Lagan College in 1981. It is Northern Ireland’s oldest integrated school. Photo credit: BBC
The status of education in any country is a vitally important matter. Northern Ireland is no different. A large issue within the education system in Northern Ireland is that even in the many years since the Good Friday Agreement, schools remain heavily segregated along religious lines. Scores of Protestant and Catholic children grow up never meeting one another, which many fear deepens societal and religious divides that have persisted for so long. Countless individuals and groups have suggested that prejudices could be reduced or eradicated entirely through intentionally exposing groups to each other, a hypothesis known as “contact theory.” Many politicians, commentators, and journalists in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom more broadly have highlighted integrated education as a way to not only reduce sectarian tension, but also an avenue for truthful and accurate teaching of the Troubles. A strong commitment to integrated education in Northern Ireland would provide its people with tangible hope for a harmonious future.
Examining the history of integrated schools in Northern Ireland is particularly illuminating, and speaks volumes about how segregated society in the country has been for so long. For decades, the ugly specter of anti-Catholic discrimination touched nearly every aspect of public life in Northern Ireland. Housing, employment, electoral maps, voting rights, among others, were areas where Catholics found themselves receiving the short end of the stick. Education was an arena where the divide between Protestants and Catholics was especially pronounced. 1978 brought the Dunleath Act, legislation that enabled existing schools to transition to integrated status. This set the stage for a watershed moment in integrated education in Northern Ireland: the establishment of Lagan College just three years later in 1981, the first integrated school in Northern Ireland. It still exists today, serving the Belfast area and educating more than 1,400 students. Another key piece of legislation was the 1989 Education Reform Order. The Order created a framework for the development of integrated schools, and allowed the Department of Education to aid schools through making available grant money. These days in Northern Ireland, there exists a paradox with regards to integrated schools. Polling data consistently shows that a wide majority of people want integration. Just this month, an independent poll was published that showed 66% of respondents were in favor of making integrated schools the “main model” of education in Northern Ireland. Despite talking the talk on this issue, people are not walking the walk. Fewer than 10% of children actually go to integrated schools. In the academic school year 2021-2022, only 6% of students at integrated schools were new to integrated education. Though that number could be depressed due to the coronavirus pandemic, that is still a very small proportion.
SECTION I: Integrated Education, 1974-1995
Artifact 1: News reel from 1974 about integrated education
The concept [of integrated education] could run into opposition. And that it has. Mainly from spokesmen for the Catholic Church. Broadly speaking, they are totally against.
– Ted Nealon, journalist for Raidió Teilifís Éireann
This RTÉ newsreel reports on Basil McIvor’s, Unionist Minister of Education in Northern Ireland, proposal to educate children from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds together. Originally broadcast on May 10, 1974 as an episode of “Seven Days,” an Irish Current Affairs Television Programme during the 60s and 70s, shows the beginnings of integrated education. Sadly, the Ulster’s Workers Council in May of that year strike led to a quick collapse of this proposal (Darby).
The newsreel details opposition to the plan from the Catholic church as “Catholic children should be sent to Catholic schools,” while other churches generally supported the plan. RTÉ covers the basic reasons Republicans favour the proposal and Unionists oppose it, highlighting the core, original sentiments that have defined the debate over integrated education.
The focus shifts towards Saint Patrick’s National School in Ireland, a recent source of controversy as it had become Ireland’s first multi-denominational national school. One can observe the social obstacles and pressures felt by parents and schools hoping to transition into an integrated institution.
The segment concludes with older footage of a group of young Protestant boys casually expressing their disdain for Rome-Catholics (Unionists), as a reminder of the deep social divisions. RTÉ finishes their segment on integrated education by reiterating the deep sectarian prejudices already ingrained in Irish children.
This newsreel reveals the origins of integrated education in Northern Ireland and the forces for and against it. Most notably, the Catholic Church has been opposed in the past and maintains its opposition as a means to defend “the merits of a Catholic education, rather than . . . attack an inferior system” (McGlynn 2004). Even today the identity politics of Northern Ireland hinders integrated education’s impact.
