INTEGRATED EDUCATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Integration in Practice

by Alison Montgomery, Grace Fraser, Claire McGlynn,

Alan Smith and Tony Gallagher

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FOREWORDBetween 1999 and 2001 the NuffieldFoundation supported a research project intoaspects of integrated education in NorthernIreland. The project was co-ordinated by ProfAlan Smith, University of Ulster and Prof TonyGallagher, Queen’s University Belfast. The finalreport was presented to the NuffieldFoundation in 2002 and a seminar was held inLondon later the same year to discuss itsimplications, particularly in the light ofdiscussions on faith schools in England. Giventhe range of information gathered during theproject, Nuffield agreed to support a series offurther seminars to consider the current andfuture state of integrated education inNorthern Ireland.

There are three reports in the series:

Integrated Education in Northern Ireland:1. Participation, Profile and Performance;2. Integration in Practice; and3. The Challenge of Transformation.

This report is the second in the series andfocuses on the nature of integration inpractice. The report is based on data gatheredthrough a survey of integrated schools,qualitative case studies and a study of pastpupils from two integrated post-primaryschools.

Copyright © 2003, Alison Montgomery, Grace Fraser,Claire McGlynn, Alan Smith and Tony Gallagher.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors are extremely grateful to theNuffield Foundation for supporting thisresearch, to the Integrated Education Fund(IEF) and the Northern Ireland Council forIntegrated Education (NICIE) for advice andassistance along the way; and to the schoolsand individuals involved in the research.

For this particular report we are especiallygrateful to Alison Montgomery forquestionnaire design, data collection andinterviewing; Grace Fraser for collating casestudy material; Claire McGlynn for undertakinga study of past pupils from integrated schools;and Clara Burke for co-ordinating publicationof the final report.

INTRODUCTIONThis report summarises the main findingsemerging from a research project on IntegratedEducation in Northern Ireland funded by theNuffield Foundation (1999-2001).

The first planned integrated school in NorthernIreland was Lagan College, Belfast whichopened in 1981 with a first intake of 28 pupils.Other schools followed and by the end of the1980s the number of integrated schoolsthroughout Northern Ireland had reacheddouble figures. An important feature thatdistinguishes the establishment of integratedschools is that the impetus had not come fromstate or church authorities. The main activistshave been parents from different traditions,engaged in a community development processto prove the viability of cross-communityschools. The schools that were establishedduring this pioneering phase were independentschools, supported by charitable funding frombodies such as The Nuffield Foundation, andschools had to demonstrate their viability for anumber of years before government wouldcommit funding.

The Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order1989 was something of a watershed for thedevelopment of integrated education. Thelegislation introduced statutory support forintegrated education, enabling government tofund the development role of the NorthernIreland Council for Integrated Education(NICIE) and introduced day one funding forGrant Maintained Integrated (GMI) schoolsprovided they met government criteria for theestablishment of new schools. The ReformOrder also provided for existing controlled ormaintained schools to ‘transform’ intointegrated schools following a ballot amongparents of pupils in attendance at the school.

Within this new climate of statutory supportthe number of integrated schools in NorthernIreland increased significantly during the1990s. Between 1990 and 1998:

• The number of integrated primary schoolsincreased from 7 to 22, of which 7 were inthe new category of transforming controlledintegrated schools;

• The number of pupils enrolled in integratedprimary schools increased from 647 to 3,846 (a factor of six);

• The number of integrated post-primaryschools increased from 2 to 11, of which onewas in the new category of transformingcontrolled integrated schools; and

• The number of pupils enrolled in integratedpost-primary schools increased from 1,023 to3,950 (a factor of four).

By September 2000 there were 45 integratedschools (28 primary and 17 post-primary) withapproximately 14,000 pupils. However, this stillrepresents just over 4% of the schoolpopulation.

Following consultation with representativesfrom NICIE, the Integrated Education Fund (IEF)and personnel from integrated schools, it wasagreed to undertake a research programmethat contained the following elements:

• An analysis of statistical patterns related tointegrated schools in terms of religiouscomposition, patterns of enrolment andacademic performance;

• A survey that involved questionnaires topupils, teachers, Principals, governors andparents in integrated schools;

• Case studies of 16 integrated schoolsinvolving qualitative interviews about thenature of integration in practice;

• A study of past pupils from the first twopost-primary schools; and

• A study of the transformation process in 6 of the 12 transforming schools.

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This report draws on findings from the survey,the case studies and the past pupil study in an attempt to understand the nature ofintegration in practice within integratedschools and what makes them distinctive asinstitutions and learning environments inNorthern Ireland.

SURVEY OF INTEGRATED SCHOOLSThe purpose of the survey across the sectorwas to identify characteristics in relation tothe schools, staff, pupils and the parents ofpupils attending integrated schools.

In the spring of 1999, a letter outlining themain aims and objectives of the research andthe nature of the proposed involvement ofeach school was sent to each integrated schoolPrincipal in Northern Ireland (N=44). Thisinitial letter was then followed up a monthlater by a second letter, which provided furtherdetails of the research and a request that theschool consider participating in the research.Each school Principal was asked in the firstinstance if they would agree to their schoolcompleting a series of questionnaires. Thesewere designed in consultation with researchersand educationalists associated with integratededucation and piloted with a small number ofstaff, parents and pupils. The questionnaireswere addressed to:

• The Principal;

• The Chair of the Board of Governors;

• Each member of the teaching staff; and

• A group of ten parents (chosen at random bythe Principal).

Of the 44 schools approached, 40 schoolsagreed to participate in the research (24primary and 16 post-primary schools). This constitutes 91% of schools in theintegrated sector. Following their agreementto participate, each school Principal wasprovided with further details about the

questionnaires, and asked to forward a copy of their prospectus and current staff numbers.A brief visit to each school by a researcher was also arranged in consultation with schoolPrincipals. The purpose of this visit was todeliver the questionnaires and to address anyconcerns or queries that the Principals ormembers of staff might have had. Thequestionnaire was substantial and in mostcases was administered in person by aresearcher visiting the school. To assurePrincipals, staff, chairs of Board of Governorsand parents of the confidential nature of theresearch issues, each questionnaire was issuedalong with a letter detailing the aims andobjectives of the research and assurancesconcerning confidentiality. It was agreed withintegrated post-primary Principals that pupilquestionnaires would be completed duringform or tutorial periods and forwarded directlyby the form tutor to the research team. Thefollowing section highlights the main findings.

Demography within the schoolsInformation was sought concerningdistribution of provision in terms ofgeographical location, social, religious andcultural characteristics of communities servedby schools and patterns of enrolment.Respondents were asked to describe the natureof the local community in terms of its religiousaffiliation, and socio-economic and politicalcharacteristics. The vast majority of schoolsappeared to be located in mixed orpredominantly Catholic or Protestant areas.No school was perceived to be in an area thatwas entirely Catholic or entirely Protestant. Interms of socio-economic and politicalcharacteristics, areas were again described inthe majority of cases as mixed (mixed urbanand rural settings, mixed social class, mediumlevels of unemployment and mixed politicalleanings). Only two schools from this samplereported that the area had not experiencedsectarian tension. Almost every schoolindicated that this was most prevalent in the

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summer months during the ‘marching season.’Several schools referred to incidents ofvandalism to school buildings, ‘huge amountsof tension and social unrest’ and violence. A small number of schools indicated thepresence of ongoing tension throughout theyear, ‘painted kerbstones’ and slogans daubedon walls near the school.

Figures for enrolment have increased steadilyin all primary and post-primary schools. Fromthe time of foundation, each school hadincreased its original intake between five andnine fold. The majority of schools alsoexpected their numbers to increase further, andthis was indicated in the projections they gavefor the next five years. Some schools hadalready reached their full quota. The genderratio in schools tended to be more balanced inintegrated post-primary schools than in theprimary schools. A significant number ofprimary schools indicated that boysoutnumbered girls (in one case the ratio was 14:9).

The most significant issue to emerge concernedpractical difficulties in monitoring schoolenrolment by religious affiliation. Three-quarters of the schools indicated a majority ofCatholic pupils. The greatest religiousimbalance in a primary school was 64%Catholic, 34% Protestant; and in a post-primary school, 62% Catholic, 30% Protestant.Most schools also referred to two furthercategories of religious identification, namelyOther or None, both of which were increasinglyselected by parents when completingenrolment forms. Schools indicated that thepercentage of pupils included in thesecategories ranged from 2% to 26% of theschool population. This decision by increasingnumbers of parents not to label their childeither Protestant or Catholic was causingdifficulties for some schools when they wereaddressing the issue of religious balance andpupil intake.

Respondents indicated that parents were often‘reluctant to commit their child to one categoryor another’ or that they had become ‘rathercreative in describing their child’s tradition.’Some post-primary Principals hadcircumvented this problem by contacting thechild’s primary school and asking how s/he hadbeen identified there. This situation reflects aninteresting debate surrounding pupil identityand the potential mismatch between‘perceived’ background and parental aspirations.

Every primary school in the sample had enteredpupils for the Transfer Procedure, althoughnumbers in some schools were very small. The percentage of Year 7 pupils entered in aschool ranged from 16% to 100%. In terms of variation in these figures, some schoolsreported a decline in numbers opting to sit thetests, though the majority of schools indicatedthat the figures were generally rising, due intheir opinion to ‘parental’ or ‘peer pressure.’Only two post-primary schools in this sub-sample had entered pupils for GCSEexaminations. The other schools had not been in existence long enough to establish aYear 12.

Sixty percent of primary schools thatcompleted the question regarding thedestination of their P7 pupils, indicated thatthey tended to transfer to the nearestintegrated post-primary school. Only oneschool said that a greater proportion of itspupils transferred to a maintained post-primaryschool and location appeared to be animportant factor in this case. A significantnumber of primary schools also reported thateach year they had pupils who despite havingachieved an ‘A’ grade in the Transfer tests,opted to transfer to an integrated post-primaryschool. One respondent noted ‘these are theparents who have more interest in ethos thanacademia.’

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Practically every school felt that the localcommunity regarded it positively. Respondentsreported that they were perceived as‘particularly caring’ or ‘concerned’ and ashaving a ‘good reputation.’ A number ofprimary and post-primary schools did feel thatthe local clergy, politicians and other schoolPrincipals regarded them with some suspicionand dislike. A few commented on ‘ongoingopposition’ from clergy while others noted thatthe relationship with clergy had improved,‘though we still can’t persuade the priest to visitus.’ Perceived suspicion on the part of non-integrated school Principals was attributed to

the perception that integrated schools werehaving a detrimental affect on intake numbersin other schools, that integrated schools hadpoached funding from the segregated sector orthat integrated schools simply ‘threaten theirexistence.’

Principals from integrated schoolsCompleted questionnaires were received from26 Principals (16 primary, 10 post-primaryschools). This represents responses from 60%of all integrated school Principals. The findingsin terms of nationality, religious affiliation andpolitical identity can be summarised as follows:

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Identity factor % of respondents

Nationality

British 27%

Irish 23%

Northern Irish 35%

Other 15%

Religious affiliation

Catholic 27%

Protestant 46%

Other 20%

None 7%

Political identity

Nationalist 0%

Unionist 12%

Other 57% None 31%

Table 1: Nationality, Religious Affiliation & Political Identity

There are a number of interesting findings:

• In terms of nationality, most integratedschool Principals described themselves asNorthern Irish (35%), rather than British(27%) or Irish (23%);

• Significantly more Principals in the sample(n=26) described themselves as Protestant(46%) rather than Catholic (27%);

• A fifth of the Principals in the sampledescribed their religious affiliation as Otherand less than a tenth (7%) identified theirreligion as None; and

• The majority of Principals in the sampledescribed their political identity as Other(57%) or None (31%), and no respondentsidentified themselves as Nationalist,Republican or Loyalist in political outlook.

Despite the small number of respondents, thesefindings suggest that it would be worthwhilesecuring deeper insight into the thinking onidentity issues amongst the leadership withinintegrated schools. Particular issues include:

• Whether the concept of Northern Irish as thepredominant identity label for nationalityamongst Principals has any implications forthe ethos of integrated schools or implicitmessages conveyed by the informalcurriculum;

• Whether the finding from this sample, thatthere are significantly more Protestants asCatholics in leadership positions inintegrated schools, has any implications for the sector;

• How the significant number of integratedschool Principals who describe their religiousaffiliation as Other or None relates to thecommitment of integrated schools to a‘Christian ethos’; and

• Why the majority of integrated schoolPrincipals describe their political identity asOther or None; and what the implications are

of there being no representation ofNationalist, Republican or Loyalistperspectives within the Principals in this sample.

Further aspects of the profile of Principalswithin integrated schools are that:

• The majority (73%) were trained as teacherswithin Northern Ireland, the remainder atinstitutions in Britain or Ireland. Just over25% have had broader experience teachingoutside Northern Ireland; and

• All have experience teaching in schools otherthan integrated schools and 96% havetaught for more than 15 years. There wassome anecdotal evidence of differentqualities required of Principals who initiatedor founded integrated schools and thoserequired to sustain or develop schools oncethey had been established.

The second part of the questionnaire toPrincipals addressed issues relating tomotivations and frustrations associated withthe post of Principal in the integratededucation sector. Respondents were asked ifthey felt supported by the school governors,other members of staff and by parents andpupils. All of the post-primary Principalsticked the ‘Yes’ box, with only one Principalcommenting that his current Board ofGovernors was much more supportive than the previous group and two Principals notedthat only a small number of parents and pupilswere ‘problematic.’ Primary school Principalsgenerally agreed that all of the groupsmentioned were supportive, however aminority did qualify their response, indicating avariable or lack of support again from theBoard of Governors and/or parents. In contrastperhaps to some of the other groups, someprimary school Principals described pupils as astrong source of encouragement or motivation–‘the kids are great.’

