It matters how you manage diversity: cultural difference in Northern Ireland’s secondary schools

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine contrasting managerial approaches to cultural diversity in secondary schools in Northern Ireland and understand the influence of different approaches on school culture and student attitudes. Northern Ireland has a long-standing history of conflict between Protestant and Catholic cultural groups, which has led to a school system that is largely segregated. A recent influx of immigrants has added to cultural diversity in the region. This study compared two secondary, non-selective schools, one deliberately integrated, possessing a commitment to discussion and celebration of cultural diversity, the other circumstantially integrated (resulting from the influence of unrelated local conditions) with an approach that de-emphasised cultural difference among students. Drawing on interviews with principals and teachers, student focus groups, class observations, and field notes, the study found that discussion and celebration of diversity resulted in more positive attitudes toward diversity than an approach that de-emphasised cultural difference. The study concludes that in order to foster positive student attitudes toward diversity, discussion and celebration of cultural difference is more effective than a de-emphasis of cultural difference, and integration is more important than school type.

KEYWORDS:

• Northern Ireland
• diversity
• multiculturalism
• schools
• education
• integration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, JHN. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Notes

1 This study draws on data from a larger study that included, also, two schools partnered in a shared education program. Data from the shared education partnership was insufficient to draw robust conclusions, however, tendencies in the limited data base showed strong commitment to shared education by school leaders, mixed commitment from school staff, and an overwhelming sense that the effort required for shared education programming (paperwork, transportation logistics, scheduling) was large relative to the impact.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Center for Irish Partnerships, University of Massachusetts Lowell.