On Tuesday 4^th November 2025, the BERA Presidential Seminar Series will hold an online event to focus Northern Ireland. During a period of significant educational transformation, and in the context of racist violence in Northern Ireland over successive summers, this seminar will bring together practitioners, policymakers and researchers to explore how principles of anti-racism can be foregrounded in educational policy, pedagogy and practice.

Northern Ireland has long had a troubled relationship with racism. During the years of conflict, racism was often ignored or denied as a problem, and race equality legislation was first introduced only in 1997. In the years since the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, as the proportion of NI residents from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased, racist incidents have reached alarming levels. In 2024/5, crimes with a racist motivation significantly outnumbered other forms of hate crime, and racist violence in Belfast in 2024 and Ballymena in 2025 made international news.

In education, the response to increased ethnic diversity in general, and racism specifically, has been variable. While schools are subject to the Race Relations Order, they are exempt from the Section 75 duties of the Northern Ireland Act to promote “equality of opportunity” and “good relations” between racial groups. A divided education system, stratified along religious and socio-economic lines, has been implicated in inequalities of experience and access for minority ethnic pupils, though examples of excellent practice are widespread across schools. The curriculum offers opportunities to explore cultural diversity, but can lack a critical approach to racism and relies on individual teachers’ willingness to develop culturally responsive pedagogies and resources.

However, NI education is currently in a period of transition, which may provide scope to address systemic inequalities and embed anti-racist practice. In 2024, the Education Minister announced a review of curriculum design and delivery, with a view to developing a new, knowledge-rich curriculum. The review report by Lucy Crehan, published in June 2025, argued that this new curriculum framework should “emphasise inclusivity and diversity”, retaining the flexibility for teachers to select resources and contexts that promote representation. This recommendation will be taken forward by a Curriculum Taskforce appointed to develop a new curriculum for implementation from 2026/2027. As this Taskforce promises to prioritise equity and ambition, commentators have highlighted the need to centre the voices, knowledge and experience of minority groups in knowledge-rich curriculum design.

At this critical juncture, this BERA Presidential Seminar provides a space to reflect on the role of education in challenging racial inequalities within the education system and in wider Northern Ireland society. The seminar will begin with a focus on the curriculum, exploring the recommendations from the curriculum review, the practice and potential of intercultural education, and grass-roots developments to redress the marginalisation of diverse histories and experiences in NI education. It will then consider what is required to address racial inequality and racism within the education system and settings, drawing insights from policy, research and practice. We hope the event will support educators and others as they act to meet the challenge of anti-racism in their work, beginning conversations that will evolve over the coming months.

Draft Programme

03:00pm                Welcome and introduction; Marlon Moncrieffe, British Educational Research
                                  Association

03:10pm                Anti-Racist Education in Northern Ireland: Urgency and Opportunity;
                                 Rebecca Loader, Queen’s University Belfast

03:20pm                Panel Session 1: Equality and Diversity in the Curriculum; Lucy Crehan, NI
                                 Curriculum Review ; Joanne Hughes, Queen’s University Belfast; Barbara
                                 Skinner, Ulster University

04:05pm                Panel Session 2: Embedding Anti-Racism in Policy and Practice; Chris
                                  Jenkins, Equality Commission NI; Erika Jiménez, Queen’s University Belfast;
                                  Charlotte Carson, National Education Union NI; Aisling O’Boyle, Queen’s
                                  University Belfast

04:50pm                Closing Remarks; Marlon Moncrieffe; Rebecca Loader

05:00pm                Close of Event