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Principals were also asked to indicate whatexpectations they had in terms of careeropportunities and if they felt these could bemet within the integrated sector. In generalPrincipals from both primary schools and post-primary schools appeared fairly content in theircurrent posts. Where a primary or post-primaryschool was fairly recently established or thePrincipal was relatively new to the role,individuals commented that they were ‘gettingto grips’ with the post, or anticipating futurechallenges to develop the school. There wasalso some indication of a desire to transfer or‘deepen’ skills that had been acquired ordeveloped within the integrated sector. Incontrast to these comments, there was adiscernible tone of disillusionment in a numberof Principals’ responses. Two primary Principalsquite explicitly expressed a desire to move outof the integrated sector completely, one ofwhom described the experience as having been ‘very damaging.’ Amongst post-primaryPrincipals there was an uncertainty in someresponses regarding their future in the sector.

When asked to identify three main frustrationsof their current job, Principals often ignoredthe number and listed up to eleven issues.‘Paperwork’ was a frustration that was notedwith remarkable regularity across the wholesample of Principals and staff. One Principalreferred to the ‘paper mountain,’ much ofwhich originated from DENI and the Educationand Library Boards. Linked to this, theDepartment of Education (DE) was criticised by primary Principals for generating too manyinitiatives, some of which were stressful andcomplex to deal with. The general weight ofPrincipals’ workloads was commented uponfrequently, with one teaching Principal notingthe difficulties of time management, resultingin ‘two jobs half-done.’ A post-primaryPrincipal also commented on his workloadrendering him ‘deskbound which means Icannot walk the job.’ Other frustrations cited by Principals included a lack of funding and

accommodation and ‘too much power andinterference’ by some parents and governors.Concerns about Boards of Governors’involvement or parental interference may bemore likely to be raised within the integratedsector, due to the particular managementstructures and ethos of integrated schools.

The final question given to Principals, askedthem to indicate how they felt an integratedethos was promoted in the daily activities andmanagement structure of their school. Inprimary schools, an emphasis was placed onthe importance of setting a good example tochildren, for example, through good staffrelations and relationships with parents. Post-primary schools highlighted the importance of attitudes and behaviour and both primaryand post-primary schools referred to thecommunication of the school’s ethos via the curriculum - PSE, EMU, RE classes andactivities, assemblies, students’ council, circletime and extra-curricular activities. One primary school Principal commented:

‘There has to be a whole school approach toshow how everyone fits into the big picture.’

Teachers Questionnaires were completed by 197teachers (68 primary, 129 post-primary) fromintegrated schools. The main findings were:

• In terms of nationality, teachers in thesample described themselves as British(40%), Irish (30%), Northern Irish (22%) andOther or None (8%);

• In terms of religious affiliation, teachers inthe sample described themselves as Catholic(41%), Protestant (36%), Christian (14%),Other or None (9%); and

• In terms of political identity, teachers in thesample described themselves as Unionist(24%), Nationalist (20%), Republican (2%),Loyalist (1%), Other (20%) and None (33%).

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Some implications of these findings are:

• In contrast to Principals, the teachers inintegrated schools were more likely to definetheir nationality as British or Irish, ratherthan use the generic term Northern Irish.This suggests that pupils encounter teacherswho represent the British and Irish identitiesas well as those who define nationality interms of a ‘shared’ Northern Irish identity,but it is not clear what impact this may haveon pupils’ own sense of national identity;

• The two main religious traditions in NorthernIreland are well represented amongstteachers in integrated schools and asignificant number (14%) identify themselvesas Christian. In this sample, significantlyfewer teachers describe their religiousaffiliation as Other or None (9%) comparedto the school Principals (27%). Overall 56%of primary teachers and 54% of post-primaryteachers in integrated schools stated thatreligion is ‘very important’ or ‘important’ intheir lives;

• There is a broader representation of differentpolitical perspectives amongst teachers inthe sample when compared to Principals.However, like the sample of Principals, themajority of teachers describe their politicalidentity as Other (20%) or None (33%). This suggests that the majority of teachersthat pupils encounter do not have strongallegiances in terms of the traditionalpolitical identities in Northern Ireland; and

• In terms of initial teacher training, 75% ofprimary teachers and 73% of post-primaryteachers in the sample were trained ininstitutions in Northern Ireland (Queen’sUniversity Belfast, University of Ulster,Stranmillis College which is predominantlyProtestant in enrolment and St Mary’sCollege which provides Catholic teachereducation).

Overall 25% of teachers in the sample hadtaught for less than 5 years and 50% hadtaught for more than 15 years. In terms ofprevious experience, 39% had taught only inthe controlled (predominantly Protestant)sector and 32% had taught only in theCatholic maintained sector. Only 16% hadtaught in both sectors before taking up a postin an integrated school. Whilst all had accessto in-service courses provided by localauthorities, there was a concern about the lackof induction and in-service education toprepare teachers for the distinctive challengesof working within integrated schools.

Some concerns were raised about the lack ofopportunity for career development within thesmall, integrated education sector and therewere perceptions that opportunities forpromotion and employment within othersectors would be limited by accepting a postwithin an integrated school. In a section of thequestionnaire concerning career routes, staffwere asked to explain briefly why they hadapplied for their current job. Thirty-sevenpercent said that they had wanted to work inan integrated school or ‘liked the idea ofintegrated education.’ Due to the restrictionsinherent in the questionnaire method ofresearch, and respondents’ tendency to offerbrief responses to questions, in most cases itwas not possible to discern any furtherinformation relating to individuals’ desire toteach in the integrated sector. Some didelaborate on this point, commenting that theyfelt ‘this [was] the way forward for education inNorthern Ireland,’ that they ‘did not want toteach in a suffocating Catholic context,’ or thathaving returned to Northern Ireland after sometime abroad, this was ‘the only kind ofeducation I felt I could return to.’

Other staff commented that they felt therewere ‘good promotion prospects’ in theintegrated sector, and that they were‘disillusioned’ with the controlled or

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maintained education sector. Almost 25% (themajority of which were primary school staff)indicated that they had applied for their jobbecause of financial or practical considerations.Several said the post was convenient in termsof location and hours, others said it had beenadvertised ‘at just the right time’ and a smallnumber of individuals explained that ‘it was thefirst job that came up.’ It is evident that thereis a range of motivations affecting teachers’decisions to apply for posts in the integratedsector. It also seems reasonable to suggest that not all of these are due to a strongcommitment to the philosophy underpinningintegrated education. This observation isperhaps further supported by responses to asubsequent question that asked staff if theywould consider applying for a post in thesegregated sector. An overwhelming majority(67%) indicated that they would apply. Anumber argued that a ‘job’s a job’ and theywould have applied for a suitable teaching post wherever one became available. Onerespondent commented that he would ‘applyanywhere I could be of value’ and another feltthat ‘satisfaction in the workplace is far moreimportant than school type.’ For some teachersat least, the particular religious, social andacademic characteristics of a school did notappear to be significantly important when theywere applying for a teaching post. Teachingwas considered rather as a specific practiceconsisting of a series of challenges andrewards, which existed irrespective of theparticular sector a school happened to be in.

Staff were also asked to comment onpromotion prospects within the integratededucation sector. Overall, respondents offeredpositive responses to this question. Themajority felt there were enough/plenty ofopportunities for promotion within their schoolor within other schools. Quite a number ofrespondents felt that promotion was likely tooccur at an earlier stage in a teachers’ careerin an integrated school, than in a school in

another sector. This had resulted in a greaternumber of younger teachers holding middlemanagement positions, an issue which causedsome new or beginning teachers somedisgruntlement as they felt such teacherswould stay on at the school for some time‘blocking opportunities for those below.’ Almost20% of primary school staff commented thatthey were unlikely to be presented withpromotion opportunities either in their schoolor in the integrated sector. Several said theywould be prepared to look outside the sector,and one post-primary teacher commented thatif he wanted to secure a senior managementposition, he would have to consider all schoolsand not just the integrated sector. A fewteachers anticipated some difficulty in movingfrom the integrated sector to ‘mainstream’schools, especially in seeking more seniorpositions. Almost 12% of primary school staff(all female) indicated that they did ‘not wish toavail of promotion opportunities,’ that they‘have enough to do’ or that their ‘presentresponsibilities were sufficient.’ The majority ofteachers intimated that their aspirations forpromotion could be met within the integratedsector, because it is ‘comparatively new andexpanding.’ However, it does appear that thesector may have to continue its expansion fora longer period, if teachers’ expectations arestill to be met.

A final question in the section on teachermotivation addressed the issue of supportstructures within schools, and specifically, theextent to which teachers felt they receivedsupport from formal and informal sources, forexample other staff or the school pastoral caresystem. The majority of teachers were full ofpraise for the support they received in theirschools. Closer examination of these responsesrevealed that this support was largely informaland usually generated by teaching colleagues.Primary and post-primary school staff offeredfairly similar responses to this question, bothsuggesting that there was a lack of clarity, a

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disorganisation and inconsistency in theadministration of a formal support system. A fairly significant proportion of primary schoolteachers (30%), however, were less than happywith the support they received in their schools,commenting that there was only a ‘reasonableresponse’ from other members of staff, that‘staff have so much to do, support has dwindled’and a number of staff from one school didcomment that because of the unacceptablemanagement approach in their school, ‘staffsupport was required rather too often.’ Fourteachers commented that the level of supportgiven in their schools was ‘poor.’

PupilsQuestionnaires were completed by 400 Year 8and Year 10 pupils from 11 integrated post-primary schools. Pupils were asked to commenton a range of issues including their views ofschool, friendship patterns, transfer after the

eleven-plus, and their experience of integratedschools. The main findings were:

Only 16% of pupils in the sample had attendedan integrated primary school so the initialintake of integrated post-primary schools ismainly pupils encountering the concept for thefirst time. This has implications for theinduction programme.

The majority of pupils had a positive attitudetowards their school and identified specificcurriculum subjects (24%), their friends (20%),individual teachers or teachers in general(15%) in positive terms.

Of the 400 pupils in the sample, 60% sat theeleven-plus (a third of these stated that theyhad been ‘coached’). The grade profile of thosepupils who took the tests was:

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A B1 B2 C1 C2 D

14% 6% 12% 15% 14% 39%

Table 2: Grade Profile of Pupils in the Sample

The majority of pupils (65%) stated that theintegrated school was their first choice, 10%had listed a grammar school as their firstchoice and 5% had listed an integrated schoolas second choice after a grammar school. Thissuggests that at least some pupils may arrivewith a sense of the integrated school as‘second best.’

A high proportion of pupils seem to have beenpersonally involved in the decision-makingprocess. Approximately 30% of pupils statedthat they had made the choice of school, 28% that they and their parents had decidedtogether. Mothers were more influential thanfathers with 14% of pupils stating that theirmother took the decision and 5% stated it wasa joint decision with their mother.

The main reasons for choice of school werehaving relatives or siblings already there (25%),the fact that the school is integrated (24%),friends going there (16%), parental decision(15%) and good reputation of the school(14%). A small number of Year 10 pupils hadtransferred from other schools, often becauseof bullying in the previous school. A smallnumber of pupils stated that they had been‘forced to attend’ the integrated school by their parents.

Pupils were also asked why they had chosen tocome to their particular school. Almost allresponses were positive - ‘I liked the sound ofit,’ ‘my friends were coming,’ ‘I liked the idea ofintegration’ and ‘it has a good reputation.’ Onegirl said ‘it’s just perfect for me.’ Only a smallnumber were more negative - ‘I didn’t choose -I was told by my parents,’ ‘I didn’t get into thegrammar’ and ‘it’s the only school that wantedme.’ When asked if they could select a post-primary school again would they still choose tocome to their present school, 78% of pupilsconfirmed that they would still choose theschool they now attended. Their reasons forthis were relatively few. Thirty percent of the

sample simply said that they liked their schoolor thought that ‘it [was] great!,’ 22% indicatedthat their friends were all at their presentschool and 9% felt that the teachers were ‘thebest.’ Most of those who indicated that theywould not choose to come to their school nowif they had the choice, attributed this to thefact that they would have preferred to havetransferred from their primary school to agrammar school. While they did not stronglydislike the integrated school they attended,several pupils clearly had not identified theschool as their first choice and said that it had‘just been a better option than some otherschools.’

Pupils’ responses to the question regardingtheir views of school indicated that the vastmajority felt quite positively about their school.Ninety-three percent of respondents either‘really liked’ school (29%), think that school is‘OK’ (32%) or ‘like some things’ (32%). Only4% stated that they ‘hated’ school. Whenasked to identify what they liked best aboutschool, most pupils tended to mention one offour things. These were specific curriculumsubjects (24%), their friends (20%), individualteachers or teachers in general (15%) or theclubs and facilities available at school (13%). A small number commented that theyparticularly like the ‘atmosphere’ or the fact‘that it is mixed.’ Several other pupils likedtheir school because ‘it’s fair,’ ‘there are lots of opportunities,’ ‘there is some freedom’ and‘everyone is treated equally.’ Responses to this question tend to suggest that the vastmajority of pupils in integrated schools identifysimilar ‘favourite things about school’ as their counterparts in non-integrated schools(Harland et. al., 1999). Only a small numbermade reference to specific characteristics ofintegration such as the school being ‘mixed’or ‘being able to learn with other traditions.’

Pupils were asked if they thought that theirschool was different in any way to other

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schools. The three main areas identified relatedto religion, ‘no-one teases you about religion’,academic attainment, ‘there are worse gradesin this school’ and standard of accommodation‘our classroom is a hut’. The majority of pupils(66%) appeared to be on the receiving end ofunkind and frequently hostile comments fromfriends attending other schools. These oftenfocused on similar areas such as religion, ‘My boyfriend who is a Protestant doesn’t know how I can stand being in the same class asCatholics’ and status ‘They say it is for drop outsfrom other schools’.

Almost every pupil attending a school whichwas awaiting the provision of new buildingscommented on the accommodation in ‘huts’and ‘prefabs’ and talked about having to walkthrough ‘mud and muck’ to get from one classto another. One pupil commented that it hadbeen okay in Year 8 but he was ‘getting a bitfed up with it’ now he was in Year 10.

