One of the experts quoted in the government’s anti-radicalisation awareness kit has distanced himself from the handling of the report, arguing it was never meant to be used in schools and that people need to be “trained in how to use it and how not to abuse it”.

Another specialist, Prof Michele Grossman of Victoria University, whose research is acknowledged in the report, has questioned the use of an environmental activist, “Karen”, as an example of a violent extremist, saying it “fudges and blurs some of the lines” between activism and violence.

The booklet has attracted the ire of green groups for highlighting the example of a forest activist involved in the “alternative music scene”.

Emeritus Professor Gary Bouma, who is quoted extensively throughout the booklet, told Guardian Australia that while he stood by the research, it was never intended to be distributed to schools.

The case study ‘fudges and blurs some of the lines between activism and violence’. Photograph: Australian government

“It was meant for professionals who are leaders in communities, and to be used in training sessions to make people aware of the background of social and cultural factors that lead in very rare cases to radicalisation,” he said.

“We workshopped it with communities … then out of the blue the Attorney General’s Department decided to send it around to schools.”

Bouma said the example of Karen was a well-established case study, but had been shared with the department “as an example of someone who in fact did not radicalise”.

Prof Pete Lentini, who also worked on the project, confirmed Karen was a real-life example. But he said “radical” had been used in the booklet as a neutral, technical term referring to “a change in belief structure” - not as a pejorative label.

“I actually think, thank God for radicals, things like the suffragette movement, anti-slavery, and so on,” he said. “And I actually got interested in the study of politics through alternative music.”

About three dozen people were interviewed for the research on which the booklet drew, most of which was given to the department more than three years ago, he said.

He said the researchers were aware “Muslim communities have been taking it very hard for the last decade because of what people are doing in their name”, and so they endeavoured to show there was “a spectrum of radical politics”.

Like Bouma, he said the research was never intended to be distributed to schools. “This was geared towards civil servants and general law enforcement … But you produce a report and the client does whatever they want with it,” he said.

News of the booklet, launched last week by the counter-terrorism minister, Michael Keenan, was first published in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph under the headline, “Schoolyard Terror Blitz”.

But Bouma said the information in the kit was not intended for public consumption. “People should have been trained in how to use it and how not to abuse it … to simply throw it out there was not the intention,” he said.

Other experts in radicalisation told Guardian Australia on Monday that teachers should not to “jump to conclusions” about students who show symptoms described in the kit, warning Australia risked its own Ahmed Mohamed incident. Ahmed, 14, was arrested in Texas last week after a clock he assembled was mistaken by a teacher for a homemade bomb.

Grossman, who also said she was unaware the booklet was being produced and distributed to schools, questioned the use of the case study relating to “Karen”.

“For me, that is not an example that I think is particularly helpful,” she said. “I think we want to be very careful not to conflate political activism automatically with violent extremism.

“There is a difference between people who get involved in what you would call incidental violence as a result of a political protest. To me, that’s not what we mean when we talk about facing and tackling the very serious issues around violent extremism.

“It’s going to draw attention away from some of the really valuable things that are included in the awareness kit that should be up for discussion and debate.”

The Greens on Friday called for the prime minister to “recall and recycle” the kit.

“This booklet is so tainted by Tony Abbott’s politics of fear it should be shredded. Malcolm Turnbull has got to assert his leadership and declare Abbott’s culture wars are over,” said the Greens leader Richard Di Natale.

“Australians who care about our incredible natural environment should be congratulated, not silenced, abandoned and demonised as they have been by this Liberal government.”

• This article was amended on 26 September 2015 to clarify that Gary Bouma fully supported all the research behind the anti-radicalisation awareness kits.