Paradoxes unbounded: Practising community making

The first section of this paper is a discussion of the paradoxes contained in the word ‘community’, which deliberately foregrounds and problematises these conflicting meanings before arguing for a third definition and practice of community that transcends and even celebrates contradictions within an active learning model of education in the community aimed at tackling inequality and prejudice. The second section offers an autocritical narrative account of an education in the community project which illustrates how such a practice of community making can be achieved within an educational framework in which pupil is teacher and teacher is pupil. The paper draws upon theoretical models from the fields of community development, inclusive and creative education, emancipatory action research, postmodernism and postcolonialism.

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.