A final question asked pupils if they wouldconsider sending any children they might haveto an integrated school. A clear majority of65% of pupils in the sample said that theywould send their child to an integrated schoolbecause, ‘it would help him or her to mix well’(20%), ‘it’s good’ or ‘mixed education isimportant’ or because ‘it might help bringpeace.’ Twenty three percent of the samplesaid that it ‘depended’ on a number of things,such as whether their child wanted to go there,and ‘how good the school was.’ The few pupils(5%) who said that they would not send theirchild to an integrated school commented thatthey would prefer a different kind of school -‘grammar,’ ‘Catholic education’ or ‘Protestantschool.’

ParentsQuestionnaires were completed by 142 parents(94 primary and 48 post-primary). Questionsconcerned the social profile of the parents,reasons for choice of integrated school and the

nature of parental involvement. The mainfindings were:

A distinctive feature of the parent sample wasthat 18% had been educated outside NorthernIreland, mainly in Britain, Ireland orinternationally in roughly equal proportions.Approximately one third had been educated ingrammar schools, a similar ratio to the overallpopulation, but a significantly higherproportion had gone on to third leveleducation (37% University, 57% FurtherEducation, Technical and Training Colleges).

All parents were asked to choose from a list often considerations, which had most influencedthem in their decision to send their child to anintegrated school. The most popular responsewas a commitment to integrated education(83%). Other popular choices were therelatively ‘small class sizes’ (39%), the ‘school’sreputation’ (34%), their ‘own educationalexperiences’ (32%), ‘siblings already pupils’(27%), ‘recommendation’ (25%) and‘convenient location’ (16%).

Parents were also asked if they hadencountered any opposition in their choice of integrated education. Approximately 27% said they had been presented with somekind of opposition. This ranged from familyand friends ‘raising their eyebrows’ becauseintegrated education was perceived as ‘not the mainstream’ or ‘unknown territory,’to primary school staff ‘actively trying todissuade’ parents from sending their childrento an integrated school, suggesting a ‘betterstandard’ of education existed elsewhere.

Parents were asked what they understood by the term ‘parental involvement’ and their responses reveal a broad range ofinterpretations from suggestions of practicalinvolvement to more general references about support. Some less specific forms ofinvolvement included ‘contributing to all

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aspects of the school community,’ ‘working handin hand with the teachers’ and ‘providingteachers with full support.’ Thirty eight percentof parents used these kinds of phrases, but didnot offer any further indication of how thissupport was given. Almost 18% indicated theimportance of supporting school endeavoursand initiatives while 26% defined parentalinvolvement as ‘encouraging my children intheir learning’ or ‘taking an active part in theeducation of my children.’

Interpretations of ‘parental involvement’indicated that a pyramid of involvement exists.A quarter of the parents in the sample hadbeen directly involved in the establishment ofthe school with small numbers maintaininginvolvement in the Board of Governors orParents’ Council, although this held leastappeal for the majority of parents. Moderatelevels of involvement were reported in practicalareas such as being a classroom helper,playground supervision, helping withfundraising and school events. A lower level ofinvolvement involved supporting school events,attending parents’ evenings, special assembliesand maintaining contact with teachers.Approximately half of the respondents felt thatthere was room for improvement or that thereality of involvement had fallen short of theirexpectations. A small number of parentsregarded the members of the Parents’ Councilin their children’s schools as an ‘elite’ and feltexcluded.

While a majority of parents felt that parentalinvolvement was encouraged in their children’sschool, a number did suggest that they felt lesswelcome or less appreciated than perhaps theyhad previously. Several parents said they onlyhad contact with the teachers now if therewas a ‘discipline or work-related problem.’Others felt that as the school had grown, ithad become less welcoming and even appearedto keep parents ‘at some distance.’ One parentfelt that it would be difficult for parents of

new pupils to ‘develop or maintain meaningfulrelationships with teachers’ as it had grown toolarge. Several parents in one school indicatedthat since DE funding had been secured,governors, teachers and parents were lessmotivated to communicate with one another orto support fund-raising events.

A final question asked parents to identify whatthey felt were the most important aspects ofintegrated education. Their responses may begrouped as follows:

• The promotion of particular values andattitudes - many references were made tothe potential of integrated education to‘bring children together,’ ‘to promote anacceptance of difference’ and to ‘developmutual respect for one another’;

• The nature of learning and standard ofeducation - parents referred to the ‘child-centred nature’ of integrated education, and emphasised the inclusive learningenvironment of integrated schools which‘caters for all needs, skills and talents.’They also described integrated schools asproviding a ‘good standard’ of the ‘best ofeducation’;

• School management and ethos - respondentsreferred to ‘small classes,’ the ‘positive’ or‘committed approach of teachers,’ ‘soundethos’ and ‘opportunities for parentalinvolvement’; and

• The contribution of integrated education to societal harmony - parents describedintegrated schools as ‘the way forward (foreducation) in Northern Ireland’ and as ‘anisland of normality in a sea of abnormality.’

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CASE STUDIES

The meaning of integrationThe second element contributing to theestablishment of a profile of the integratedsector was a series of case studies involving 16of the 40 schools in the sample. Each casestudy consisted of a programme of interviewsconducted with the Principal, teachers, supportstaff and pupils over a two to three day periodin each of the case study schools. The purposeof these visits was to provide a deeperqualitative insight into what is distinctiveabout integrated schools. It was anticipatedthat more direct evidence would be able to begathered on the following range of issues:

• What people within integrated schools meanby ‘integration’ in terms of daily practice;

• How integrated schools take account ofsocially divisive issues; and

• What the role of ritual, symbols andsymbolism is within integrated schools.

An overriding concern of this aspect of theresearch was to try to ascertain the extent towhich integrated schools emphasise thedevelopment of common experiences and theextent to which they are developing practicesto meet the challenges of diversity within theschool population.

Sixteen schools (10 primary and 6 post-primaryschools) were originally approached by letterinviting them to participate as case studyschools in this part of the research. Followingfurther telephone calls with each of the schoolPrincipals, all except one of the schools electedto participate. Another school was thensubstituted, with agreement from the Principal.The schools in the sample were carefullyselected to be broadly representative of allschools in the integrated sector. Factorsconsidered in selection included geographicallocation, length of time established, size and

school type (newly integrated or transforming).As with the questionnaires, however, access toschools was affected by a range of issues,including preparation for open nights,inspections and the transfer procedure. In addition, a slight hiatus was caused bychange of research team personnel. The final number of case study schools was 14, 10 primary and 4 post-primary. Of these, 4 were transforming primary and 2 weretransforming post-primary schools, i.e. making6 transforming schools in total. The results ofresearch on the process of transformation inthese 6 schools are documented in the thirdreport in this series.

It is worth noting that, because of theirintegrated status, many integrated schools inNorthern Ireland are constantly inundated withrequests to participate in a wide range ofeducational, political and social researchprojects. The willingness of such a highproportion of schools to engage in suchdemanding research deserves our recognitionand thanks.

MethodologyParticipating school Principals received a letteroutlining the schedule for interviews. In allcases, Principals went to considerable lengthsto ensure that all categories requested forinterview were able to be interviewed, evenwhen the school concerned had a smallteaching staff and the Principal also hadteaching duties. The interview scheduleproposed to Principals was as follows:

PRIMARY• With the Principal (approximately 45 mins)

• With a number of individual classroomteachers (approx. 30 mins each)

• With 1-2 support staff, including classroomassistants (20-25 mins)

• With a group of 6-8 Key Stage 1 pupils (30 mins)

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• With a group of 6-8 Key Stage 2 pupils (30 mins)

POST-PRIMARY• With the Principal (approximately 45 mins)

• With a number of individual classroomteachers (approx. 30 mins each)

• With 1-2 support staff, including classroomassistants (20-25 mins)

• With a group of 6 Key Stage 3 pupils (30 mins)

• With a group of 6 Key Stage 4 pupils (30 mins)

The interviews were taped and later transcribedand the qualitative data obtained analysed bythe research team. For Principals and teachingstaff, the interviews were conducted formallyaccording to a semi-structured framework ofquestions grouped under the following themes:

• Biographical information, e.g., length of time in post/school, teaching experience(integrated/non-integrated), responsibilities, age;

• Integration;

• Socially divisive issues;

• Rituals and symbols; and

• Challenges.

For support staff, the interviews were similarbut with these themes:

• Biographical information, e.g., post held,length of time in post/school, age;

• Experience of working in the school;

• Integration; and

• Symbols and rituals.

According to documents such as statements ofprinciples, integrated education is not simplyabout integration in the classroom but aboutthe integration of all involved in the school,

including parents, teachers, support staff and pupils.

Interviews with teaching and support staffwere therefore designed to offer an insightinto what it is like to work within and be partof this community. In the case of the pupilinterviews, pupils were not interviewedindividually but informally in small groups. By interviewing pupils at various levels, it washoped that their comments would reflect theexperience of pupils from the early to the finalstages of integrated schooling. Therefore,pupils were interviewed from P2/3, P6/7, Years9/10 and 11. With the youngest category, P2/3children, the researchers utilised the strategyof ‘circle time’ with which children in allintegrated primary schools were likely to befamiliar. A small soft toy was passed aroundthe group and each child had the opportunityto speak when it was their turn to hold the toy.Some researchers found that the ‘soft toy’approach worked equally well with the olderprimary children provoking much ‘mature’humour and providing increasedencouragement to offer an opinion. The post-primary pupils were also interviewed in smallgroups and talked easily to the researchers.

Analysis of data from case study interviews A series of questions explored interviewees’perceptions of ethos and how they felt itshould impact on their school in terms ofpupils and staff. At the start, Principals andteaching staff were asked how they woulddescribe ‘integration’ to ‘someone unfamiliarwith the concept.’ A broad consensus ofopinion was offered which recognised thatwithin integrated education at least two levels of integration should be taking place,firstly, to bring together the two main religiouscommunities - Catholic and Protestant - inNorthern Ireland. Secondly, having broughtthem into contact with each other, to educatethem in a manner that would enable them tolive together. The key element emphasised by

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all was the child-centred focus of thiseducational process whereby each child wouldbe regarded as an individual worthy of respectregardless of ability, religion, social backgroundor gender. A child who was respected wouldrespect others and would hopefully become a‘fulfilled and caring adult.’ In this way, as oneprimary Vice-Principal said, ‘We hoped ourschools would make a big difference.’ Almostall teaching staff defined integration in similarterms, defining community division but alsogoing beyond the provision of contact to thefacilitation of preparation for life in a pluralistsociety. There was clear recognition of theinterdependence of these two elements as onepost-primary Principal commented:

‘It’s such an enormous topic. It has a verynarrow kind of view, that I suppose isgenerally accepted - of bringing Protestantsand Catholics together and I think thatdifference is one of the main issues here -as well as that there is difference in abilityand in other things. We should actually tryto work with that, rather than separatingthings, we should be appreciatingdifferences. Maybe that’s the key to thewhole thing - to help one individualappreciate another’s gifts and talents,points of view and their right to hold theseparticular points of view, no matter howcontrary they seem to run to your own.’

A primary classroom assistant whose ownchildren had begun their education abroad in‘a multicultural school with sixty differentnationalities’ commented:

‘In this school, the children do feel positiveabout themselves. The staff look for justwhatever little bit of spark or individualityin the child that makes them special. This iswhat the children are taught - they all haveone little thing they are good at and this isrecognised, praised and encouraged...I hadfriends who came back from overseas andtheir children were teased because of

accents or suntan, etc. This did not happenhere. My children were respected andaccepted.’

There is perhaps little in the above whichappears different from the standard description of integrated education as definedin NICIE’s principles and guidelines. However,interviewees’ statements, and the manner inwhich they delivered them, showed evidence ofopinions formed, often over a period of time, inthe light of personal experience. Most wereboth thoughtful and concerned, reflecting acontinuing commitment to meeting thechallenge of ‘getting it right.’ One transformingprimary Principal’s comments in effect may beindicative of the existence of different stagesof thinking about the meaning of integrationas they seem to argue that the fundamentalpurpose of integrated schooling is to effectreligious integration:

‘An integrated school is basically a schoolwhere all religions are educated togetherand everyone is able to follow and learnabout their own traditions. It could go asfar as all-ability integration, e.g., disabledwith able-bodied, but I don’t see it in thatway. I see it in a Northern Ireland context of religion.’

While interviewees’ definitions/descriptions ofintegration evidenced a strong element ofshared perceptions, most also believed thateach school went about the pursuit of ethos in its own way. This was clearly down to theinfluence of a number of factors, e.g.,geographic location, religious demography, etc., but most importantly to the influence of individual teachers, especially Principals. As team leaders, all school Principals, to someextent, stamp their own mark on their school.In the case of integrated schools, and oftransforming schools in particular, they havean additional role of steering their schooltowards a destination which is pre-determined,but by a course which ultimately they have to

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map out for themselves. Not surprisingly, eachjourney is unique. This was certainly confirmedby the observations of those teaching staffthat had experience of working in more thanone integrated school:

‘It’s only my opinion but it depends on whoyour Principal is as to how the ethos of theschool goes. In this school the Principal’svery open to everything that’s going on andthat’s great. I certainly don’t feel threatenedin any way. You say your own opinion andit’s taken very well but my previous[integrated] school was not like that at all.’[Teacher/grant-maintained post-primary]

Information deriving from interviewsthroughout the case study schools clearlyrevealed that integration in practice took anumber of forms. At the same time, there was a fairly universally held perception that itinvolved a process which had to be bothongoing and empirical. The process was notautomatic however - it had to be put in placeby the school. This was an importantdistinction:

‘I think it’s something we’ve realised will not just happen and through the past yearwe actually appointed someone to try tomake it happen...It does need seriousconsideration and work and it’s not anongoing process.’ [Principal/grant-maintained post-primary]

‘I would hate to think that you would everhave achieved integration. That would bejust an illusion because every human beingis a changing, growing human being. Youhave to acknowledge that with constantchange you have to constantly address newthings - a learning process for myself. I thinkthat has been the most exciting part of thiswhole situation...it is a process, for theindividual, for the school and for themovement and I can’t think that even werewe to achieve integration throughout

Northern Ireland the process would stillhave to go on because that’s human nature.’[Principal/grant-maintained primary]

When undertaken, practicing integrationappears to have had a far from smooth path.The same Principal succinctly concluded:

‘Talking about it is one thing; putting it intopractice is quite another.’

