TEACHING ACROSS THE DIVIDE: PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO THE MOVEMENT OF TEACHERS ACROSS THE TRADITIONAL SECTORS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

ABSTRACT

The community separation of the school system in Northern Ireland limits opportunities for daily cross-community interaction between young people. The deployment pattern of teachers is largely consistent with this divide. Pupils are therefore unlikely to be taught by a teacher from a community background other than their own. Nonetheless, recent research has shown that an increased proportion of teachers are diverting from the community consistent path and are teaching in a school not associated with their own community identity, although this remained a very uncommon choice. Narrative interviews with a purposive sample of these ‘cross-over’ teachers provide illustrations of the factors that preserve the separation of the teaching profession by community identity. Thematic analysis of this data reveals that policy, perceptions and practice combine to restrict the possibility of cross-community career movement by teachers. If the out-workings of community division in Northern Ireland are to be addressed, then these issues will need to be considered, and actions taken to mitigate this segregation.

Keywords:

• teacher identity
• segregated education
• community division
• Northern Ireland

7. Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to everyone who contributed to this research project. Particular thanks are due to Dr Alan McCully for his valuable feedback during the preparation of this paper.

8. Disclosure Statement

This work was supported by the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland through a funded PhD studentship.

Notes

^1. Teachers, in Controlled schools who on conscience grounds feel that they cannot teach religious education, can request to be exempted from teaching the subject. There is no equivalent explicit statement on teachers’ right of conscience for those employed in Maintained schools.

Teachers, in Controlled schools who on conscience grounds feel that they cannot teach religious education, can request to be exempted from teaching the subject. There is no equivalent explicit statement on teachers’ right of conscience for those employed in Maintained schools.

^2. ECNI research provided a breakdown against only three categories: Controlled, Maintained and Voluntary Grammar. Primary and post-primary figures have therefore been duplicated. The ECNI research had an additional identity categorisation ‘undertermined’.

ECNI research provided a breakdown against only three categories: Controlled, Maintained and Voluntary Grammar. Primary and post-primary figures have therefore been duplicated. The ECNI research had an additional identity categorisation ‘undertermined’.