Differentiation and its Problems: the views of primary teachers and curriculum support staff in Northern Ireland

This paper identifies a range of problems associated with putting differentiation into practice. The opinions of head teachers, subject co‐ordinators, and teachers were sought, as well as those of the curriculum support staff in the Education and Library Boards on the extent to which these problems affected primary schools in Northern Ireland, and case‐studies illuminated these views. The results showed that the curriculum support staff regarded most problems in differentiation in a more serious light than the schools themselves did, but there was agreement on the acute lack of time to deliver a differentiated curriculum, on the shortage of human resources and on the difficulties with new assessment methods.     

The integrated school in a conflict society: a comparative analysis of two integrated primary schools in Northern Ireland

The purpose of this paper is to compare the approach to promoting positive relationships between Catholics and Protestants in two types of integrated primary school in Northern Ireland. Drawing on qualitative interviews with teachers, governors and parents in one transforming school and one grant maintained integrated school, i.e. one representative of each of the two types, the paper shows that whilst there are distinctions in the ways that the schools promote their image and ethos, the ‘lived reality’ of the schools, as reported by the research participants, is almost indistinguishable. The paper suggests that both schools tend not to refer to or explore cultural difference and that this tendency to ‘minimise difference’ seems to have the potential to silence school members who do wish to explore their own and other cultures. It is argued that such practices are likely to impede rather than facilitate the progress of good inter‐community relations.     

Shared education in Northern Ireland: school collaboration in divided societies

Abstract

During the years of political violence in Northern Ireland many looked to schools to contribute to reconciliation. A variety of interventions were attempted throughout those years, but there was little evidence that any had produced systemic change. The peace process provided an opportunity for renewed efforts. This paper outlines the experience of a series of projects on 'shared education', or the establishment of collaborative networks of Protestant, Catholic and integrated schools in which teachers and pupils moved between schools to take classes and share experiences. The paper outlines the genesis of the idea and the research which helped inform the shape of the shared education project. The paper also outlines the corpus of research which has examined various aspects of shared education practice and lays out the emergent model which is helping to inform current government practice in Northern Ireland, and is being adopted in other jurisdictions. The paper concludes by looking at the prospects for real transformation of education in Northern Ireland.     

Classroom teachers as mentors: Possibilities for participation in a professional development school context

This paper describes how five classroom teachers make sense of their role as mentors in support of novices as they learn to teach. These teachers interact within a context that provides possibilities for participation with a teacher education program and professional development research. The main aim of the study was to gain insights into ways in which the five mentors talk about their theories of how novices learn to teach, use different sources of knowledge to help novices learn to teach, and model and encourage critical reflection about issues and practices in teacher education. Findings reveal that four of the five mentors played prominent roles as teacher educators, and developed collaborative relationships within the professional development school context between mentors, prospective teachers, and university faculty through sustained interactions, shared professional responsibility, and respect.     

Religion and primary school choice in Ireland: school institutional identities and student profile

Ireland’s demographic profile has changed significantly in the past 20 years, being now characterised by increasing cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. However, primary schooling in Ireland has remained highly denominational, mostly Roman Catholic, in nature, with a small number of minority faith schools and multi-denominational schools. This paper describes the nature of the Irish primary educational system and addresses the implications of its institutional structure and school institutional identity for school choice. In so doing, it draws on the national Growing Up in Ireland study, and documents the role of socio-cultural and religious factors in the choice of primary school.     

The school playground experience: opportunities and challenges for children and school staff

The school playground experience is an inevitable part of school life for primary school children. For most children, the experience is a positive and enjoyable one that contributes to their physical and social well-being and has been associated with enhanced attention and learning in the classroom. For some children, however, the playground can be a frightening and dangerous place in which aggressive behaviour and bullying can be experienced and/or witnessed. The recognition of this fact has, in some cases, led to the reduction or elimination of playground time. Many intervention programmes aimed at promoting positive in-school behaviour and preventing negative behaviours, including bullying, have been developed and used with positive results in schools. This paper provides a research-based commentary on some of the positive and negative features of playground life for children and some of the successful intervention programmes that have been developed and used. It is argued that facing the issues and problems presented by negative playground behaviour and dealing with them in a positive way, rather than avoiding them with policies that restrict the freedom of children to interact and engage with peers in the playground, is essential for the well-being of children and school staff. The paper calls for further research to inform school policy and action in this area.     