Both teachers and Principals of plannedintegrated schools described how in the earlyyears it was a process which sometimes waslost sight of amid the huge amount of workinvolved in setting up a new school.Consequently they had to keep remindingthemselves that they could ill afford not tosustain the ethos which had fostered it. Notsurprisingly, it was the more tangible aspectsand especially the necessity of achieving areligiously balanced intake that impinged onstaff, particularly Principals. One Principalrecalled how this had been brought home veryforcibly when parents from the small minorityin the school complained that their childrenfelt under threat and that they would beprepared to take them away. This compelledthe school to take stock:

‘We had a look at where we were going withintegration and did this mean that we hadto just sit back and say all right the childrenare in the school and that will integratethem enough so we’ll try and bring it inthrough History and Geography and do itvery quietly or we could be pro-active orwhat should we do? At that stage weappointed an integration co-ordinator andbegan an action plan.’ [Principal/grant-maintained post-primary]

Having played a prominent role in the foundingof planned integrated schools, many parentsdid have their own expectations of whatintegration should mean in practice. OnePrincipal believed they were being unrealistic:

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‘In any integrated school, there are peoplewho also want to push their ownagenda...parents who would have readsomething or who would have had a badexperience of education themselves, sayingthis was too strict, too formal or I learnedfar more outside the classroom, or I wonderif we couldn’t invent a school where therewas a happier blend or where in fact thehidden curriculum would actually promoteit, so the children would have a very highself-esteem, etc., able to talk and sing anddance up on stage and do all sorts ofthings...and I agree with that as well but Ihave to say at the same time we are incompetition with other formal traditionalschools and if we can’t match theirstandard we will go down hill. We may alsoof course just attract pupils who want thatstyle of education. The integrated schoolhas got to be a broad church but it has gotto base itself in its own locality and if thenorm is for high academic standard youhave to match that otherwise you are notgoing to be in the running.’[Principal/grant-maintained post-primary]

In a small number of instances, teachers andPrincipals said that pressure of work oftenmeant that work on integration received lowpriority. This feeling was also reflected inresponses to the teacher questionnaire. It maybe that some of the case study intervieweeswere reluctant to be quite as frank on thesubject as this senior primary teacher:

‘When I moved here from the maintainedsector, I came in blazing with enthusiasm... As the years progressed, the enthusiasm forintegrated education is still within me andstill within our school but certainly thepressures of the curriculum and everythingelse takes over completely. There’s no doubtabout it - we are always trying to tell thechildren that you are in a special school andwe are a different school from any otherschool. But unfortunately I have found

myself because I’m so heavily involved inassessments throughout the school and theraising of school standards that we couldeasily be tied in with the controlled ormaintained school.’ [Teacher/grant-maintained primary]

This inevitably raises issues that are essentiallydevelopmental. The research team knew thatalthough a ‘profile’ would in effect provide a‘snapshot’ of integrated schools, what theywere examining was not static but organic. It was important therefore to ask staff if theythought that the nature of integration hadchanged since its beginnings in 1981.Obviously those with the longest involvementfelt more able to comment so that the answersgiven are the product of their considerableexperience, which of course, included theirown development. These examples have beenselected and quoted at length because theyidentify significant concerns about how themovement has developed:

‘We are sucked along by whatever theGovernment’s priorities are for educationand this is not integration. It is that everychild is literate, numerate and competent onthe keyboard...A team of four inspectorsspent three days in school searching forflaws and integration wasn’t even a feature.So if that is their priority it has to be ours aswell...so we push integration to one side... Insome ways, yes, the concept and maybe theoriginal ideas, the lovely vision that peoplehad in their mind, the vision has beendeluded. When a new parent asks forinformation about the school as a lady didyesterday, I sent her a lot of documentationincluding the Inspection Report and wheredid she pick that it was an integratedschool? Somewhere obviously, yes, in thevision statement in the prospectus but shegot one hundred pieces of information andonly one of them was on integration- therest were on the school’s performance.’[Principal/grant-maintained primary]

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‘Well, the pioneer spirit isn’t here as it wasin the very beginning...but I think there’s agreater depth now to what integration is all about and I think that the integratedmovement has become so big that we allwork very much as a team to help eachother, e.g., when a new school has been setup, to share a problem, etc., so I think thereis a lot more depth to the integratedmovement than there was previously...thequality of it has probably improved a lot andwe’re all learning about each other. My bigworry now is transformation - if things aregoing to go back again.’ [Principal/grant-maintained post-primary]

‘For grant-maintained schools, it can be likeflying without a parachute. It bothers me attimes and Principals have been lost - therehave been casualties and this is not good forthe sector. Why does it happen? Newgovernors arrive with no background ofinvolvement in integrated education but theyare ambitious, they think the school is theirown and they go head to head with a strongPrincipal or walk over and dump a weakPrincipal.’ [Principal/grant-maintainedprimary]

‘Each school is in effect autonomous - NICIEcannot dictate a model. We all have our ownideas. Is this a weakness? Yes, someintegrated schools are ending up likecontrolled schools, or CCMS schools. Anintegrated school should have at least threethings identifiable which is not the case atthe minute: respect for other cultures; apractice of mixing different traditions; and adifferent style of management.’[Principal/grant-maintained primary]

‘I don’t think the issues have changed. It is much easier now - to get money, to get status, if you can get the numbers ofchildren. In the beginning we were fightingto prove a point that the school would workand you had the belief that it would. Now I

think we have proved the point. I mean,sometimes the teachers who would comeinto integrated schools would come in fordifferent reasons. In the beginning I thinkpeople came because they had a convictionabout integration. Now I think someteachers are coming because it is a goodschool and it is a job.... so we makecommitment / interest in integratededucation essential criteria. We would stillbe quite strict about that.’ [Principal/grant-maintained primary]

Some of the issues raised in the commentsabove include concerns that:

• Integration may be becoming less of apriority on the part of government;

• The coherence of planned integration may be fragmented by the transformation model;and

• The profile of the integrated movement maybe damaged by disputes between Principalsand parent governors.

The movement has not stayed still - it haschanged over the years. In the opinion of some,this was largely positive and was only to beexpected and should be built upon; otherswere unhappy about the direction in which the government appeared to be leading them,especially over its transformation policy. Some felt that this could be an opportune timefor all involved to revisit the ‘basics’ of themovement. One primary Principal said:

‘You tend to get so concerned witheverything, integration almost getsforgotten but because it is the basis ofeverything we tend to pull back to that. If you have got to make a decision onsomething you go back to the integrationfact, that everyone is important and that weare here to help the children pull together.So that tends to be your guiding light.’[Principal/grant-maintained primary]

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TeachersPrincipals were asked about how important an applicant’s commitment to integratededucation was when appointing teachers. The majority considered that the mostimportant priority for them was to ensure theappointment of good teachers, people whowere experienced, committed to children andto education. At the same time, the degree towhich integration appeared to exert aninfluence on recruitment showed considerablevariation:

‘This is paramount. I think if you have ateacher like that and they are applying toyour school, their commitment to thevocation and the job will come through inwhat they are doing and also in the waythey approach integration as well...Ultimately you’ve got to have the bestpossible staff that you can have in theposition... And yes, on commitment to theintegrated ethos, I think for some thatwould be slightly stronger than others. But you would hope to get a balance.’[Principal/grant-maintained post-primary]

‘I would just assume that if they haveapplied for the job then they know that theschool is integrated. None of our questionsare ever towards anything to do withintegration. They are all job-related.’[Principal/controlled integrated primary]

‘Whenever we interview, the first and mostessential criteria is complete commitment. We interviewed one candidate and askedthem what they felt about integratededucation. They said, ‘I don’t have anyobjection to that.’ Needless to say, theydidn’t get the job.’ [Principal/grant-maintained primary]

While teaching staff stressed that theyregarded integration as important, the majoritywere adamant that it was the job of teachingwhich was their priority. In this respect, those

who had also taught outside the integratedsector argued that in terms of the day to dayrunning of schools, integrated schools were‘not that different.’ What might require someadjustment, however, could be not so muchwhat was done as how it was done:

‘They might find it more open anddemocratic. I think some of the teachersalso find it difficult if they have beenteaching in a Catholic school, they couldstick to the set of rules where you can say,‘that is a sin,’ the rules are easy. Whereashere it would be more difficult because theyhave to cater for a pupil differently and thechild might even challenge you.’[Teacher/grant-maintained primary]

The Vice-Principal of a grant-maintainedprimary agreed that regardless of commitmentto the integrated ethos teaching in anintegrated school was no soft option forteachers.

‘I think if you were to take the wide view ofit, more teachers would say, well, it’s a job. There are a few teachers out there who arecompletely committed and are excellentwithin the integrated sector but generallythey feel it is a job, first and foremost. I think the evidence is if they stay at it. It would be very easy for the Protestantteachers in this school to go into acontrolled school but they haven’t.’

At least two interviewees believed that lack ofcommunication among staff was unhelpful tothe promotion of integration. It is likely thatthe size of school as well as the nature of theaccommodation affects staff contact,especially informal contact:

‘I sorely miss the concept of a centralcorridor where you walk down and look ateverybody’s work...I would love a front doorand a corridor and a foyer where peoplecould gather and chat. So it does affect us.

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It does even affect the curriculum becausethe interaction which teachers have fromjust bumping into each other in the corridorand picking up ideas from others. Ourteachers are very good and we wander intoeach other’s rooms and sit on the desk andchat but there is still something missing. It is called circulation space and it happensin corridors and foyers and open areas.’[Principal/grant-maintained primary]

Even in the staff rooms of small primaryschools communication and therefore thediscussion of contentious issues could bedifficult. One teacher claimed that this hadbeen easier when the school had opened:

‘In the past, we used to have an evening insomebody’s house and we would just throwout pieces of the newspaper, or the bible,etc., and then we would talk about whatthat meant to us. It was hard at thebeginning but it was a very good way ofopening up and we are all from differentbackgrounds and we have all been broughtup entrenched in one side or another and itwas a great way of sharing that we all wentthrough the same.’ [Teacher/grant-maintained primary]

But in more recent times, there had beenavoidance of ‘difficult’ issues:

‘Last year, when the Assembly was set up - I mean that is very controversial but alsotopical - I said, ‘Well, what do you all thinkabout the Education Minister?’ There was asilence and then thankfully one of theteachers talked about it. I am from theCatholic tradition; she is from theProtestant tradition. So she gave her viewand I chatted back and the other teacherskept their heads down. Like this is day-to-day life - if we can’t talk about it, how canwe go into our classroom and expect tomarry the two diversities together in theclassroom.’

It is possible to identify a number of differentperspectives held by teachers on the questionof becoming ‘integrated’ that must influencethe process as a whole:

Integration as an ‘add-on,’ e.g.,

‘It’s more like, you’re just in the school, youteach your subject, you do your work andtry to tuck in integration somewhere ifpossible.’ [Teacher/grant-maintained post-primary]

Integration will happen as a matter of course, e.g.,

‘We don’t go out of our way.... for us, therewasn’t a process of integration...we alreadyhad a mixed staff both teaching and non-teaching. We already were confident witheach other about our integrated nature soreally for us, I don’t think there was anydifference at all...any thinking personshould be able to rationalise their ideas andaccept/work within the system and behappy with it.’ [Teacher/controlledintegrated primary]

The staff should be a model of integration forthe school community, e.g.,

‘As a teacher, you have to start bydemonstrating ways of behaving and inter-acting in your own practice withwhomsoever you meet. Essentially at thecore of it all, for me, is respect - respect forsomeone else’s point of view, background,whatever...In demonstrating that as ateacher, you have already taken the firststep.’ [Teacher/grant-maintained primary]

What these suggest is that as far asintegration is concerned, there is no base-lineby which the ‘level’ of integration attained canbe judged. Commitment to integratededucation as expressed at job interview isunreliable:

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‘Somebody can come in and give a verycommitted answer and not mean a word of it.’[Teacher/grant-maintained post-primary]

At the same time, most case study intervieweeswere positive towards integration. The differenceslay in how individual staff members thought itshould be attained and in what they thoughtthe nature of their role in this should be.

