Integrated education, intergroup relations, and political identities in Northern Ireland

Published as Hayes, BC., McAllister, I. & Dowds, L. (2007). 'Integrated education, intergroup relations, and political identities in Northern Ireland.' Social Problems 54(4) pp. 454-482.© 2007 by Society for the Study of Social Problems, Inc. Copying and permissions notice: Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® on Caliber, http://caliber.ucpress.net/ or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center, http://www.copyright.com.Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

Drug and alcohol use among young people in Northern Ireland: a secondary analysis of drug and alcohol use surveys. Final report.

This report looks at trends and patterns of drug use among young people in Northern Ireland, including figures on self-reported drug use and tables of bivariate relationships between responses to questions in the surveys. An appendix provides information for the four health and social services boards. This report follows on from the initial results presented in the 'Young Persons' Behaviour' and 'Attitudes Survey Bulletin October 2000 - November 2000' and presents both descriptive and multivariate analyses of the two surveys

Integrated schooling and religious tolerance in Northern Ireland

The design of educational institutions has long been seen as a key element in determining social divisions. This article examines the long-term impact of separate and integrated education on relations between the two religious communities (Catholics and Protestants) in Northern Ireland. Using a large-scale survey, the results suggest that in comparison to their previously separate counterparts, individuals who attended an integrated school are more likely to be understanding and respectful of the culture and traditions of others. The finding holds even after a range of background characteristics are taken into account. The results have implications for the role of segregated educational institutions in ameliorating religious, ethnic or racial division in other post-conflict societies. The Northern Ireland evidence suggests that a segregated school system rather than ameliorating intolerance and division may end up exacerbating and reinforcing it

Integrated education, intergroup relations, and political identities in Northern Ireland

Education is often seen as a means of achieving social change. Underlying this view is contact theory, which argues that increased contact between social groups will help reduce prejudicial attitudes and alleviate racial and ethnic divisions. This article tests and extends these propositions by examining the long-term impact of segregated and integrated education on political identities and attitudes. Using a pooled sample of surveys conducted on the adult population in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2003, we address, for the first time, the question of whether or not experiencing a religiously integrated education has a significant effect on the political outlooks of Protestants and Catholics. The results suggest that attendance at a religiously integrated school - either one formally constituted as integrated or a religious school incorporating a proportion from the opposite religion - has positive long-term benefits in promoting a less sectarian stance on national identity and constitutional preferences. The results also support recent research that has shown that the impact of contact on intergroup relations may not only vary significantly in terms of the nature of the contact situation but also in terms of the societal status of the groups involved. We conclude that as the numbers experiencing integrated schooling grows, these individuals have the potential to create a new common ground in Northern Ireland politics