people with internet safety, discourage excessive technology and social media use, and increase understanding of the potential harms of social media. In relation to diversity and equity, concerns about the content of some social media and online spaces spreading discrimination, prejudice, and hate were noted.” (p. 74)
- “Among learners, there was a strong appetite for more opportunities to gain information and knowledge digitally. A prevalent theme among learners was for education to help develop their digital literacy.” (p. 74)
Queries
Answers to queries are provided below.
TIE has been providing education services to address anti-LGBT prejudice and bullying in schools for years. Throughout 2023-24, charity staff noticed that the manifestation of prejudice – specifically homophobia and misogyny – seemed to have rapidly changed in school settings; becoming more aggressive. Young people were reporting that they were encountering hateful content online and this was also perceived (by school staff and pupils) to be impacting behaviour at school by encouraging prejudice-based bullying and the normalisation of homophobia, misogyny, and racism. The phenomenon coalesced with academics reporting that online disinformation was increasing at a scale considered to be a “critical threat to democracy“.
In January 2024, TIE met with ISD to discuss their expert insights into polarisation and hate online. That meeting sparked the idea and foundation-building for this project, and TIE connected with the Research and Education teams at ISD Germany to begin development work.
TIE determined that their foundational goal to address homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Scottish schools with an educational approach could not be fully realised without providing responsive measures to address the effects of online hate. This project complements, connects to, and builds upon TIE and ISD’s core work.
This project has been part-funded by Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) and the Scottish Government.
TIE receives core grant funding from the Scottish Government to support delivery of its core work which includes developing new resources to address prejudice-based behaviour at school. No new funding has been received for this project, and the charity allocated a proportion of its own unrestricted funds to support development costs.
This project has launched with a new professional learning course for teachers, school staff, and educators working in Scotland.
This is an E-Learning module and can be accessed via digitaldiscourse.scot
The professional learning course has been developed for teachers and school staff working in Scotland .This includes Community Learning and Development (CLD) staff and student teachers on BEd or PGDE programmes.
Staff should register for a User Profile using their school or education setting email address to access the course.
At the moment, the course cannot be accessed by staff working for external or third sector organisations. We are reviewing possibilities to widen course access for staff with a relevant remit who work within schools but are not employed by the local authority (for example, a third sector staff member who facilitates youth groups or learning workshops in school settings). To remain updated, register for Time for Inclusive Education’s mailing list using your organisational email address here.
Staff from TIE, including Education Officers who are registered school teachers, and ISD Germany’s action workstream leads developed and reviewed the content of the professional learning course.
Zero Tolerance, the charity working to end men’s violence against women, provided a case analysis for the course which explores the promotion of radical misogyny online and the so-called ‘Manosphere’.
A variety of education partners including Development Officers and Senior Education Officers from Education Scotland, staff from NASUWT and EIS, and academics with relevant expertise were involved in reviewing course content ahead of publication.
The professional learning course was piloted and tested with teachers and school staff in Scotland throughout Winter 2024.
It is recognised that a variety of strategic interventions are required to address the effects of online hate and disinformation on education settings. In addition to professional learning for teachers, school staff, and educators, there are plans to develop further resources to support teaching and learning across stages.
In Scotland, there are a variety of educational programmes that should be engaged with alongside the Digital Discourse Initiative to provide a well-rounded education for pupils and support them to engage with “real world” topics in a safe, formal education environment. These include:
ISD regularly publish research and insights into online hate, extremism, and disinformation. Their researchers combine in-depth analysis with cutting-edge technology to monitor and understand global trends in extremism, polarisation, hate, and disinformation. You can access their research here.