Support staffThe environment, or atmosphere or ambiencewas stressed by many interviewees as playing asignificant role in facilitating integration for allin the school. Ancillary or support staff areperhaps in a position uniquely suited to theobservation of the workings of the ‘hiddencurriculum’ and they were therefore asked to‘describe the atmosphere’ in their school. Theirperspective is especially interesting regardingthe social hierarchy operating in the school asa workplace and also in their perception ofhow the ethos operated. Although there weredifferences of opinion, the majority emphasisedthe positive aspects of working in anintegrated school:

‘I enjoy it. Nice atmosphere, people get on. I worked previously in a business complexas a cleaner. It was a completely differentatmosphere - the office people werestandoffish. You were just “the cleaner.”Here everyone is approachable, especiallythe Principal...Families in other schools donot seem to get as involved as here. It is“family-oriented” like a country school. I hear this from other parents and children.’[Caretaker and parent/grant-maintainedprimary]

‘At the start of the year there was always abig meeting, everybody was invited, thewhole staff, not just teaching staff, wenever ever separated. So you were asked foryour input, e.g., whenever there are surveysbeing done...you never get the feeling thatyou’re put down just because you’re

ancillary staff or a technician. I know fromthe last school I was in teachers were aloof.They were like “we’re teachers and you’rejust underfoot.” Here that idea isn’t a partof work.’ [Technician/grant-maintainedpost-primary]

‘As a classroom assistant I feel very muchincluded, we can go to the staff briefings,we go to meetings, we’re very muchconsulted, particularly in the area of specialneeds...You feel really a part of the school.’[Classroom assistant/grant-maintainedpost-primary]

Communication between teaching and supportstaff was something that some support staffthought could be improved:

‘There is a sense of equality - there’s neverbeen any great feeling that you’re at thebottom of the heap or anything like that...but maybe communication doesn’tnecessarily get through. That’s where it fallsapart in a way...I don’t think it’s deliberate. I think it’s just a matter of it’s nothappening and it’s partly not happeningbecause you are not necessarily involved inwhatever particular meeting or it’s not thatyou even want to. If you have the relevantinformation to your situation with thatchild/person, it helps. The structures areprobably there for it but that aspect of itneeds a bit more work.’ [Classroomassistant/grant-maintained post-primary]

At post-primary level, a few support staff feltthe approach to discipline was different fromother, non-integrated, schools in which theyhad worked:

‘I don’t know if they are going about thingsthe right way discipline wise... I don’t know,maybe it’s a thing that integrated schoolshave. They’re a bit more wishy-washy and Iknow in one school that one of our teacherscame from, she wasn’t allowed to shout and

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she was always reprimanded for shoutingat the pupils and that was a rule they hadin that school. It’s definitely not a goodthing.’ [Technician/grant-maintained post-primary]

One interviewee whose children attended thesame school was especially critical of theintegrated education movement’s commitmentto treat everyone equally:

‘They are very good at accepting each otheras Protestants and Catholics but it is stillquite difficult to accept minority groupsand I think that is a very important issuewhich needs to be looked at and developed.We recognise that every child is unique -that doesn’t just mean if they are a Catholicor a Protestant. You sometimes get thefeeling that if you are doing this you arenot accepted, you know if they are all goingto the Catholic church for a service you areall integrated which to me is not right. I think that integration is being together,praying together, sharing what you believebut you don’t necessarily have toparticipate in things you disagree with toprove that...that is not the reason why I send my children to an integratedschool...We have Chinese children here andI don’t see why they should have to go toother church services which are not part oftheir culture just to make them feelaccepted.’ [School secretary/grant-maintained primary]

Another support staff interviewee saw littledifference from the maintained schoolsattended by her children:

‘I don’t see a lot of difference really. I don’tthink the fact that we are integrated reallycrops up a lot, if you know what I mean -the sort of things that are going on in theschool are mixed anyway and what went onin my children’s school goes on here too.’[Classroom assistant/controlled integrated]

ChildrenMost teaching staff considered that integrationshould be taking place on at least two levels -firstly, to bring together the two main religiouscommunities in Northern Ireland. Secondly,having brought them into contact with eachother, to educate them in a manner whichwould enable them to live together. The keyelement emphasised by all was the child-centred focus of this educational processwhereby each child would be regarded as anindividual worthy of respect regardless ofability, religion, social background or gender. A child who was respected would respectothers and would hopefully become a ‘fulfilledand caring adult.’ Almost all teaching staffdefined integration in terms similar to above,defining community division but also goingbeyond the provision of contact to thefacilitation of preparation for life in a pluralist society.

It was recognised that like all members of theschool community, children also derive from avariety of backgrounds and that their attitudeswill be correspondingly different when theybecome members of an integrated schoolcommunity. Most teachers believed thatparental commitment was vital and couldmake or break the efforts of the school butthat should not prevent the school frommaking the effort to promote integration:

‘I think it depends really on the parents,because I think the schools are here, theteachers are here and the way I see we alltry to promote one thing and to work forthe pupil but if you get the pupils in whoseparents are not really so committed...youstill need them as a major force in thebackground even if they don’t care.’[Teacher/grant-maintained post-primary]

‘I think the difficulty arises when childrengo back into their own community...Thatcan be difficult but at least their parentshave been open enough to send them here.

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Some of them, I think, that’s probably justbecause they live close to school but Iwould say there would be hard coreelements that maybe wouldn’t want to bepart of it but they accept it and we canaccept it in school.’ [Teacher/grant-maintained post-primary]

Given all this, did interviewees think thatchildren ‘can or do become integrated’?As with the staff, there is no benchmarkagainst which children can be measured. Levelsof integration would be highly subjective.When staff were asked during interviews ifthey had noticed differences/changes inbehaviour of children over their time in school,they found this extremely hard to pinpoint:

‘In the long run I would like to see aprogression from Year 8 to Year 11 but thatis going to take years and it’s going to bevery slow and I would say the biggestchallenge is that it is frustrating. Becauseyou don’t know how well they’re doing. It’snot like any other policy where you go fromA to B.’ [Integrated Education Co-ordinator/grant-maintained post-primary]

Comments tended to be general andaspirational, but at the same time, realistic interms of what was achievable, e.g.,

‘Yes. Children come together from differenttraditions and have more respect for eachother and understanding. It becomes anatural, right environment.’ [Teacher/grant-maintained primary]

‘Pupils, when they come to school, they are aware that they are coming to anintegrated school, especially from mixedmarriages - there are a lot of them. It isimportant not to see it as just Protestantand Catholic - there are other religions.Religion is just one aspect - formingfriendships, working together, eating in thedining hall - these are also important.’[Teacher/grant-maintained primary]

‘We are very well aware that children comefrom very diverse backgrounds and whenthey leave here they are not always goingto hear the kind of things we want them tohear whether in their own home or in thestreet or in the playground. We do try tobring to their minds the ideals and to putthem in context and at their level so thatthey can learn ways of coping with theissues that we think are important.’[Principal/grant-maintained primary]

‘Pupils can certainly adapt and take onattitudes and values within the school butchildren are still going home to their homesin hard line areas and I would imagine thatthey slip very easily back into theRepublican/Loyalist areas where they camefrom. But you would hope that somethingsticks on values. Certainly within the schoolyou’d never hear religious argument or anysort of conflict at all - to me that isimportant, that is a success.’ [Vice-Principal/grant-maintained primary]

‘There should be no difficulty for thechildren unless the parents are not behindthem. Children themselves are not botheredwhat people are, one way or the other butthey have learned perceptions of whatpeople should/shouldn’t be. Very often thecomments you might hear in theplayground have come from someone else.Children themselves are very accepting ofanybody and everybody and can integrateperfectly happily. It’s possible where parentshave strong, e.g., hard line views whichchildren overhear, pick up...but I don’t seewhy once they have been here and becomeused to it, they should begin to be able to realise.’ [Principal/controlled integrated primary]

‘Basically by the time they get to year 11/12they have known their form class for about3 years and they do know who’s Protestantand who’s Catholic, etc. I think it works

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well...most of them would happily say whatthey are. Although in some circumstances, Ido find students that are in a minority areprobably the quiet students. And it’s up tome to acknowledge that and to see wheremaybe they do feel embarrassed. It is a bitdifficult for them.’ [R.E. teacher/grant-maintained post-primary]

Relevant data from the informal interviewsconducted with groups of pupils has also beendrawn on for purposes of comparison with thekind of comments cited above. Pupils weredrawn from Key Stages 1-4. From the interviewdata, it is possible to cite a significant numberof perceptions which children shared andwhich are clearly identifiable as belonging tothe ethos of integrated education. Most werefound at both primary and post-primary levels,with the latter exhibiting, as one would expect, greater awareness and maturity in their handling of terminology and in theirunderstanding of the implications of what theysaid. Analysis of perceptions is given below:

Small classes were appreciated because pupilsbelieved they derived greater benefit fromteachers being able to offer them moreindividual attention. Primary pupils at P7 stageexpressed hope that their post-primary schoolwould be like their present school - also smallso that they would get to know people easilyand ‘not get lost.’

There was definite awareness of the traditionalreligious divisions in Northern Ireland. Almostall pupils even at P2 stage said that integratedschools were about bringing Protestant andCatholic children together under the same roof.By P7 stage this extended to ‘getting on witheveryone / not fighting over religion and politics.’

Friendship was regarded as highly important byall. Pupils valued the opportunity to makefriends from a variety of backgrounds. P7pupils said they hoped they would be able to

make new friends at their new schools andthat the older pupils would treat them withkindness. Teachers were praised for being‘friendly / caring / treating people equally.’

Most pupils from P2/3 upwards showed somelevel of understanding of the concept ofdifference in relation to the integrated ethos.Integrated schools, they said, were for allchildren. When asked what this meant,although the terminology used varied,essentially the message was the same. Childrenwere different but each one was ‘special’ andwas entitled to be treated with respect:

‘Every child in this school is different.Because they are different people and noteverybody has the same colour of hair. Theyare not all the same because some are boysand some are girls. Some people are smartand some people aren’t. Some people arebullies and some people aren’t.’ [P2/3 child]

‘Children look different, sound different,talk different, walk different but we are allGod’s family.’ [P3 pupil]

‘Since we were in the younger classes we’vealways known and been told that it doesn’tmatter what we are and that is why theschool is what it is.’ [P7 pupil]

‘The teachers don’t separate us. They don’thave favourites. They just treat us like weare all the same. Miss - usually talks aboutwe’re a special school because we areintegrated.’ [P7 pupil]

There were frequent references to the‘atmosphere’ when older primary and post-primary pupils explained why they liked theirschool. They found it hard to describe butinsisted that it did exist:

‘I would say the best thing about school isthe friendly atmosphere.’ [P7 pupil]

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‘The atmosphere. It’s a new school. It’s sortof personal.’ [Year 11 pupil]

‘I think it’s mainly just the whole schoolthat shows it (integration).’ [Year 10 pupil]

Most of the pupils interviewed thought theirschool was different from non-integratedschools. At post-primary level, this was formore sophisticated reasons, e.g., school policyon wearing/display of symbols/badges, abilityrange, tolerance of opinions as well as themore obvious one of religious segregation.One group of post-primary pupils commentedthat some pupils came for the ‘wrong reasons,’i.e., nothing to do with integration and thatthis could be a problem:

‘It takes quite a wee while for people to beintegrated. There’s a few people that werelike that but they’re not here any longerbecause they got into fights and things overa period of time...some only come herebecause they failed their 11+ or it’s closerto home.’

A group of P7 pupils agreed that although itwas possible to learn about different religionsin other schools, ‘we would not understand it as much.’

Many pupils at all levels felt disadvantagedbecause the accommodation in which theirschool was housed was poor in comparison toother local schools and that this often meantthey were made to feel second-best. Thisreflected what pupils had also said in thequestionnaire. A Year 11 pupil described howshe had felt as one of the first intake:

‘It was really, really humiliating becausewhen you went to all the other schools andthey were all really big buildings andeverything and here’s us with our two littlecabins. In August, I went down to see it -the whole thing was a pile of stones. It was

like in late August and it was a field. It wasa bit worrying.’

A P7 pupil whose school had been entirelylocated in mobiles for all of his time therecommented:

‘My cousin goes to St - and I think ourschool is really different because we are the only ones that have mobiles wheretheirs is plain buildings and if it is rainingthey don’t get wet going from one class to another.’

A number of pupils took pride in the fact thatchildren from different backgrounds, abilities,etc., were able to ‘get on with each other.’Adults were sometimes viewed as poor rolemodels by P7 children:

‘I don’t see why people can’t get along theway people in our school get along.’

‘We are different religions but we get on.They are adults and totally different to us.We are mature.’

There were a large number of the same fairlyaltruistic words/phrases which were used bypupils, e.g., ‘kind,’ ‘caring,’ ‘friendly,’ ‘different,’‘special,’ ‘fun’ and ‘equal.’

Older pupils, mainly at post-primary level,talked in terms of respect.

‘Respect. We hear that often, nearly everyday. Respect teachers, respect others,respect property.’

Integration in practiceAn important part of the design of the casestudy interviews was to gain further insightinto how individual schools tried to implementintegration in everyday school life. Thepreceding analysis has suggested what theethos appeared to mean to staff and pupils.Information from the case study interviews

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was also analysed to help build a picture of‘integration in practice.’ Two closely relatedrelevant themes were also incorporated intothe interviews because it was considered thatthe handling of these would help bring thepicture into sharp focus. These were ‘sociallydivisive issues’ and ‘rituals and symbols.’

How schools dealt with these two themes wasexamined under the headings of:

• Relevant policy/rules;

• Training/support for staff;

• The influence/impact of parental opinion;and

• The perspective of pupils.

Policy/rulesOnly the post-primary schools in the casestudies appeared to have anything approachinga formal structured way of dealing withcontroversial issues/symbols. This reflectedwhat many staff said in questionnaires. Thesituation in the primary schools appearedvague, with Principals often saying either thatthis was ‘not an issue’ or that it rarely was anissue for their school. Their approach seemedessentially informal and reactive, relying on the‘commonsense’ of individual staff members tocope if a problem arose. One senior teacherreplied: ‘Is there a policy? You’ll never get apolicy until something happens.’

At the same time, it was clear that in the earlyyears of some schools, there had beenincidents relating to the display of symbolsthat had caused considerable controversy,among both staff and parents. One school hadfaced the threat of closure over the withdrawalof children by parents ‘who did not realise whatit [symbols] was.’ The Principal firmly believedthat it had been a cathartic experience for the school:

‘Catholics outside were able to see that wewere not hiding Catholics under the table,that they had a clear identity in our schooland that in fact by displaying this symbolwe were probably doing things thatCatholic schools were not doing.’[Principal/grant-maintained primary]

One of the post-primary schools hadundergone a similar traumatic experience, alsoin its early years, when different groups ofparents had objected to pupils wearingRemembrance Day poppy badges in Novemberand/or black ribbons to commemorate BloodySunday in January. It was clear that the schoolhad tried to use this experience to put in placeprocedures designed to assist in dealing withsuch highly sensitive matters in future. Theevidence does suggest that many schoolsmaintained an unwritten policy whereby nosymbols with the exception of the schoolbadge were put on display on walls, etc. orworn by pupils. Most often mentioned inconnection with the latter were football shirts,which in the Northern Ireland context areoften identified with political as well assporting allegiances. Teaching staff from atransforming primary school emphasised that aban had to be instituted only after a visit to anEMU partner school whose pupils greeted theirvisitors wearing the other team’s footballshirts.

However, what were termed ‘symbols ofworship’ could be used for the purpose ofweekly assemblies/lessons. One primaryPrincipal explained the rationale:

‘We set up a religious programme and wehad a lot of meetings about it. We haddecided beforehand that we wouldn’t haveany symbols in the school unless they werepart of a lesson. The group at the beginningfelt it was better not to have them at allbecause they could be divisive, they couldupset people and that has worked well

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because it has meant that it has never beenan issue. We don’t have any joint symbolsbecause we are not trying to make a newgroup - we are trying to bring the twocommunities together. I think the schoolcrest does this.’ [Principal/grant-maintained primary]

Not everyone was happy with this kind ofsolution to problems of symbols, preferring amore pragmatic approach. One post-primaryteacher said:

‘I think we ended up deciding to ban thewhole thing really because it was becomingtoo contentious. Some people thought thatwasn’t the way forward for integration. Itwas such a dicey one, it was very difficultand maybe it was the best decision at thetime. Other issues are dealt with better, forexample, relationships between differenttypes of staff be it teachers, caretakers, etc.and that’s quite good ... teachers workalong with them and their ideas arebrought to us.’

