Education for global citizenship in a divided society? Young people's views and experiences

Global citizenship education has been suggested as a means of overcoming the limitations of national citizenship in an increasingly globalised world. In divided societies, global citizenship education is especially relevant and problematic as it offers the opportunity to explore identities and conflict in a wider context. This paper therefore explores young people's understandings of global citizenship in Northern Ireland, a divided society emerging from conflict. Results from focus groups with primary and post-primary pupils reflect some theoretical conceptualisations of global citizenship, including an awareness of global issues, understandings of environmental interdependence and global responsibility, though other elements appear to be less well understood. We argue that global citizenship education will fail to overcome engrained cultural divisions locally and may perpetuate cultural stereotypes globally, unless local and global controversial issues are acknowledged and issues of identity and interdependence critically examined at both levels.

Self-esteem and self-efficacy: Associations with alcohol consumption in a sample of adolescents in Northern Ireland

Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have reported equivocal findings regarding the association between self-esteem, self-efficacy and adolescent alcohol use. Data were collected from a sample of 11-16-year olds in Northern Ireland (n = 4088) over two consecutive academic years measuring global self-esteem, academic, social and emotional self-efficacy and alcohol involvement. Results showed a domain-specific association between alcohol involvement and self-efficacy, with more problematic alcohol use associated with higher social self-efficacy but lower emotional and academic self-efficacy. Additionally, regression analyses revealed that all self-concept measures significantly predicted drinking group membership. The results are discussed in terms of reported drinking behaviour, interventions with adolescent groups and general development.

Are separate schools divisive? A case study from Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, where the majority of children are educated at schools attended mainly by coreligionists, the debate concerning the role of schools in perpetuating intergroup hostilities has recently been reignited. Against questions regarding the efficacy of community relations policy in education, the research reported in this paper employs qualitative methods to examine social identity and intergroup attitudes amongst children attending a state controlled Protestant school and the school's response to dealing with issues of diversity and difference. Findings suggest a relationship between ethnic isolation experienced by children and negative intergroup social attitudes and the discussion focuses on issues germane to the separateness of the school that are likely to contribute to strong ‘own’ group bias, stereotyping and prejudice. The implication of the school's separate status for its engagement with a policy framework for relationship building is also considered. The paper concludes with some policy reflections that are likely to have resonance beyond Northern Ireland.

Sharing Classes between Separate Schools: a mechanism for improving inter-group relations in Northern Ireland?

One manifestation of division and the history of conflict in Northern Ireland is the parallel education system that exists for Protestants and Catholics. Although recent decades have seen some advances in the promotion of integrated education, around 95% of children continue to attend schools separated on ethno-religious lines. In 2007 a programme for sharing education was established. Underpinned by intergroup contact theory, and reflecting educational priorities shared by all school sectors, the programme seeks to offer children from different denominational schools an opportunity to engage with each other on a sustained basis. In this article the authors adopt a quantitative approach to examining the impact of participation in the Sharing Education Programme on a range of outcomes (out-group attitudes, positive action tendencies and out-group trust) via, first, intergroup contact (cross-group friendships) and, second, intergroup anxiety. Their findings confirm the value of contact as a mechanism for promoting more harmonious relationships, and affirm the Sharing Education Programme as an initiative that can help promote social cohesion in a society that remains deeply divided.

Defending Identity and Ethos: an analysis of teacher perceptions of school collaboration in Northern Ireland

The purpose of this article is to examine the process of collaborative working between teachers located in separate faith-based schools in Northern Ireland. Drawing on theories of intergroup relations, and with reference to in-depth interviews with teachers in post-primary schools, the article shows that despite earlier research which identified a reluctance amongst teachers in the different sectors to work together, most Catholic and Protestant teachers are motivated to collaborate to develop a more broadly based curriculum for pupils. However, it has also been shown that teachers tend to studiously avoid discussing their differences in mixed-faith contexts, and it is argued that this may have the potential to constrain collaborative relations. It is concluded that without strategic direction from policy makers to assist teachers in negotiating and exploring their differences it will be difficult to build the trust which is likely to sustain collaborative relations.