Artifact 2: “All Children Together” document supporting efforts to integrate
Elizabeth Benton, a founding member of All Children Together, wrote this discussion paper in February of 1981 for Lord Elton, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office. In this document, Benton outlines the wishes of the All Children Together movement and the government’s shortcomings in promoting integrated education in NI.
A common argument against integrated education has been “pupils shall be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents.” Benton argues that since parents who wish to send their children to integrated schools do not have that option, the government has not met their own standards. Moreover, she criticises the discrepancy between education in mainland United Kingdom that actually accounts for “its’ pluralist society.” Once more Westminster’s inattention to Northern Ireland decreased cross-community contact.
Even during the Troubles opinion polls have indicated widespread support for integrated education. While Benton recognizes potential inaccuracies in opinion polls, consistent results over a long period of time should not be ignored. She believes that the onus is on the government to advance integrated education instead of grassroot movements. The arguments Benton outlined helped the All Children Together movement get approval to found Lagan College. However, she failed to inspire broader action by Westmister as the onus fell onto parents to create integrated schools.
This document reveals the mindset of the All Children Together movement and the type of arguments they had to make to be successful. The reader gains a deeper understanding of how the case for integrated education was formed. As a pioneer of integrated education in Northern Ireland, Elizabeth Benton should be celebrated for her struggle to improve community relationships.
Artifact 3: Lagan College at 40: First Students Share Memories of Early Days and Embracing Integrated Education in Belfast – Belfast Live
Lagan College’s first principal Sheila Greenfield is pictured with pupils. Photo credit: Belfast Live.
The 1978 Dunleath Act allowed existing schools to transform into integrated schools. It stipulated that “controlled schools with a small percentage of the minority community attending their school could invite the trustees of Catholic Maintained schools to share governance with existing Protestant representatives on the Board of Governors, thus creating a Controlled Integrated school” (McGonigle). However, the change required support of 75% of the existing parents and there was dispute over whether parents from the minority community should be consulted. Given the stark social divisions between the two communities, the framework of the 1978 Dunleath Act did not lead to the transformation of any existing schools. In fact, it was not until 1991 that the first school transformed to integrated status. In reality, the Dunleath Act was merely a piece of enabling legislation that required the government itself to do nothing (Newman). However, the feigned support from Downing Street did not deter the parents of All Children Together from making the first breakthrough for integrated education.
This image shows Sheila Greenfield, Lagan College’s first principal, walking to school with her pupils. Against the backdrop of the hunger strikes, the determined parents of the All Children Together movement established Lagan College in an old scout centre, with no government funding, little money, and 28 pupils. Now, Lagan College is one of the most oversubscribed post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, with almost 1500 students and 230 staff (Belfast Live).
Lagan College provided the framework for parents to establish integrated schools as the majority of integrated schools have been organized by parents of both communities (McGlynn 2004). Downing Street’s ambivalent approach to Northern Irish affairs left the burden on its citizens to improve a starkly segregated education system.
Artifact 4: Interview with Sheila Greenfield and first parents of Lagan College
In an 1981 interview with Independent Television News (ITN), principal Sheila Greenfield discusses the merits of attending an integrated school. Carefully choosing her words, Greenfield frames Lagan College as an alternative to the traditional educational system, rather than a replacement. She appeals to parents hopeful for a post-sectarian future and calmly rebukes concerns that integrated education would lead to violence amongst children in schools. The interview provides excellent context surrounding Lagan College’s foundation. By being the first integrated school, Lagan College was in the media spotlight, putting immense pressure on its success.
The clip transitions to interviews with parents and students at the picnic before Lagan College’s first day of instruction. In the clip the pupils interviewed expressed a simple desire to be able to make cross-community friends without being fearful of sectarian differences. The parents, however, exuded a cautious optimism for integrated education’s future. Given the backdrop of the Troubles, one can understand why the parents are uncertain of its long-term viability. Being the first integrated school, Lagan College had to chart its own path forward. While founding Northern Ireland’s first integrated school is a massive success, the real undertaking was always finding a way to be viable.
