10/2019 until 12/2023

Dealing with Hate Speech (HS) has become a socio-political and educational challenge that even the institution of school cannot escape. Approximately 90% of young people have already had experiences with hate on the Internet (Landesmedienanstalt Nordrhein-Westfalen, 2017). Although hatred against certain groups, e.g. because of their origin, skin color or sexual orientation, is by no means new, it has apparently taken on a new dimension as an everyday phenomenon. Schools, with their educational mandate, are challenged in two ways: On the one hand, HS is not a purely online phenomenon, but can also affect school life together. Secondly, as a democracy-building institution, schools are predestined to counteract HS by teaching appropriate skills. However, so far there are no well-founded findings on HS among students, nor on the role of teachers. This is where the project comes in, by examining HS from the perspective of students and teachers for the first time. The aim is to investigate this phenomenon, which has received a great deal of media attention, in the lifeworld of school.

The main study will be conducted with around 2,000 students in grades seven to nine and 450 teachers at 18 schools in Berlin and Brandenburg.