Conflict, Contact, and Education in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This article outlines educational responses to the conflict in Northern Ireland designed to promote intergroup harmony. Current research about the impact of these programs on children and young people is also reviewed to draw conclusions for practitioners in formal and informal educational settings who want to use intergroup contact to implement education for peace in the most effective way. The contact hypothesis has provided the theoretical framework for the majority of educational initiatives in Northern Ireland designed to promote peace, and it is used here to evaluate empirical evidence regarding the impact of such initiatives. In the main this evidence supports the importance of the key conditions for successful outgroup contact as originally proposed by the contact hypothesis. In addition, intergroup anxiety is identified as a factor mediating successful outgroup contact and attention is drawn to the potentially significant role of outgroup contact that is not experienced first hand, but indirectly through reports of relevant others.