The newsreel concludes with footage of pupils of Lagan College walking onto its walled premises, warning of the hardships ahead. The parents and pupils of Lagan College were the pioneers of integrated education, inspiring more parents to set out on their own to give their children the education they believe they deserve. The establishment of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICE) in 1987 and the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) in 1992 gave devoted parents needed guidance and financial support to establish their own integrated schools.
Artifact 5: Northern Ireland Information Service 1989 memorandum about Conservative MP’s speech at Lagan College
I congratulate those who had the vision of establishing integrated schools and further congratulate them on their perseverance… [But] there is no question of the Government forcing integrated education on anyone who does not want it.
– Dr. Brian Mawhinney MP, Education Minister
This memo grew out of a speech that a Conservative MP named Brian Mawhinney gave at Lagan College in 1988. He reiterated support from the British government for integrated education, saying “The Government’s fundamental position has always been to encourage integrated education where there has been a demand for it…For the first time, there will be a statutory responsibility for my Department to foster the aims of integrated education.” Notice the important caveat he provides in the first sentence. The government wanted to support education, but had to walk a tightrope to not upset Conservative voters.
The document continues with some relatively lukewarm support for integrated education on the whole, but Dr. Mawhinney heaps effusive praise on Lagan College specifically. It’s rather fascinating how the memo oscillates between extolling the virtues of exposing Protestant children to Catholic children and vice versa, and this more tamped-down rhetoric about not compelling parents to send their children to schools they don’t support. This perfectly exemplifies the noncommittal policy of Downing Street, which was to the detriment of progressing towards an integrated education system.
Artifact 6: 1995 Policy memorandum by Michael Ancram
This March 1995 Policy Memo from Michael Ancram, Minister of State of Northern Ireland, to the UK Secretary of State concerns the state of integrated education in the mid-1990s. This document reveals how Westmister’s ambivalence lead to the development of integrated education via “voluntary integration by parental consent rather than compulsory desegregation” (McGlynn 2011).
The section title “Policy Background” reveals the different avenues for integrating a school. The most common avenue involves a committed group of parents of both communities starting a new integrated school and slowly expanding. Of the 28 integrated schools in NI in 1995, all except 5 have been formed by a small group of parents from both communities who began small and then built up. This avenue has been more successful than the transformation of an existing school “by a ballot of parents.” Given the deep-divisions in NI society, convincing a large-cohort of parents to support integrating their child’s school was an undeniably difficult task.
Despite his clear desire to expand integrated education in NI, the next two sections of the memo “Financial Implications” and “Policy Proposals” reveal a concern for wasteful government funding. The Integrated Education Fund takes the initial capital risk by offering new integrated schools loans which the government pays interest. Not until a school demonstrates long-term viability (usually clear after three years) will a school receive capital grants. Moreover, Ancram underlines insufficient government funding for his department’s medium and long-term commitments to integrated schools, necessitating increased financial commitment or more restrictive standards for organizing integrated schools.
This document unveils the government’s inadequate support for integrated education. In Fact, between 1997 and 2001 five integrated schools were opened in NI without any initial government funding (Integrated Education Fund). The British government exhibited more concern over government expenditures than sufficient funding for the continued development of integrated education in Northern Ireland.
SECTION II: Current State of Integrated Education
Artifact 7: Political cartoon in Belfast Telegraph from 2013
From the January 14th, 2013 issue of Belfast Telegraph.
This political cartoon, published in the Belfast Telegraph in January 2013, displays a schoolboy sharing his career aspirations with his school’s career’s officer. The boy’s youthful enthusiasm is not reciprocated by the officer. His biggest desire after receiving his education is to lean into his sectarian identity by selling either the Irish tricolour or Union Jack, but not both. The officer’s apathy towards the schoolboy potentially reflects a generational tiredness towards prevailing sectarian identities in post-conflict Northern Ireland.
This is most likely a reference to Belfast City Hall Flag protests in 2012. The flying of the Union Jack or Irish tricolour are significant aspects of cultural heritage for Protestants and Catholics. Since 2000, the Department of Education for Northern Ireland has promoted policies aimed at creating a more tolerant and peaceful society (McGlynn 2004). Yet, the post-conflict education system still enables sectarian identities. Recent studies have found evidence that Northern Irish children still exhibit prefer ingroup symbols, i.e. Catholic children prefer the clover while Protestants prefer poppies (Taylor).
