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 Completed Research

 The UNESCO Centre completed research for 2008-09

"Education and Reconciliation: The Perspectives of Children and Young People in Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina"
Miss Clare Magill

BackgroundValues
Does education have a role in the reconciliation process in Northern Ireland?
How can educators work together to help successive generations of children and young people understand the nature and causes of the conflict here? Are children and young people actually interested in learning about the past or in shaping a shared future? And what lessons can be learned from the experiences of children and young people in other post-conflict contexts, for example post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina?

These are some of the questions addressed in the final research report of an EU PEACE II-funded project, “Education and Reconciliation: The Perspectives of Children and Young People in Northern Ireland and Bosnia & Herzegovina”. The overall purpose of this project was to consult with children, young people and educators in three European regions that have experienced conflict (namely Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina) to gain deeper insight into their experience and understanding of conflict, its legacies in their region and the implications for the role of education in promoting the concept of reconciliation with different age groups.

The main objectives of this project were to:

  • Explore, in a comparative way, education in reconciliation from the perspectives of children, young people and educators;
  • Interview children and young people in order to gain a deeper insight into their understanding of the conflict in their region and concept of reconciliation;
  • Include, where possible, representation from children with different life histories, including children and young people of those directly affected by or involved in the conflict in their region;
  • Investigate what different needs there are from a generational point of view (children and young people who have lived through conflict, children who know only the post-conflict context), and the extent to which understandings of reconciliation differ across different age-groups (primary, post-primary and young adults);
  • Consult with educators (primary school teachers, secondary school teachers and youth workers/adult educators), based on the lessons learned, and produce recommendations for future practice on the contribution of education to reconciliation;
  • Share the lessons learned from these interviews and consultations and their implications between regions;
  • Produce summary briefings for dissemination to a variety of groups, including policymakers; senior managers in schools, youth, voluntary and community organisations; educators (primary, post-primary, youth, community and adult); and children and young people
The project was funded from January 2007 until September 2008 by the European Union’s Peace and Reconciliation Programme (PEACE II Extension) under the ‘Outward and Forward Looking Region’ strand of Measure 2.1 Reconciliation for Sustainable Peace and managed for the Special European Union Programmes Body by the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council.

The project was coordinated by the UNESCO Centre, School of Education, University of Ulster. The Centre also undertook the data collection from respondents in Northern Ireland. The project also benefited from the involvement of Dr Brandon Hamber, Director of INCORE, University of Ulster, who provided advice on the conceptual framework for reconciliation and undertook interviews with victims and survivors organisations as well as support organisations, such as ethnic minority support groups.

Data collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina was carried out by the Education for Peace Institute of the Balkans (EFP-Balkans) which secured access to schools and provided additional expertise in translating interview transcripts from Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian into English.

“A big question, I think, particularly now, is how are questions of the Troubles going to be taught in schools in Northern Ireland.” 25 year old male, Northern Ireland.

Full ReportPDF (2.24 mb) Berria Newspaper Article 2007PDF (2.37mb)

"A Values-based Approach to Teacher Education"
Dr Alison Montgomery

BackgroundValues
This research explored students’ and beginning teachers’ experiences of teacher education and professional development. It focused in particular, on their perceptions and understanding of the values underpinning their teaching and learning experiences, from recruitment across three phases of Initial Teacher Education (ITE), Induction, and Early Professional Development (EPD). Key objectives were to;

  • evaluate the effectiveness of current selection criteria and recruitment procedures for ITE, with reference to the professional competence model and challenges presented through the revised NI Curriculum;
  • investigate the nature of students’ engagement with the values dimension of the NI Curriculum, examining the type of learning processes employed in teaching citizenship education, developing inclusive practices and handling of controversial issues, and;
  • examine beginning teachers’ employment opportunities and initial teaching experiences.
Throughout the research, the term ‘values’ was broadly defined and referred to attitudes, beliefs, principles and criteria which informed or directed thinking, behaviour, policy and practice. Values were considered from an individual perspective, focusing on students’ and beginning teachers’ personal attitudes and beliefs, from an institutional perspective, considering the formative influence of different educational institutions and from a systemic perspective, exploring implicit and explicit values encapsulated in the Teacher Education Partnership Model (TEPM), competence framework, GTCNI code of values, and aspects of the NI Curriculum (Montgomery 2005). The study adopted a longitudinal approach, tracking 40 postgraduate students through teacher education and professional development. Undergraduate students, teacher educators, teacher tutors and a range of stakeholders in teacher education were also consulted. A mixed methods approach, including interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, was employed to collect data.

Research BriefingPDF (194 kb) Outcomes PosterPDF (3.51 mb) Draft Press ReleasePDF (137 kb)
"Evaluation of the Pilot Introduction of Education for Local & Global Citizenship into the Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum"
Dr Una O'Connor

Education for Local and Global Citizenship, as a pilot initiative, was phased into the curriculum for all post-primary schools in Northern Ireland between 2002 and 2007. Substantial funding for the professional development of teachers was provided on an opt-in basis by the NI Department of Education through the Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) to the Education and Library Boards (ELBs). Citizenship

In 2002, the UNESCO Centre at the University of Ulster was commissioned by CCEA to evaluate the short to medium term impact of the local and global citizenship programme at Key Stage 3, with a particular focus on:

  • Pupils’ knowledge, attitudes, confidence and behaviour;
  • Teacher confidence and pedagogy;
  • School ethos, management and curriculum provision; and
  • The perceptions of participants about the in-service and pre-service citizenship support programmes delivered by the Education and Library Boards’ Curriculum Advisory Support Service (CASS), and within Initial Teacher Education.
The four year evaluation was undertaken from 2003-2007 when the intervention still had pilot status. It is now both a key element within the overall curriculum framework and an explicit strand within Learning for Life and Work.

Full Report PDF (456 kb) Final Summary Report PDF (311 kb) Appendix 3 PDF (925 kb)
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