About the project
The project runs from April 2025 to September 2029 and is generously funded by Pears Foundation.
Background
Research conducted by UCL in 2021 found that 90% of teachers had encountered conspiracy theories in the classroom. This is in part attributed to the prevalence of conspiracy theories during the Covid-19 crisis.
However, a more recent survey revealed a similarly worrying trend: 62% of secondary teachers had encountered conspiracy theories from students. Wider research suggests that young people are more inclined to believe in conspiracies than any other segment of the UK population. Recent statistics suggest:
- growing numbers of ever-younger children are being pulled down dangerous rabbit holes, and
- social media is affecting young people’s beliefs in worrying ways.
In 2021, Jeremy Hayward and Gemma Gronland developed guidance for teachers on how to respond to conspiracy theories in the classroom for the Association of Citizenship Teachers. This was part of a wider research project on conspiracy theories in society, led by scholars at the University of Manchester and King’s College London.
Together, Jeremy Hayward and Gemma Gronland have developed a continuing professional development (CPD) session for teachers in schools. They have also created an initial teacher education (ITE) session that:
- helps teachers understand the growing nature of the problem, and
- explore the different responses that a teacher may take in the classroom.
The importance of this work was highlighted in the Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools, also funded by Pears Foundation. The Commission reported there is an urgent need for sustained teacher CPD in this growing area of concern and called for this in three of its recommendations. An educational response to this growth of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theory is vital.
We are pleased to share our vision for this response, which will have two distinct phases.
Phase One will focus on:
- increasing teachers’ understanding of the issue, and
- developing teacher confidence in how to respond to misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theory in the classroom.
Phase Two will involve development of more ‘proactive’ interventions that will include:
- piloting and developing curriculum materials to build young people’s resilience to misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theory, and
- developing teacher confidence to work with the new materials in schools.
We will develop and tailor this second phase in relation to any curriculum changes resulting from the Department for Education’s curriculum review.
Aims
The Commission’s recommendations include the following:
- Expert-led, research-informed and sustained continuous professional development (CPD) must be made available for school staff and leaders.
- Training on addressing conspiracy belief, misinformation and disinformation should be embedded into training for early career and trainee teachers.
- Education on conspiracy belief, misinformation and disinformation should begin in primary school, where children’s trust in adults is generally still high.
To help deliver these, the project will develop and roll out a research-informed and sustained CPD offer for existing teachers in secondary and primary schools and those in ITE.
Evidence referred to
- Bordeleau, J., and Stockemer, D. (2025). On the relationship between age and conspiracy beliefs. Political Psychology, 46(5), 931–946
- Burtonshaw et al. (2025) Commission Into Countering Online Conspiracies In Schools: Final Report. Public First
- Duffy, B et al. (2024) Emerging tensions? How younger generations are dividing on masculinity. Kings College London and Ipsos
- Jerome, L., Kisby, B., and McKay, S. (2024). Combatting conspiracies in the classroom: Teacher strategies and perceived outcomes. British Educational Research Journal
- Regehr, K et al. (2024) SAFER SCROLLING: How algorithms popularise and gamify online hate and misogyny for young people UCL and University of Kent
- Taylor, B., Mills, M., Elwick, A., Pillinger, C., Gronland, G., Hayward, J., Hextall, I. and Panjwani, F. (2021). Addressing Extremism Through the Classroom. A Research Report from the Centre for Teachers & Teaching Research, London: UCL Institute of Education
Contact us
Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
UCL Institute of Education
University College London
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
CPD Enquiries
Click to email. conspiracycpd@ucl.ac.ukImage
Richard Stonehouse for UCL IOE.