Teaching citizenship in the faith school: qualitative evidence from separate schools in Northern Ireland

Teaching about the past in Northern Ireland: avoidance, neutrality, and criticality

“…The need for further research is particularly pronounced in Northern Ireland where evidence suggests that there are a variety of approaches to teaching citizenship. For example, Donnelly and Burns (2017) have found that citizenship teaching varies across Protestant and Catholic schools whilst Loader and Hughes (2017) highlight the existence of a 'hierarchy of taboo subjects' amongst teachers in shared education classes. But although this research has focused on the school ethos and context as key determinants of teacher practice in citizenship, exploring the underpinning motivations of teachers, their experiences and rationale for teaching about the conflict (or not) should help us better understand what motivates their avoidance or engagement with such issues and ultimately ensure that professional development is more effectively tailored to teacher need.…”

Three-faced: The conflicting roles of citizenship education in conflict-affected societies – A comparison of Northern Ireland and Israel

“…For example, in Northern Ireland, research has revealed that Catholic and Protestant schools can diverge in their approach to teaching issues related to the conflict (also known as ‘The Troubles’) and identity. Donnelly and Burns (2017) have drawn on qualitative interviews to show that teachers in a Catholic school were more at ease in discussing issues allied to identity and the conflict, compared to those in a Protestant school who were more cautious and tended to avoid such issues. Similarly, Abrams (2020) undertook a survey of history teachers in Northern Ireland demonstrating that teachers in Catholic schools are more likely to report a willingness to teach about the conflict compared to teachers in Protestant schools.…”