This cartoon reveals a significant sentiment amongst Northern Irish citizens. The cartoon critiques the role of the flawed education system for creating an intolerable society. Maintaining a segregated education system maintains the prevalence of sectarian identities in all generations. In fact, studies show that almost two-thirds of young people report that all or most of their friends share the same background (Loader). The schoolboy’s passion for his identity alarms and disappoints the officer, who sees history repeating itself.
Artifact 8: Award-winning Op-Ed in the Guardian by Queens University student about integrated education
The Guardian awarded their 2021 Hugo Young Award for political opinion to Abby Wallace, a student at Queen’s University in Belfast for her support of integrated education. Raised by parents who grew up in opposite communities, Abby is one of the 7% of students in NI who attended integrated schools. April 2021 in Northern Ireland was marked by violent rioting. Most concerning to Wallace was that children as young as 13 were perpetrators of violence. She sees “members of [her] generation being lured into anger and hostility . . . [and] a system that keeps them apart.” Grateful for an education not framed by sectarian divisions, Wallace urges Sinn Féin and the DUP to respond to widespread public support and decades of mandates in favor of integrated education.
She notes how all integrated schools in Northern Ireland integrated on the basis of community support, not through government organization, marking a failure in government policy. Indeed the Department of Education has not done enough to “encourage and facilitate the development of integrated education” as stipulated by the 1989 Education Order (MacGlynn 2004). In her eyes, SF and the DUP purposely ignored pressures to integrate education as a means to keep their voter base intact. However, rising support for the non-sectarian Alliance Party – and the largest supporter of integration – makes Wallace optimistic. Soon, she hopes that the Alliance Party will be able to overtake the DUP and follow through on the government’s promises.
In this wonderfully well-crafted article, Wallace encapsulates the frustration of Northern Irish youth, agitated by government paralysis. As a champion for a non-sectarian future, Wallace is a telling representative for the younger generations and this article outlines how she believes Northern Ireland can move forward: together in the same classroom.
Article 9: New York Times article from last month about integrated education in 2023
Integration doesn’t mean there is no religion. In the morning, students say a prayer, which includes the line, “We are different and special together.”
– excerpt from Decades on ‘From Peace, Northern Ireland Schools Are Still Deeply Divided’
This article from American newspaper The New York Times documents what the state of education in Northern Ireland is like right now: it was published just last month. Interestingly, it mentions that Protestant church leaders dominate the membership in school boards in specific areas. Expectedly, in some regions the school boards are mostly made up of Catholic leaders. It is easy to imagine how these boards can put pressure on faculty and administrators, and shape admissions policy. The article also includes a key detail: integrated education does not equate to there being no religion whatsoever at school for pupils. They pray in the mornings, and are encouraged to pray however they pray at home.
Another less-discussed dimension of education in Northern Ireland is how the children of asylum seekers fit in the education system. Recent crises and upheavals in Sudan, Afghanistan, and Syria have led to refugees making new homes across the globe. Many communities in Northern Ireland have welcomed them with open arms, and children have begun attending school. At one of the schools the author visited, she mentions there are students who were born in Asia and Africa who are Muslim. The Muslim, atheist, or irreligious children apparently often opt out of the religious education that is offered. Even though integrated education enjoys broad support, it is still unclear exactly how non-Christian children figure into the equation and will be made to feel welcome. Progress has been slow overall: since the opening of the first integrated school in Northern Ireland, only twelve more have been established, which is only 5% of all primary school openings (McGuinness).
Artifact 10: How much does segregated education cost taxpayers? About £600,000 (744,000 USD) a day, according to new research.
A new report from Ulster University has quantified the actual cost of segregated education in Northern Ireland on an annual basis. Taking into account various costs associated with sectarian education such as additional transportation due to segregation and academic selection, separate schools in a given locality, and the cost of programs that intentionally bring together Catholic and Protestant children. The final figure they came to was £226m a year and £600,000 a day. In USD, that is around $280,000,000 and $744,000, respectively. One of the authors of the report described the current state of affairs as “absolutely unsustainable.”