Training and support for staffThere was little evidence of formal training forstaff in dealing with potentially divisive issues.As mentioned in the responses toquestionnaires, there was much reliance bystaff on the informal network of supportprovided by colleagues, even in the post-primaries where staff could call on a formal‘chain of command,’ e.g., the Year Head. Co-ordinators at the time of the survey seemed forthe most part in the beginning stages ofdeciding how best to go about the business ofsupporting staff. Some were further down thispath than others, e.g., one had established aworking party and had conducted an in-housesurvey of staff and pupils on integration. Someteachers felt that the main ‘sticking point’ laywith the staff themselves, because they werereluctant to confront issues that had thepotential to divide them as staff. One teachersaid that this was a ‘sad fact.’ Courses

facilitated by experts from outside schoolswere therefore welcomed and a number ofschools already make use of these. Themediation training programmes directed byJerry Tyrrell of the University of Ulster and hiscolleagues were thought to have beenparticularly useful. In general, teachers feltgreater follow-up was needed from in-house to one-day courses. Recognising both the needand the problems of facilitating this, one post-primary Principal stated:

‘We did look at a number of things on aresidential but really even though we weretwo days away cooped up together theamount of time that is necessary toactually do anything other than scratch thesurface is enormous. Also to bring people toa point where they want more than thesurface to be scratched and want to bechallenged or made to think about aparticular issue...yes, we probably do needto try and be more pro-active on that. Quitehow you start that, or where you fit thatinto the day, when people are so busyanyway it is difficult. It is a sensitive issuethat needs treated with a lot of care.’[Principal/grant-maintained post-primary]

The influence of parentsAs suggested above, parents have been able to bring considerable influence to bear onintegrated schools in their handling ofcontroversial matters. Given the high parentalrepresentation on governing boards togetherwith the strong emphasis on parentalinvolvement, this is perhaps not surprising.Parents have themselves at times been thesource of controversy to the extent that in atleast one situation, a change of policy on thewearing of badges had to be made, despitestrong misgivings on the part of some staff. Ina few instances, parent groupings or individualparents, as one Principal said, ‘with their ownwee agenda,’ appeared to have initiated or‘ratcheted’ up tensions. Generally, parentalinput was welcomed, valued, respected, but

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also accepted with staff always attempting torespond in a non-confrontational manner:

‘Staff do not make a big deal out of, forexample, a child turning up wearing afootball shirt. They would say, ‘You’re in the wrong jersey today.’ [Principal/grant-maintained primary]

At the same time, teaching staff were quiterealistic about what many parents reallythought about the fact that their child’s schoolwas integrated, concluding that a goodeducation and the happiness of their childrenwere most parents’ primary concerns, withintegration being viewed as separate orperhaps even serendipitous:

‘Maybe specific parts of the communitythink integrated schools can deal withcontroversial issues... The parents here -there would be very few of them wouldthink they would be the best ones to godown the Garvaghy Road and sort that out.I think their impression of integratededucation and what they want to know isthat their child is going to want to come tothis school in the mornings and is going tomeet them with a smile and a cuddle whenthey come home and that they are mixingwith other religions. The aim that they aremixing with other religions - they’re notnecessarily interested in going into anydeeper water. To them, that is grand thattheir child is confident, is well educated, ishappy, and has an ability to tolerate othertraditions.’ [Senior teacher/grant-maintained primary]

‘There are a number of parents who wouldask that their children don’t activelyparticipate in assembly or in RE lessons butagain that would be quite a small number.There have been kids who have beeninvolved in a flute band or the like but itdoesn’t really bring any great tension intothe school. We don’t make a big issue of it,

I suppose, and parents are more concernedabout work and about lunches and aboutthe buses and about the academic progressof their kids. For a lot of parents, theintegration thing is nice but it’s aboutgetting the other bits right first.’[Principal/grant-maintained post-primary]

Pupils’ perspectivesThe post-primary pupils who were interviewedshowed good understanding of the need forsensitivity over contentious issues, wearing ofsymbols, etc. They acknowledged that badgesfor charities or their schoolhouse were ‘OK’because ‘they do not offend anyone,’ andexplained:

‘Ribbons, yes, if they are for cancer orbreast cancer or maybe a charity sort ofthing but it is not OK to wear anythingthat’s related to a cause. We’re not allowedto wear stuff like Rangers’ badges. You’renot really supposed to make a politicalstatement.’

Older boys talked of how when they wereyounger they had maintained a practice ofwearing football shirts below their school shirtbut had now given this up:

‘The first and second year, there was likepeople, boys wore Rangers tops onunderneath their shirts and stuff. Therewere a few like slogans and stuff and it wasprobably made an issue in assemblies but Ithink once you get more mature you justkind of think, what’s the point?’

Their comments also confirmed their teachers’attempts to manage contentious issues in a‘low-key’ manner:

‘Maybe a teacher would say something inPE if they’re wearing strips or anything.You’re not allowed any of that. If you didn’thave anything else, they would let you wearit. They would prefer you not to wear it.’

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They also appeared to value the fact that theycould talk openly about issues, though insisted‘it was no big deal,’ and that sometimes as faras Northern Ireland politics were concerned,‘People just want to get away from it all.’

It has already been acknowledged that eachschool involved in the case studies largelyfollowed its own path as far as implementingintegration was concerned. School staffidentified what they considered to illustrateintegration in practice. Pupils answeredquestions designed to probe for examples ofthe same. From an overall examination of thismaterial, the following have been highlightedto show examples of shared points of view:

Teaching style - This was defined as open andchild-centred. Subjects like English, History,R.E. and P.S.E. were regarded as especiallysuited to the discussion and explanation ofcontroversial issues. Teachers of other subjectsfound the latter more difficult.

Curriculum subjects - Where the curriculumpermitted, schools tried to offer subjectsreflecting the main traditions and cultureshere, e.g., in history, music, literature and sport.

Discipline - There was a strong emphasis onencouraging pupils to take responsibility fortheir actions from primary level on, withsituations being viewed in the context ofschool and community.

Symbols/rituals - The majority of schoolsprohibited wearing or display of symbolsconsidered to be potentially divisive. Thesecould however be used as an aid to instruction.Schools frequently held two different types ofassemblies - one reflected the declaredChristian ethos and one was usually acelebration of achievement. These were viewedas opportunities for the whole school to meettogether as a community and also withrepresentatives from the local community.

Staff - Interviewees included Principals,teaching and support staff. The support staffexpressed a strong sense, not only of sharing inthe life of the school, but of being valued fortheir contribution to it. Some teachersexpressed anxiety that integration was being‘pushed into a corner’ due to pressure of work.Informal discussion, reliance on informalnetworks of support or mentors, residentials,and staff handbooks were also mentioned inconnection with integration in practice.Teaching staff with special responsibility forintegration had been appointed in mostinstances but post-primary co-ordinatorsshowed more evidence of a structuredapproach.

Parents - While recognising the input ofparents, schools had at times found difficultyin balancing their interpretation of the ethoswith that adopted by a small number ofparents. On a few occasions, teachers owncommitment to the ‘partnership’ aspects of theethos had therefore been severely stretched.Most parents, it was felt, were supportive ofstaff and did not fit this profile.

Pupils - Most pupils interviewed showed somedegree of awareness of the meaning of theword ‘integration.’ This varied from the basic level of trying to bring the two maincommunities together to more sophisticatedperceptions involving the school as a working model for the community. Childrendemonstrated that they had been made awareof responsibilities for their actions andbehaviour and set much store on making andmaintaining friendships across difference. At the same time, older pupils were remarkablyphlegmatic about being ‘integrated’ pupils,with telling insistence on the whole process asbeing natural. This finding in itself must raiseimportant questions about the degree to whichintegration in practice can be formalised.

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Some conclusionsNo single model of integration emerged fromthe case studies. While the underlyingprinciples remained the same, there was morethan one modus operandi. In terms of schoolpolicy, it seemed to depend on a number offactors that can include the following:

• Attitude of the Principal;

• Attitude of key personnel especially seniorstaff and/or staff given special responsibilityfor integration, e.g., co-ordinators;

• Type of integrated school, i.e. new ortransforming;

• Primary or post-primary level;

• Location and demographic balance betweenthe main traditions; and

• Influence of parents - founder parents andmore recently involved.

As regards the actual implementation ofintegration, it was possible to identify threeways in which schools approached the conceptof integration:

• Passive - do almost nothing because it willhappen ‘naturally’ anyway;

• Reactive - do something if the need arises;and

• Pro-active - after consultation with staff,etc., agree policy, establish appropriatestructures, e.g., appoint Integrated Educationco-ordinator.

How people understood integration was crucialto how they went about implementing it. Inboth questionnaires and case study interviews,repeating the same terminology to explain theintegrated ethos was easier for staff thanfinding the vocabulary to define what it mightmean in practice. The ethos was interpreteddifferently in practice by different people.Deciding what to do and how to do it was

therefore far from simple. There was strongevidence to suggest that in some schools anorderly environment was maintained by theavoidance of controversial issues, notsurprising perhaps when some staff complainedof being too swamped in paperwork orproblems with parent ‘cliques’ to focus clearlyon integration in practice.

Another word that cropped up many times inteacher interviews and questionnaires was‘balance.’ This was not only about maintainingor trying to maintain a religious balance inpupil numbers, though ultimately it could, ofcourse, affect it. It concerned a kind ofbalancing act which schools felt compelled tomanage in order to convince parents and thecommunity that the school’s promise to treatall pupils equally was indeed being fulfilled.The pursuit of equity, however, could provetime-consuming and very frustrating. Thiscomment from a senior primary teacherillustrates this but also raises the questions, intheir anxiety to be inclusive what in effect areschools trying to balance, and with whatresult?

‘I think what needs to be stressed is thebalancing act that we need to perform, likeevery decision, no matter how small, youhave to think I wonder will that affectgroup A or how would group B take that onboard. Like this father came up to me andsaid why do you not start a Gaelic Club andI know he is doing that because we have avery successful Soccer Club and I know he istrying to get the balance. It gets a bittedious - where do you stop? We had a sortof inter-active bible day and it was calledan Amazing Journey and it was a journeyfrom Genesis right through to Revelationsand it was brilliant, I mean brilliant. Acouple of parents complained that it was aProtestant point of view. I don’t know whatbible it came from but the same course wasused at St - ‘s primary school for two days

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... Sometimes I wish the parents wouldbecome a wee bit more integrated.’

At the same time, it was clear that overallthere was a general willingness, in some cases,anxiety, to come to terms with theimplementation of integration in practice. In anumber of instances this seems to have beenspurred on by the realisation that there was aneed to ‘return to basics,’ i.e. to re-visit thefundamental tenets of the integratedmovement. A working party established byNICIE has published a guide to integrationaimed at teachers new to the integrated sector,which would also appear to reflect this need.A number of teaching staff said that contraryto what some of the public thought, integratedschool teachers did face up to the issues morebecause they had to deal with differenceactually there before them in the classroom.

The basic difficulty for some teachers,including Principals, seemed to be how toincorporate integration into their concept ofwhat an integrated school should be. In anumber of cases, it appeared easier to keep itseparate, almost as an ‘add-on.’ This explainscomments like being too busy with ‘normal’concerns to attend to this or ‘it’s hard to thinkof this when you are teaching maths,’ or even ina very few instances, a degree of panic whenan incident occurs for which people eitherwere not prepared or did not have access tosupport structures. More staff, however, clearlydid view the promotion of integration as anintegral part of school life - something thatcould not and should not be dealt with as aseparate entity. Integration co-ordinators wereonly too aware of the problems of trying to‘integrate’ the ‘integrators:’

‘At the moment, we need to talk to staffand re-evaluate where they are. We have tostart thinking about their commitment tointegrated education and how they canprogress from this point on. I am beginning

to think we are not integrating as people.We are not integrating as staff and we arenot actively integrating our pupils andthat’s what we are here for. What are wetrying to achieve?’

THE PAST PUPIL STUDYThe past pupil study was the first attempt totrace the early school leavers from integratedschools. In May 1999, the two longestestablished integrated post-primary schools inNorthern Ireland were approached andpermission was given by the Principals for adatabase of past pupils to be set up in each ofthe schools. Names and addresses were takenfrom school roll books and files and a list of915 past pupils was eventually compiled. Thefindings from the study are described in thisfinal section.

IntroductionResearch attempting to examine the potentialimpact of integrated education facesconsiderable methodological, logistical andethical difficulties, with the result that work todate has been fragmented and ‘elusive’ (Abbottet. al., 1998). The first major study (Irwin,1991) found an increase in the number andduration of inter-community friendshipsamongst current pupils and those who hadrecently completed their education. In a studyof integrated and desegregated schoolsMcClenahan (1995) suggested that crosscommunity relationships were increased byinter-group contact. She found no evidence ofany change to national or socio-politicalidentity as a result of co-education. Stringer,et. al. (2000) proposed that children in mixedschools adopt a more integrative position onkey social issues in a divided society. It has alsobeen suggested (Wicklow, 1997) thatdiscussion of sensitive issues, in addition to thehidden and informal curricula, may be animportant way of promoting mixing inintegrated schools.

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This study aimed to begin to address thesignificant gap in the research regarding thelong term impact of integrated education byproviding insight into the impact of integratededucation on two populations of past pupils.Specifically it sought to investigate the impact:

• On respect for diversity;

• On subjective personal and social identity;

• On life choices; and

• On opinions on the future of NorthernIreland.

