Background to the Research

• The purpose of the paper was to examine the linkages and relationships between the officially prescribed school ethos and that which emerges from social interaction.
  

Research Approach

• Two primary schools, one Catholic and one GMI, were selected to take part in the study from the same town in Northern Ireland. These schools were chosen because the proponents of each school type devote much of their time stressing the unique nature of the schools and the distinctiveness of their ethos.
  
• A qualitative approach was adopted, incorporating in-depth interviewing and participant observation over a period of eight months in each school. In all, 36 semi-structured interviews were carried out over the two schools. Two additional interviews were conducted with representatives of the authorities associated with each school type.
  
• Interviews were complemented by non-participant observation of governing body meetings as well as in-depth analysis of school documentary sources. All data were collected in the school years 1995/6/7.

Main Findings

Ethos in St Elizabeth's

• A review of St Elizabeth's documents reiterates the centrality of Catholicism to school life; religion is deemed to be 'the most motivating and demanding subject subject for child and teacher'.
  
• The religious education of pupils is accomplished in two main ways: through the religious programme and through the totality of experiences in the school. There is a clearly stated expectation in the School Prospectus that the personal lives of teachers and pupils should be in harmony with the teachings of the Catholic Church to ensure that the religious ethos is upheld.
  
• The overt emphasis on Catholicism and religion evident in school documentation, also emerged as a key element of the school ethos in interviews with parents and teachers.
  
• There was no indication that the outward attachment to religious spirituality and authority in the school had diminished in recent years; the head and a majority of the school governors had received their formative education at St Elizabeth's and the adjoining secondary school, which was affiliated to an order of nuns.
  
• The emphasis on Catholicism was made apparent in a number of ways. On entering the school, pictures and statues of saints and the Virgin Mary adorned walls and corridors. The official ethos described in school documentation and the physical environment therefore seemed to complement each other.
  
• Further probing and non-participant observation of governing bodies however suggested that the personal beliefs of staff and governors diverged from the official Church view of education.
  
• The religious ethos, as defined by those in authority within this school, does not therefore have the full and uncritical support of all school members. The overt commitment to the Catholic Church's teaching is balanced by a latent and tacit acceptance on the part of some teachers that these values are outdated and bear little resemblance to the way that they live their lives.

Ethos in the Integrated School (Haywood)

• In Haywood, religious balance was a clear driving force. Examples of this can be found in the admissions criteria for pupils, where it is stated that the proportion of each religion to the other must be at least 60:40.
  
• The ethos of tolerance and respect for others is seen to be supported in a variety of ways in the school. Pupils' artwork adorns school walls where the common theme is the construction of links between different religions and cultures and the search for commonality.
  
• A strong relationship is also cultivated between parents and the school with the result that the parents have developed a sense of ownership and commitment towards the success of the school.
  
• There are problems with the ethos of the school however, in so far as, according to the head, integrated education for many parents often represents a choice against conventional school types rather than a choice for integrated education.
  
• Teachers and parents held different and opposing visions for the school. Professionals generally viewed parental influence as excessive, whilst parents saw professionals as being only partially committed to the aims and objectives of integrated education.
  
• Inspection of Haywood and NICIE documents creates an impression of a school which promotes tolerance and openness, with all individuals pulling together for the benefit of the school. Such an image is constructed when ethos is defined as an objective phenomenon existing independently of the organisation.
  
• Considering ethos subjectively however reveals that organisational members are in the throes of negotiating roles and establishing ground rules and procedures to guide the school. Dissension between parents and professionals demonstrated that tolerance and respect did not permeate the school in a way that school documents suggested it should.

Conclusion

• The data show that in both case-study schools the 'aspirational' ethos set out by the school authorities and made apparent in school documents was not only in some cases far removed from the lived reality of ethos but was being undermined and distorted by the attitudes and actions of some school members.