Every school a school of choice: school choice in Ireland as viewed through American eyes

‘Choice’ and ‘freedom’ as measured by the ability of parents to select their children's schools are deeply embedded in the national ethos of the United States of America. Wealthy American parents have always exercised school choice but minority and lowincome students are often trapped in failing schools. This paper is based on research conducted in a purposive sample of Irish primary schools into the nature of school choice. The authors examine five aspects of the Irish national primary school system that could provide models for American educators, whose vision often stops at the boundaries of the United States: education law, school choice for all, a national curriculum framework, the role of assessment, and the role of parents and educators in the creation of new schools. While arguably the five relate directly to school choice of different degrees, they collectively weave a web whereby school systems in the Republic of Ireland and the USA may productively be compared to the benefit of both.     

A content analysis of school anti-bullying policies in Northern Ireland

This original study presents a content analysis of 100 primary and post-primary school anti-bullying policies in Northern Ireland using a 36-item scoring scheme. Overall schools had 52% of the items in their policies. Most schools included reference to physical, verbal, relational, material and cyberbullying but a minority mentioned racist, homophobic, sexual, adult/teacher–pupil bullying or bullying related to disability or religion. There was considerable variation in the source and quality of the definitions of bullying. Overall the policy scores compared favourably with earlier studies carried out in England, however a low percentage of Northern Ireland policies gave detailed information about how incidents of bullying would be recorded, who would coordinate this, and how the data would be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy. Findings are discussed in relation to the proposed new anti-bullying legislation currently being brought before the Northern Ireland Assembly.     

Post‐primary Teacher Training in Ireland: principles and patterns

This paper examines recent developments in post‐primary teacher training in Ireland, set against the background of major expansion in the provision of post‐primary schooling. It includes a relatively detailed examination of the consecutive model which is the predominant mode as well as the one with deep historical roots. The efforts which are being made to give the consecutive model a more ‘professional’ emphasis are discussed. Account is taken of the on‐going problems which exist in relation to this model.

The concurrent model for post‐primary teacher trainees evolved during the seventies and affects teachers of specialist subject areas such as physical education, crafts and art. The mode of operation of this pattern is explored and some of its advantages are commented on. The paper is rounded off by a brief note on induction and in‐service training for post‐primary teachers, particularly in so far as these affect pre‐service preparation. The non‐implementation by the Government of the proposed teaching council for Ireland and the recessionary budget context indicate that continued reforms will have to be processed within the existing frameworks.     

The career paths of primary school principals in Ireland

The key purpose of this paper is to offer an exploration of the career paths of a number of Irish school principals. The information presented is part of a comparative study in the area, involving three island states: Cyprus, Malta and Ireland. The study provides an insight into how individuals become principals and how they perceive themselves in the role. The information is sourced through personal narrative. Qualitative in-depth interviewing is employed as the primary method of data gathering. Participants are posed a range of open-ended questions about their personal lives and about their initiation into their professional responsibilities. The results show that participants offer a variety of reasons for becoming teachers initially and a variety of reasons for seeking and achieving promotion to the post of school principal after a time. Family members and family experiences have an important function in influencing the lives of prospective leaders. With no formal training to prepare newly appointed principals for their roles, most report significant difficulties initially, particularly with managerial tasks and bureaucracy. In spite of these difficulties nonetheless, all participating principals report that they enjoy their roles. The results of the study demonstrate that the Irish principals interviewed in this research, experience similar challenges and rewards to those interviewed in earlier and concurrent studies internationally.     

