Background to the Research

• Education systems in divided societies bearing the legacy of ethnopolitical conflict can also be segregated along ethnopolitical lines. Integrated education has been seen as one way forward to reduce conflict and promote peace. At the time of writing, the integrated education system in NI was passing its 21st anniversary and the authors note that it was a pertinent time to explore the legacy of mixed Catholic and Protestant schooling.
  

Research Approach

• The paper begins with an overview of the issues of social identity and conflict; forgiveness and reconciliation; education in NI; responding to conflict; and the development of integrated education in NI.
• This paper then summarises the findings of different studies regarding the impact of integrated education in NI on social identity, intergroup attitudes and forgiveness and reconciliation. The research is discussed in relation to its implications for the theory and practice of integrated education in NI as well as in other societies with a legacy for ethnopolitical conflict.
  

Main Findings

• The first major study (Irwin, 1991) found an increase in the number and duration of inter-community friendships amongst current pupils and those who had recently completed their education.
• McClenahan (1995) suggested that cross-community friendships were increased by intergroup contact, but found no evidence of any change to national or socio-political identity as a result of co-education. Wicklow (1997) suggested that the discussion of sensitive issues in addition to the impact of the hidden and informal curricula may be important ways of promoting mixing in integrated schools.
• Hewstone et al (in press at the time of writing) undertook secondary analysis of data from the NI Social Attitudes Surveys of 1989 and 1991, finding that outgroup contact consistently predicted outgroup attitudes. Social class for the Protestant subsample and education for the Catholic subsample predicted contact.
• McGlynn (2001) explored to what extent exposure to members of the outgroup at school may influence perceptions of group membership and/or encourage the emergence of new or alternative forms of self-identification, such as an overarching 'integrated' identity. Using a retrospective approach and quantitative and qualitative methodologies with a sample of past pupils of integrated schools, the influences of maturation and family were found to be generally more important in terms of socialising than integrated education. Integrated education was still seen as important, with 93% of the past pupils feeling that integrated education had had a significant positive impact on their lives.
• Past pupils commented on how integrated education had helped them feel more secure in a mixed educational or working environment.
• This research also indicated that the number of mixed friendships rose from 41% prior to attending integrated schooling to 67% afterwards. Also, more than half of the past pupils with a partner had one from a different background to themselves. In comparison, data from the NI Life and Times Survey (2000) indicated that only 8% of marriages in NI are intercommunity.
• The religious identity of the past pupils appeared unaffected, as many did not have strong beliefs prior to attending integrated schooling. There was also little evident impact on political identity for the majority.
• The majority of former students felt that they had acquired an integrated identity, in addition to their religious social identity.
• McGlynn also found that opinions on the future of NI were mixed, although the majority of past pupils were strongly in favour of more children being able to receive integrated education.
• Stringer et al (2000) carried out the first comprehensive quantitative survey, comparing pupils from integrated schools with those from controlled and maintained post-primary schools. Integrated schools were found to produce effects on social attitudes, with the children attending them being more in favour of integration. Pupils of mixed or integrated schools also took a more integrative position on key social issues such as mixed marriages and integrated education. These pupils also had higher levels of out-of-school contact with members of the 'other' community.
• Niens et al (2003) used a retrospective approach to survey a cohort of undergraduate university students in NI. About half of the respondents had some experience of integrated education, although it is unlikely that such a high number actually attended integrated schools. Generally, the students had a relatively high propensity towards forgiveness, identified strongly with their respective communities and had experienced a high level of intergroup contact. This study also suggested that integrated and mixed educational experiences may impact positively on forgiveness.

Conclusions

• The research discussed suggests a number of ways in which integrated education may be beneficial in the long-term to both pupils themselves and the society in which they live. Integrated education was found to impact on identity, outgroup attitudes, forgiveness and reconciliation.
• Research appears to overwhelmingly support a positive effect of integrated education on sectarian attitudes. Specifically, it is the cross-community contact which was found to promote more positive outgroup attitudes. Awareness of the presence of outgroup members in an educational setting appears to affect attitudes towards the outgroup.
• Longitudinal research is urgently needed to allow more definite conclusions about the causal effects of integrated education on social identities, attitudes and behaviours.
• The article concludes by considering that the introduction of citizenship education may be a way to move beyond community divisions and to promote social inclusion and diversity.
• The educational focus needs to be broadened, not only to address the conflict, but also the increasing multicultural nature of NI.
• Despite challenges, integrated education can be said to hold great potential for building social cohesion and for promoting forgiveness and reconciliation, although both public and governmental support are critical.