With regard to the second objective above,theoretical perspectives on social identity andsocial categorisation that have previously beenapplied to aid understanding of conflict inNorthern Ireland can be considered in respectto the findings. These include Social IdentityTheory (Tajfel, 1978) which suggests thataspects of self are derived from the socialgroup that you perceive you belong to andSelf-Categorisation Theory (Turner, 1991) whichemphasises the importance of group overpersonal identity and the emotional investmentpeople in Northern Ireland can make in theirsocial identity. This is in contrast with Giddens’(1992) view of personal identity as a keyfeature of modern society. Weinreich (1989)has suggested that exposure to differentindividuals can establish a new context forself-definition thus suggesting that aspects ofidentity are both fluid and changeable. If thelatter holds true it raises questions forintegrated schools that subscribe to astatement of principles that include acommitment to nurture the identity of parents (Internet Source 1).

MethodologyPast pupils from the two longest establishedpost-primary schools were traced in order toexplore the impact of integrated post-primaryeducation. Of the post-primary integratedschools, only two were deemed to have been in

existence long enough to have a valid numberof past pupils.

Ideally former integrated pupils would havebeen compared with students who attendednon-integrated post-primary schools. However,due to time constraints this was not possible.The tracking down of past pupils was aparticularly time-consuming activity as theaddresses in school records were often out ofdate. This study does not seek to drawcomparisons between the integrated schoolsand other types of schools (controlled and/ormaintained). Rather it aims to provide insightsinto two populations of pupils, their schoolenvironment and the legacy of their integratedschool experiences.

Some effort to contextualize the findings wasmade by referring to the Northern IrelandSocial Attitude Survey (Robinson, 1998) toprovide comparisons with the views of thepopulation of Northern Ireland as a whole.Please note that the latter survey took abroader cross-section by age of the communityand was an earlier study.

Two methods were planned – a questionnairesent out to past pupils and semi-structuredfocus group interviews. It was anticipated thatissues arising from the survey returns wouldinform the interview schedule for the focusgroups. Meetings were arranged with thecurrent Principals of both sample schools andpermission given by the Boards of Governors toproceed with the research. It was intended tosample the first five hundred students at eachschool but this proved challenging as nocomputer records were available at eitherschool. Eventually databases of 500 and 415names respectively were set up, exhausting allavailable names. Arrangements forconfidentiality were negotiated with theschools. They then held the only databases ofpast pupils.

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A survey was compiled to collect bothquantitative and qualitative data. Four sectionsasked questions relating to:

• Data collection regarding personalbackground and school leaving qualifications;

• Experiences at integrated post-primary;

• Impact of integrated education on friendshippatterns and life choices, formativeinfluences on social and cultural affairs; and

• Opinions on current Northern Ireland issues.

A number of questions were included to allowdirect comparison with the 1998 NorthernIreland Social Attitude Survey (Robinson,1998). The survey was then piloted with agroup of sixth form students at School A.

The second strategy for collecting data on theimpact of integrated education was the use offocus group interviews to supplement surveydata. The reasoning behind the use of focusgroups in this study was three-fold. Firstly, toadd richness and depth to the survey data,secondly, to test propositions emerging fromthe questionnaire analysis and, thirdly, toencourage validity by the mutual negotiationof responses by participants. The sessions wererecorded in writing by three non-participatingmembers of the research team and detailednotes were subsequently drawn up.

ResultsThe results of surveys and focus groupinterviews with a total of 159 past pupils arepresented here. Analysis of the data identifieda series of emergent themes and discussion ofthe data will be around these themes, drawingon the evidence as appropriate. The four corethemes are the impact on the respect fordiversity/promotion of security in a pluralenvironment; the impact on perceptions ofidentity; the impact on life choices andfriendships; and hopes for the future ofNorthern Ireland.

The number of surveys returned wasdisappointing, with a total of 112 out of 915.However this may not accurately reflect on thewillingness of past pupils to participate. Itmust be remembered that with no past pupildatabase available at either school, the studyhad to rely on names and addresses thatstretched back nearly twenty years. A limitednumber of telephone numbers were in theschool records, but in a small sample testedonly 2 in 20 were found to be current.

The past pupils constituted a survey groupbalanced both by gender and religiousbackground (Table 3). Although there weremarginally more Catholics than Protestants,there were a significant number of Others (25 percent) who could have had either aCatholic or a Protestant background, or neither.According to recent census figures the numberof people with ‘no religion’ or choosing not tostate a religion, rose from 10% in 1991 tonearly 14% (17% in Belfast) in 2001 (Internetsource 2). Thus there were considerably moreOthers in the sample than in the population as a whole.

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As can be seen in Table 4, the focus groupsample encompassed the full range of potentialpast pupil ages and also a good overallCatholic/Protestant balance. More pupils fromSchool B than School A participated in thefocus groups for several reasons. Firstly, SchoolB appeared to be in more regular contact withits past pupils and secondly, more of its pupilsappeared to still be in the locality. It is also

noteworthy that there was not a balance ofCatholics, Protestants and Others in each focusgroup. This was due in part to difficulty inconvening the focus groups, which resulted insome being held on different days and alsothat the groups were arranged to reflectchronological pupil cohorts rather thanreligious balance.

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Table 3: The Past Pupil Sample

Number of pupils School A School B Total Male 27 30 57 Female 28 27 55 Protestant 21 14 35 Catholic 19 30 49 Other 15 13 28 Total 55 57 112

Table 4: Composition of Focus Groups

Catholic Protestant Other Total School A Group 1 1 3 0 4 Group 2 0 4 0 4 Group 3 4 1 0 5

School B Group 1 2 5 3 10 Group 2 6 2 1 9 Group 3 0 0 18 18 Total 13 15 22 50

Note: the third group at School B was recorded as Other due to their late arrival,which made it hard to ascertain their denomination, as this was determined at thestart of the other focus groups.

Initial plans to invite survey respondents to thefocus groups met with a limited response atSchool A, so new past pupils were brought intothe research by networking with other pastpupils. Only three former students took part inboth the survey and the focus groups.

Analysis of the survey data indicated that ofthe former students sampled:

• 93% reported that integrated education hadeither a major impact on their lives (45%) orsome impact (48%);

• 55% said school very significantly helpedthem to mix with the ‘other side.’ (Of thetotal sample, 21% had no prior contact and 59% only limited prior contact);

• There was an increase from 41% to 67% ofmixed friendships after attending integratedschool;

• Of those with a partner, 58% had one from a different background to themselves;

• 80% experienced opportunities to discussreligion and politics at school;

• 96% felt they had an increased respect fordiversity and increased comfort in a pluralenvironment; and

• The best way to increase tolerance inNorthern Ireland was, in order of priority –integrated schooling, decommissioning ofarms, integrated workplaces and housing.

Respect for Diversity/ Comfort in a Plural EnvironmentThe surveys had indicated that the majority ofrespondents felt that attending an integratedschool had made a significant impact on theirlives, with more than half stating it hadsignificantly helped in ‘mixing with the otherside.’ Exploration of this in the focus groupsindicated there may be a distinction betweenpast pupils who had mixed friends prior togoing to integrated school and those who hadnot. The latter group appeared to be influenced

more strongly by their experiences of mixing atschool:

‘…after integrated school it’s much easier tomix with and make friends with people.’

The former group, those who previously hadmixed friends, were relatively unmoved by thisaspect of integrated school:

‘…(I) wasn’t affected by integration. All (my)friends are mixed.’

Responses to the surveys had indicated thatboth the planned, formal curriculum andinformal day-to-day encounters had promotedeffective integration. This was borne out byfocus group discussions which revealed thatpupils learned about integration throughoutthe school:

‘…(There was) an air. We were supposed tobe together and talk about it.’

‘No set class on integration (took place). It was simply school.’

A number of participants pointed out that thisintegration appeared to be a subtle, low-keyprocess. One past pupil elaborated:

‘School A has no ideology, no hard believers.It prefers to sit on the fence. Integrationwas left up to ourselves.’

Assemblies were generally seen as animportant focus for integration, providingopportunities for different versions of prayers,such as the Lord’s Prayer, with (Protestantversion) or without the Doxology (Catholicversion).

Other past pupils quoted the influence ofparticular classroom experiences. Many valuedthe freedom to discuss traumatic events or toexpress their opinions in the integratedclassroom:

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‘I remember the two soldiers killed outsideCasement Park, Andersonstown. It wasdiscussed in form class in case anyone was upset.’

Genuine difference of opinion appeared to beexpressed openly. The role and skills of teachersin facilitating this in class was reflected incomments such as:

‘I think teachers here acted as mediatorswhen the issues and debates got heated.’

Informal encounters were also considered bythe past pupils as important opportunities forlearning about integration:

‘...from pupils. (I) don’t remember talkingabout politics, but (I) understood whyothers thought differently.’

Integrated education appeared to offer somean alternative to the perpetuation oftraditional divisions:

‘It’s not politics. Your attitude and religionare beat into you from an early age. Youeither get involved or not. Coming herechanged me.’

Sectarian or stereotypical views appeared to bechallenged in the integrated environment:

‘Oh, he’s a Protestant/Roman Catholic anddoesn’t have horns – (that) helped.’

The lessons learned appear to have persisted asthe focus group sample seem to find it easy todiscuss controversial issues in their currentlives:

‘(You) can see two sides to the argument.’

‘It is definitely easier for us (to discussreligion and politics).’

A small minority expressed a realistic concernthat despite benefits to the majority:

‘Some people may have left with bigoted views’.

This indicates that awareness of theCatholic/Protestant division in school hadperhaps been an issue for some. Translating thetolerant and empathetic viewpoint learned atintegrated school into action in their lives afterschool was not always straightforward:

‘People at work weren’t as open-minded asme – their views were really entrenched.’

Perceptions of Identity - Social IdentitySocial identity is treated here as distinct fromreligious identity, that is, reflecting associationwith a social category rather than actualreligious belief. Sixty three percent of thesurvey respondents reported no change in theirsocial identity, but considered themselves tohave become a more tolerant Catholic orProtestant as a result of attending anintegrated school. Some of these thought thattheir identity was now more moderate. Thirty three percent of the survey respondentsthought their identity had changed and for the better, as they now had more respect for others.

Considering the importance of socialcategorisation in Northern Ireland, the focusgroup participants were asked how theyclassified themselves – as Catholic, Protestantor Other. Reasons given for self-categorisationas Other included:

• A resistance to being classified (quoted bymajority of Others);

• Attendance at integrated school;

• Mixed (Catholic/Protestant) parents; and

• Did not feel either Catholic or Protestant.

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One past pupil was particularly emphatic:

‘I would like to see a box “None of yourdamn business!”

Did attending an integrated school makepeople feel less or more Catholic or Protestant?There was a variety of response to thisquestion, once again reflecting the individual’sexperience of integrated school and of thewhole process of socialization. Some respondedthat they were more Catholic or Protestant:

‘(I am) more a Protestant – able to stand upto people.’

Others indicated that they were less Catholicor Protestant as a result of attending anintegrated school:

‘I am less Roman Catholic than previously.Integrated education makes you less likelyto classify people. Unless the opportunity tothink rationally had been presented I wouldnot have been able to classify myselfaccurately.’

Some past pupils felt they were unchanged inthis respect, although sometimes other peopleassumed they had been changed by going toan integrated school:

‘I think some people think I’m less Catholicbecause I went to an integrated school butI’m not – I’m the same as them…’

A number suggested that rather than affirm ordisaffirm Catholic or Protestant identity,integrated education may allow you to exploreyour own identity and sense of self:

‘School A is not set up to make you lessCatholic or Protestant but to be yourself.’

Others talked of possessing a new moretolerant identity that:

‘…makes you listen to other points of view.’

‘…makes you open your eyes.’

Perceptions of Identity - Religious IdentityTo further distinguish between social and otheraspects of identity, the focus groups wereasked whether attending an integrated schoolhad affected the formation of their religiousbeliefs, political opinion or cultural viewpoint.

Little was contributed to the discussion on thesubject of religious belief. It did not appear tobe a topic of either relevance or interest to themajority. Some seemed to have had no specificbeliefs before going to integrated school andremained unchanged by the integratedexperience. It was suggested by someparticipants that other socializing factors maybe a greater influence on religious identitythan integrated school:

‘Mixed marriage is more influential onpeople’s religious identity.’

Perceptions of Identity - Political IdentityOpinions were divided between a majority whowere completely ‘turned off’ from politics and aminority who felt that integrated school hadinfluenced their political opinions.

The following are typical of the past pupilswith little time for politics:

‘Politics is something that adults do anddoesn’t concern us at all (agreement fromwhole focus group).’

‘I’m sick of the whole thing’.

However, some disagreed and expressed theview that integrated education had contributedto the development of their political views:

‘(Integrated education) opened my eyes topolitics in Ireland.’

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‘School made me more open-minded -being in an integrated school allowed methe space to formulate my own views and opinions.’

Others pointed to significant formative factorsoutside school that had helped to shape theirpolitical viewpoint:

‘(If you) watch TV you’ll be influenced on politics.’

Perceptions of Identity - Cultural IdentityOne past pupil felt that although in heropinion integrated education had no culturalimpact, it was correct for communities tomaintain their cultural differences. Theparticipants voiced a selection of theirinterpretations of the term culture:

‘I think there is a Catholic or Protestantculture, but no youth culture.’

‘We think our culture is about getting drunkwith friends!’

Other cultural influences and aspirations werealso given:

‘US / pop culture was more influential.’

‘We need a new shared culture if you ask me.’

It was acknowledged that defining the term‘culture’ was problematic:

‘Culture is a very difficult word to define. It could mean anything from films togroups in society.’

Memories of cultural experiences in theirintegrated schools were limited:

‘We had peace assemblies – mostlyreligious music.’

‘Only in history was culture discussed.’

Perceptions of Identity - Integrated IdentityA further aspect of identity investigated in thefocus groups was whether integratededucation encouraged the development ofother forms of identity. The majority of thepast pupils felt that they had taken on an‘integrated’ identity as a result of their schoolexperiences. This was in addition to their socialidentity (Catholic, Protestant or Other) andthey defined it mainly in terms of sharedvalues:

‘Integrated means to be broadminded andunderstanding.’

‘More tolerant people, better listeners.’