Education as a mechanism for conflict resolution in Northern Ireland

How education systems operate in divided societies is an increasingly important question for academics and educational practitioners as well as for governments. The question is particularly pertinent in post‐conflict societies, where education is a key mechanism for resolving conflict between divided communities. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, this article sheds new light on the role of education in conflict resolution by examining the long‐term impact of segregated and integrated education on attitudes towards community relations and levels of contact between the Protestant and Catholic communities. The results suggest that individuals who had attended an integrated school are significantly more likely to have friends and neighbours from across the religious divide and that these friendship networks translate into a more optimistic view of future community relations. This is not the case, however, when kinship networks are considered. The evidence from Northern Ireland suggests that the education system can be a source of both conflict and cohesion depending on the nature of the school system as well as the particular source of division to be addressed.     

Agriculture as a subject in primary school

Many countries have included agriculture as a subject in primary school for a number of reasons. The present article briefly presents five rationales for including agriculture and offers three main approaches which seem to emerge from current practice. The main results of the subsequent discussion can be summarized as follows: integrating education with rural development most of the time would mean including agriculture as a subject in primary schools in rural areas and compensating it in core curriculum with some sort of practical subject taught in urban areas. It becomes clear that narrow vocational and extension-support approaches to school agriculture should be avoided in favour of a more general approach which relates agriculture to science. Unless these problems — curricular, technical, and organizational — are tackled, the results of school agriculture and its acceptance by those concerned will remain far behind expectations and possibilities.

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Zusammenfassung Zahlreiche Länder haben aus einer Vielzahl von Gründen Landwirtschaftskunde als Primarschulfach eingeführt. Die vorliegende Studie unterbreitet verschiedene Grundprinzipien für das Einbeziehen von Landwirtschaftskunde ins Curriculum und bietet drei Hauptansätze, die anscheinend aus derzeit üblichen Praktiken entstehen. Die wichtigsten Ergebnisse der damit zusammenhängenden Diskussion können folgendermaßen zusammengefaßt werden: Die Verknüpfung von Erziehung mit ländlicher Entwicklung bedeutet meistens, Landwirtschaft als ein Primarschulfach in ländlichen Gebieten einzubeziehen und im Kerncurriculum durch ein in städtischen Bereichen unterrichtetes praktisches Fach zu ersetzen. Es wird klar, daß Ansätze zur Landwirtschaft als Schulfach, die im engeren Sinne berufsbezogen sind oder die landwirtschaftliche Beratung fördern, zugunsten eines allgemeineren, Landwirtschaft mit Wissenschaft verknüpfenden Ansatzes vermieden werden sollten. Wenn diese Probleme curricularer, technischer und organisatorischer Art nicht gelöst werden können bleiben die Erfolge der Schullandwirtschaft und ihre Anerkennung durch die Betroffenen nicht nur weit hinter den Erwartungen anderer, sondern auch hinter ihrer, Möglichkeiten zurück.

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Résumé Plusieurs raisons ont améné de nombreux pays à introduire l'agriculture en tant que matière dans le contenu du programme d'études, de l'école primaire. Cet article présente brièvement cinq raisons d'être de l'introduction de cette nouvelle matière et trois approches principales qui semblent émerger de pratiques courantes. Les principaux résultats de la discussion subséquente peuvent être résumés de la façon suivante; l'intégration de l'éducation dans le développement rural signifie presque toujours introduire l'agriculture en tant que matière dans le plan d'études des écoles primaires des zones rurales et compenser cet enseignement par celui d'un sujet pratique dans les zones urbaines. Il apparaît évident que les approches purement professionnelles ou d'aide au développment de cette matière doivent être évitées en faveur d'une approche plus générale qui établirait une relation entre l'agriculture et la science. Les résultats de cette matière enseignée à l'école et sa réception par les personnes concernées resteront bien au-delà des espérances et des possibilités, si ces problèmes curriculaires, techniques et organisationnels ne sont pas résolus.

