Editorial: Education research: Northern Ireland
Education in Northern Ireland (NI) is characterised by segregation along religious/sectarian lines underpinned by a long history of religious tensions and fractured politics. Ninety-three per...
Blog Special Issues
Education research: Northern Ireland
Education in Northern Ireland (NI) is characterised by segregation along religious/sectarian lines underpinned by a long history of religious tensions and fractured politics.
Ninety-three per cent of pupils in mainstream education attend schools with either a Catholic/Irish identity (maintained schools) or a British/Protestant identity (controlled schools), while only seven per cent attend integrated schools (NISRA, 2020). NI’s post-primary school system is also divided by a selection process which determines whether 11-year-olds attend a non-selective post-primary school or a selective grammar school. These unique characteristics lead to inefficiencies and inequities in NI’s education system – for example, controlled and maintained schools located close to each other, with empty desks due to a shortage of local pupils from one side of the community.
It is against this backdrop that this BERA Blog special issue captures some of the innovative education research being carried out by academics working in NI’s five higher education institutes – Ulster University, Queen’s University Belfast, St Mary’s University College Belfast, Stranmillis University College and the Open University. Research presented in this series makes for compelling reading about the future of education in Northern Ireland.
The series features contributions about:
- how a progressive NI education research agenda, aimed at improving the life chances of children in the ‘post-troubles’ era, can be implemented
- play in NI primary schools as a way of helping all children get a fair start in education
- why young people continue (or not) with the learning of languages in schools in NI
- Ulster University’s ‘Future Schools Toolkit’ which is designed to help schools critically examine their sustainability and consider different types of provision
- educating during the pandemic and resetting home–school partnerships
- the lived experiences of history and citizenship teachers in Northern Ireland
- a virtual reality project which explores pre-service teachers’ perceptions of contested spaces in NI.
A new agenda for teacher education research in Northern Ireland
The importance of teachers has long been recognised as central not only to the educational and personal development of children but also to societal wellbeing and economic growth (OECD, 2018)....
Prioritising ‘fair’ play in Northern Ireland primary schools
For many years, Northern Ireland has been renowned for producing academically high-achieving pupils, and while this has been the case for some young people, issues of division and inequality are...
Inequalities in language learning: What are they and how can we fix them?
Young people in the UK are less likely to study a language in upper secondary school than their European peers, and not just because they already speak English (European Commission, 2017). In...
A closer look at the Future Schools Toolkit
The proliferation of schools, management bodies and sectoral support organisations reflects the socio-cultural and political history of division in Northern Irish society. However, as recognised...
Learning from Covid-19 research in Northern Ireland: Resetting expectations for school–home–community partnerships
The impact of Covid-19 on learning experiences has dominated educational discourse over the past two years. Education practitioners and policymakers now have at their disposal a rich evidence base...
Who is your teacher and why does it matter? The lived experiences of history and citizenship teachers in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, as in other divided and conflict-affected societies, the contribution of education and, particularly, the school curriculum in aiding social cohesion has long been recognised...
Digital futures in Northern Ireland: Beyond a virtual reality?
On a recent first trip outside Northern Ireland, following my two years or so of Covid-19 bubbling, I was struck by the national media coverage surrounding ‘our wee country’. With news of...
Editor
Barbara Skinner, Professor
Professor in TESOL and Education at Ulster University
Barbara Skinner is a Professor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)and Education in the School of Education at Ulster University. Barbara lectures on a range of teacher education courses. She is involved with doctoral...
Content in this series
Inequalities in language learning: What are they and how can we fix them?
Young people in the UK are less likely to study a language in upper secondary school than their European peers, and not just because they already speak English (European Commission, 2017). In...
Continue reading blog post
Digital futures in Northern Ireland: Beyond a virtual reality?
On a recent first trip outside Northern Ireland, following my two years or so of Covid-19 bubbling, I was struck by the national media coverage surrounding ‘our wee country’. With news of...
Continue reading blog postLearning from Covid-19 research in Northern Ireland: Resetting expectations for school–home–community partnerships
The impact of Covid-19 on learning experiences has dominated educational discourse over the past two years. Education practitioners and policymakers now have at their disposal a rich evidence base...
Continue reading blog post
Prioritising ‘fair’ play in Northern Ireland primary schools
For many years, Northern Ireland has been renowned for producing academically high-achieving pupils, and while this has been the case for some young people, issues of division and inequality are...
Continue reading blog post
A closer look at the Future Schools Toolkit
The proliferation of schools, management bodies and sectoral support organisations reflects the socio-cultural and political history of division in Northern Irish society. However, as recognised...
Continue reading blog post
A new agenda for teacher education research in Northern Ireland
The importance of teachers has long been recognised as central not only to the educational and personal development of children but also to societal wellbeing and economic growth (OECD, 2018)....
Continue reading blog post
Editorial: Education research: Northern Ireland
Education in Northern Ireland (NI) is characterised by segregation along religious/sectarian lines underpinned by a long history of religious tensions and fractured politics. Ninety-three per...
Continue reading blog postWho is your teacher and why does it matter? The lived experiences of history and citizenship teachers in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, as in other divided and conflict-affected societies, the contribution of education and, particularly, the school curriculum in aiding social cohesion has long been recognised...
Continue reading blog post