‘Integrated schools churn out people with aparticular identity. Better informed, morerounded, probably more positive.’

‘(I am) proud of (my) integrated identity.’

Some past pupils expressed the desire to see awider choice of identities in Northern Ireland,including an ‘integrated’ one. They seemed tofind the prevalent Catholic or Protestant choicetoo restrictive:

‘I wish there was another (identity).’

It would appear that if new aspects such as‘integrated’ identity emerge, wider society maynot always be receptive. One particular paststudent explained:

‘I’m in university now. It’s difficult tocommunicate with others on political issuesas they have closed minds. I used to makethe effort and challenge them but I thinkthey got sick of me because I was too”integrated“ if you like.’

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Life Choices and FriendshipsThe survey had suggested that althoughintegrated education had an impact on its pastpupils, the process of getting older and theimpact of families were more formativeinfluences. Impact on life choices appeared to be a very individual experience. For oneparticular pupil who is now:

‘…Studying community youthwork…integrated education has changedmy way totally – opened my mind.’

Another felt it had given her the impetus to dothings, but above all, to be herself:

‘It gave me the confidence to let otherpeople accept me the way I am.’

Others also indicated a change in their way ofthinking, but did not rate the impact so highly:

‘Not a big impact. More a contribution.’

Survey analysis had revealed a significantincrease from 41% to 67% in the number of past pupils for whom the majority offriendships are mixed after attending anintegrated school. This was despite thedifficulties of segregated environments outsideof school. One participant thought thatintegrated school did not affect his choice offriends, but it did provide him with plenty ofopportunities for mixing that he would nothave experienced in a segregated school:

‘We met in first year…we’re drinkingbuddies and we’re 23 now.’

Here a Protestant young man talks about theprocess of making friends after leaving school:

‘(Integrated school) makes it a lot easier. I would say roughly half my friends are Catholic.’

The survey had suggested that the pupilssampled had achieved well at GCSEexamination compared to the post-primarypopulation as a whole. The majority had goneon to further education after integrated schooland had then entered a wide range of careers.For some, school had no impact on their choiceof career. One individual talked of a specificcareer choice that stemmed from herintegrated school experiences:

‘Well, I’m studying community youth workin Jordanstown and I intend to work withboth sides of the community.’

Another participant felt that integrated schoolhad been influential as he now worked in across-community group directly related toSchool B. Others suggested that the impact ofintegrated education was more pronounced ontheir attitudes and social skills than on theircareer choices:

‘(Integrated education has) made me secureworking with others of different religions.’

‘I feel School A helped me to speak toothers – especially in my work where I havebeen the only Roman Catholic in mainlyProtestant surroundings.’

Fifty eight percent of the survey respondents,who had a partner, had one from a differentreligious or cultural background to themselves.The focus groups discussed whether integratededucation had influenced their choice ofpartner. The majority indicated that integratededucation had given them an opportunity tomeet with the ‘other side’ and also a desire tobe integrated:

‘It gives you the chance to meet peoplefrom the other backgrounds.’

Some mixed relationships had led to marriage.The focus group members appeared to value

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the freedom to choose partners from differentbackgrounds:

‘I am free to choose my partner. My friendslive within one area and don’t mix withothers. (It would be) totally different if theyhad mixed.’

Hopes for the Future of Northern IrelandIn July 1999, respondents to the survey werecautious about the potential of a NorthernIreland Assembly. Forty one percent had beenoptimistic and 33% pessimistic at a time when there were frantic attempts toimplement the Good Friday Agreement to allowdevolution to take place. By the time the focusgroups were convened in March/April 2000, theAssembly had been in place for only a shortwhile before being suspended. Unsurprisingly,the focus group sample was consequently morepessimistic about the chances of success for anAssembly. Many were also deeply cynical aboutthe Assembly members:

‘I have no faith in politicians…I thinkordinary people are wising up to them.’

It was clear that few felt that the politiciansrepresented them. Many past pupils felt thatmuch had been sacrificed for the Assembly.After seeing the out-workings of the GoodFriday Agreement their views on whether thesacrifices had been worthwhile varied:

‘I voted ‘yes’ in the referendum. I would liketo see it work. We have given up too much.’

‘It’s too one-sided. I voted ”no“ in thereferendum. I knew what would happen.’

There was a strong sense of frustration thateven though agreement had been reached andlocal democracy glimpsed, it had all beensnatched away:

‘I’m really disappointed because everyonewas represented in the Assembly and thenit failed…so typical of Northern Ireland.’

A minority of the focus group sample remainedcautiously optimistic about the Assembly. Theysuggested that people focused on what hadbeen already achieved:

‘It’s an achievement where we are today.People have more moderate thinking but itcould still go back to violence.’

‘An interesting time during self-rule -debates were held on real issues.’

The Future of Integrated EducationThe survey sample had been strongly in favourof an expansion of integrated education. Thefocus group sample agreed wholeheartedlywith this, requesting ‘more’ integrated schoolsand exhorting the government to ‘keep themgoing.’ Some went as far as to suggest that allschools should be integrated. Others weremore pragmatic, demonstrating the difficultiesinvolved in bringing about educational change:

‘It will be difficult to change the old boys’network (grammar system).’

‘You can’t force people.’

Participants suggested that integrated schoolscould improve by:

‘More emphasis on global (issues), ratherthan Ireland.’

‘Need to face and address contested issues.’

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Summary of the Findings of the Past Pupil StudyRespect for diversity and feeling secure inplural environments:

• The majority (93%) of the survey respondentsfelt that integrated education had made asignificant impact on their lives;

• The main impact on past pupils appears to bein generating a respect for diversity and afeeling of security in a plural environments(96%);

• Fifty five percent of those surveyed felt thatintegrated school had helped them ‘verysignificantly’ to mix with the ‘other side.’ Ofthe total sample, 21% had no prior contactand 59% only limited prior contact;

• Those with no/little prior contact with the‘other side’ were often the most influenced.They also found it easier to differentiate theimpact of their integrated school from otherinfluences;

• The majority of the sample learned aboutintegration through a ‘low-key’ approach, byboth formal and informal means;

• Eighty percent of the survey respondentsrecalled discussing politics and/or religion inthe integrated classroom;

• The freedom to express and to hearalternative views appeared to be importantin promoting tolerance and understanding;and

• Some past pupils found it difficult to adjustto less integrated work or studyenvironments after leaving school.

Perceptions of Identity• There was a split between self-categorization

as Catholic, Protestant or Other. Someshowed resistance to being classified;

• After attending an integrated school, somefelt more Catholic or Protestant, Others lessso. Some were unchanged;

• Few were interested in religion. There waslittle impact on religious identity;

• The impact on political identity varied. Themajority was ‘switched off’ to parliamentarypolitics;

• There was evidence of a lack of interest inboth organised religion and politics;

• Different interpretations of cultural identityexisted and the impact of integratededucation appeared to vary. There was recallof Catholic, but not Protestant culture beingtaught;

• Views appeared to become either strongerbut more informed or more moderate andtolerant as a result of attending anintegrated school;

• The majority had a sense of an additional‘integrated’ aspect to their identity – onethey described as broadminded,understanding and tolerant; and

• There was some evidence that the earlypupils felt that society invested in them.Most past pupils were proud of havingattended their integrated school.

Life Choices and Friendships• The order of influence on socialization

appeared to be getting older, family,integrated school;

• The impact of integrated school seems tovary between individuals;

• There was an increase from 41% to 67% inthe number of mixed friendships afterattending an integrated school. Many lastingfriendships were made;

• There was little evidence of impact on careerchoice. However the sample generally feltmore secure in a mixed environment;

• Fifty eight percent of the survey respondentswith a partner, had one of a differentbackground to themselves; and

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• The sample valued the freedom to choosetheir partner, irrespective of theirbackground.

Hopes for the Future of Northern Ireland• Focus group members were less optimistic

than the survey respondents regarding theNorthern Ireland Assembly. This may havebeen due to the timing of the research;

• The past pupils were cynical aboutpoliticians’ motives. They were fed up withrecycled arguments and did not generallyfeel represented;

• There was a sense of frustration at thesuspension of the Assembly;

• A minority remained cautiously optimisticabout the Assembly. They felt that real issueshad been debated; and

• The majority of the past pupil sample wasstrongly in favour of an expansion ofintegrated education.

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Some ConclusionsAlthough all available former pupils weresurveyed and/or interviewed in focus groups,the number sampled was small and nocomparisons are made with non-integratedschools. However, the data collected give ussome insight into the legacy of integratedschool experiences for the first past studentcohorts of School A and School B.

The majority felt that integrated education hada significant impact on their lives, with thosewho had the least prior contact with diversityoften the most profoundly influenced.Integrated education had resulted in anincreased respect for diversity and ability tofeel comfortable in a plural environment formost past pupils. The freedom to express andlisten to alternative views was felt to havepromoted tolerance and understanding. Theimportance attached by the former students tothe discussion of controversial issues in theclassroom supports the findings of Wicklow(1997). There was a significant increase in thenumber of mixed friendships sustained afterleaving an integrated school, in keeping withIrwin (1991) and McClenahan (1995). Theliberty to choose one’s partner irrespective oftheir background was highly valued by formerstudents. However although integrated schoolwas seen as a socialising influence, it wasconsidered less important than the influencesof getting older and family respectively.

There were mixed feelings about devolution ofpower from Westminster to the local Assembly,with some pessimistic and others cautiouslyoptimistic. Many were cynical about politiciansand frustrated at the political stalemate. Themajority were strongly in favour of anexpansion of integrated education.

This study provides some evidence thatintegrated education may impact on whatWeinreich (1989) defines as subjective personaland social identities. This is in contrast to

McClenahan (1995) who found no change tosocial identity as a result of integrated ordesegregated education. Integrated educationappears to offer young people the chance toconsider aspects of their identity in a tolerantenvironment. Identity is not threatened; ratherexploration appears to be encouraged. Forsome students the relative importance of socialidentity in Northern Ireland society rather thanpersonal identity forms (Tajfel, 1978; Turner,1991) may have been challenged. Themodifications some have made to aspects oftheir identity support a model of identityformation as an ongoing social process incontinual flux (Feinberg, 1999; Hall, Held &McGrew, 1992; Berger & Berger, 1972).Supporters of this concept of identity includeMcLoone who talks of identity as ‘artefact notnature’ (1991, p7). The emergence of acommon ‘integrated’ identity as an additionalcomponent of the former students’ identityprofiles supports Weinreich’s (1989) suggestionthat exposure to difference may encouragenew contexts for self-definition. If we areindeed cultural composites (Grant, 1997) andidentities in Northern Ireland are far fromhomogeneous (Bloomer and Weinreich, 2002)there are implications for debate about therole of integrated schools in nurturing aspectsof identity.

Implications for SchoolsFurther to the findings and discussion of thisstudy, schools may wish:

• To consider the acquisition of identity as anevolving process and to explore the role theymay play in this;

• To acknowledge a more diverse choice ofidentity forms in a multicultural society;

• To explore curricula, teaching methodologiesand styles that encourage exploration anddiversification of personal and group identity forms;

• To make provision for the ongoing training ofteachers in facilitating discussion ofcontroversial issues;

• To plan programmes of study that allow forsuch debate and to provide flexibility in thetimetable to discuss such issues as theyarise; and

• To establish past pupil records and/or pastpupil societies.

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CONCLUSIONSThis report has examined three strands ofevidence on integrated education in NorthernIreland: first, a survey of 40 Integrated schoolsto develop a picture of the schools, staff,students and parents in the sector; second in-depth case studies of 14 schools to gaininsight into integration in practice; and third, survey and focus group evidence collected froma sample of past pupils of two of the longestestablished Integrated schools.

The survey of schools suggested that they werewell regarded in their local areas, most ofwhich were heterogeneous in terms of religionand social background. Principals and teacherscame from diverse backgrounds, with about aquarter having received their training outsideNorthern Ireland. They generally felt supportedby other members of the school community,but identified frustration with the bureaucraticdemands and education initiatives from theDepartment of Education. The pupils, too, weregenerally positive in their assessment of theirschools and a majority of the parents in thesurvey expressed a commitment to integratededucation.

Respondents in the in-depth case study schoolsfelt that the Integrated schools were successfulin bringing together Protestants and Catholics.This was not always unproblematic however,and some respondents felt that, at times,pressure from other sources meant that thepriority attached to pro-active work onintegration was occasionally lessened. Relatedto this, some concern was expressed thatintegration may not be as high a priority forgovernment as it ought to be. Pupils said theyvalued the opportunity to make friends fromother communities, but felt that the facilitiesof their schools sometimes compared poorlywith neighbouring schools.

The teachers in the case study schools were abit more sanguine and identified different ways

in which the goal of integration was beingpursued. This reflected a broader conclusionthat a number of models of integration werebeing pursued in the schools: in some casesthe attitude seems to be that integration willoccur naturally once a diverse environment hasbeen created, in others the pattern is to reactto events and circumstances as they emerge,while in others the schools adopt a pro-activeapproach to addressing issues related todiversity. Unsurprisingly, therefore, there is alack of consensus on the ideal ethos ofintegrated schools. For some it was unclearwhether the priority should be towardsmaintaining a balance, in some empiricalsense, as opposed to the development of anintegrated environment although this is moredifficult to define.

The third strand of evidence was based on asurvey and focus groups with 159 past pupilsof the two longest established Integratedschools. Most of these young people felt thatattending an Integrated school had had asignificant impact on their lives. They felt thatthe schools had facilitated opportunities forthe exploration of issues related to differencein Northern Ireland, particularly for those whohad not previously had opportunities to meetmembers of the other community. There wasless consensus among the young people onwhether their sense of identity had beenchanged or deepened as a consequence ofattending one of the schools, although manyseemed not to rate religion or politics asparticularly significant in their lives. Of thosewho had a partner, over half had a partnerfrom a different community background.Diversity in their views on the impact ofintegrated education was reflected also in adiverse pattern of views on political issues inNorthern Ireland, although most were stronglyin support of an expansion of integratededucation.

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Published by the UNESCO CentreUniversity of Ulster at Coleraine

ISBN 0-9544544-1-3

Published March 2003