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For materials published by GTZ please write to: GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH), Postfach 5180, D-6236 Eschborn 1, Federal Republic of Germany.     

Student Loans: a Northern Ireland Perspective

The government's proposals for a student loans scheme has been inadequately thought-out and researched. Mr Baker's commitment to increase participation in higher education, and hence to increase the 'outflow' of much-needed graduates, may well be undermined by the proposed scheme. In particular, what has been missing in the debate on loans has been a regional perspective. Northern Ireland offers a useful example in that, despite being the most economically depressed region in the United Kingdom, recent participation rates have already come close to the rate Mr Baker is aiming for in other parts of the country.
We cannot predict the effect of the loans scheme on participation rates. However, in present circumstances and under present policies, our guess, based on extensive survey research, is that the proposed loans scheme will diminish participation rates, particularly among those Mr Baker has targeted for special attention. Secondly, the cost of the proposed scheme to the government will be much higher than envisaged. Regional evidence from Northern Ireland suggests that large numbers of graduates will take a long time to earn sufficient salaries to rise above the 85 per cent threshold, if, in fact, they ever do.     

Maltreatment of primary school students by educational staff in Israel

OBJECTIVES: This paper reports on the prevalence of emotional and physical maltreatment of students in primary schools by school staff in Israel. Victimization by staff was analyzed according to students' gender, age group (4th, 5th, and 6th grade), cultural group (Jewish-non-religious, Jewish-religious, and Arab schools), school characteristics (school size and class size), and by socio-economic status of the students' families. METHOD: Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 5472 students in Grades 4-6 in 71 schools across Israel. The students completed questionnaires during class, which included a scale for reporting physical and psychological maltreatment by staff. Data on the socio-economic status of the families of the students in each school were also obtained. RESULTS: Students reported generally high rates of maltreatment by staff members. Almost a third reported being emotionally maltreated by a staff member, and more than a fifth (22.2%) reported being a victim of at least one type of physical maltreatment. The most vulnerable groups for maltreatment were males, students in Arab schools, and students in schools with a high percentage of students from low-income and low-education families.CONCLUSIONS: These high rates of primary school students' victimization by staff are unacceptable. We recommend educational campaigns among teachers, as well as allocating more resources to support staff in low socio-economic neighborhoods.     

Teaching citizenship in the faith school: qualitative evidence from separate schools in Northern Ireland

The purpose of this paper is to examine how teachers teach and students learn about citizenship education in two faith-based schools in Northern Ireland. The data show that participants in the Catholic school were confident in their own identity; teachers encouraged active engagement with contentious, conflict-related debates and students displayed empathy with other racial and religious groups. In the Protestant school, teachers avoided any reference to identity and conflict and students seemed to have limited knowledge of these issues. The findings emphasise the extent to which separate schools embody the cultural norms prevalent within each of the communities that they serve and reveal the influence which these norms have for teaching and learning about citizenship.     

Attitude toward Christianity among secondary school pupils in Northern Ireland: shifts in denominational differences

Background Northern Ireland is a province that remains deeply divided between Protestants and Catholics and maintains a segregated system of schools.

Purpose The research builds on a series of studies conducted in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s to monitor the attitude toward Christianity of males and females educated in Protestant and Catholic schools.

Sample A sample of 2359 16- to 18-year-old pupils attending Catholic and Protestant schools in Northern Ireland.

Design and methods A random sample of seven Protestant and nine Catholic schools invited all pupils attending their lower and upper sixth-form classes to participate in the survey and to complete the Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity.

Results The data demonstrate that, while males attending Catholic schools maintained a more positive attitude towards Christianity than males attending Protestant schools, females attending Catholic schools reported a less positive attitude toward Christianity than females attending Protestant schools. These findings are compared with studies conducted during the 1970s and 1980s when both males and females attending Catholic schools recorded a more positive attitude toward Christianity than their peers attending Protestant schools.

Conclusions Repeated cross-sectional studies of this nature help to profile the changing religious climate of Northern Ireland.