This report underscores that while there are obvious social costs to separate education tracks, there is a definite economic cost as well. Both government and parents bear the cost of this shocking sum. It is important to note that the Department of Education is trying to make up for these budgetary constraints in heart wrenching ways. The BBC notes that the department recently had to cancel a program that provided low-income families with extra money for food during the Christmas holiday break. This lends further credence to the notion that resisting integration has been harmful on virtually every level for Northern Ireland.
Artifact 11: Picture from opening of new Irish language school in County Down
Photo credit: The Yale Review of International Studies
This picture shows Education Minister John O’Dowd with smiling students at the ribbon cutting ceremony in 2010 for Gaelscoil na mBeann. The school is an Irish-medium school in Kilkeel, one of the southernmost towns in Northern Ireland. O’Dowd is a member of Sinn Féin, so it is unsurprising he would support efforts to establish and fund Gaelscoil na mBeann. The school uses Irish as its main language for instruction, but teaches from the same curriculum as other schools in Northern Ireland. People in Kilkeel created the school in 2010, but it only gained recognition and funding from the Department of Education in 2012. The success of this school shows that while integrated education is at the forefront of the minds of education policymakers in Ulster, the Irish culture and language is not dying out. Protestant children are welcome at this school, though by looking at the website I cannot find any statistics on the demographic makeup of the school. This is worth noting, because the village of Kilkeel currently has a Protestant majority (about 55% of residents). The existence of schools such as Gaelscoil na mBeann that teach in the Irish language enriches the lives of the children it educates, and encourages pluralism in the fractured region.
Artifact 12: Liam Neeson PSA from Integrated Education Fund
Legendary actor Liam Neeson implores parents to support efforts to integrate schools in Northern Ireland.
Most people agree that educating children together is a better way forward for our society. It’s time to turn our aspiration into reality.
– Liam Neeson
In this message recorded for the Integrated Education Fund, actor Liam Neeson asks parents to work towards integrating schools in their neighborhoods. While it is short, Neeson makes for a good messenger for the cause. He grew up a Catholic in a majority Protestant area (Ballymena in County Antrim), and has spoken in the past about the effect the Troubles had on him. Neeson also has mentioned how Ian Paisley’s preaching inspired him to become an actor, and influenced his acting style. In the PSA, Neeson specifically mentions that schools need to welcome not only Catholics and Protestants, but also children who identify with a non-Christian faith or no religion at all. This inclusive rhetoric is something of a break from the language used in the seventies into the nineties, which tended to only mention Catholic and Protestant children. People in Northern Ireland certainly regard Liam Neeson quite highly, and his star-power is put to good use in this cause. He ends the PSA by asking parents to voice their support for integration by getting involved with the Integrated Education Fund.
Works Cited (Scholarly Sources)
Darby, John. 1978. “Northern Ireland: Bonds and Breaks in Education.” British Journal of Educational Studies 26(3): 215–23.
Loader, Rebecca. 2022. “Shared Spaces, Separate Places: Desegregation and Boundary Change in Northern Ireland’s Schools.” Research Papers in Education 37(6): 1097–1118.
McGlynn, Claire. 2011. “Negotiating Difference in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland: An Analysis of Approaches to Integrated Education.” Multicultural Perspectives 13(1): 16–22.
McGlynn *, Claire, Ulrike Niens, Ed Cairns, and Miles Hewstone. 2004. “Moving out of Conflict: The Contribution of Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland to Identity, Attitudes, Forgiveness and Reconciliation.” Journal of Peace Education 1(2): 147–63.
Newman, Martin Peter. 2023. “Going Local, Heading Nowhere: The 1974–79 Labour Government’s Attempt to Introduce Comprehensive Schooling in Northern Ireland.” Irish Political Studies 38(2): 210–30.
Taylor, Laura K., Jocelyn Dautel, Edona Maloku, and Ana Tomovska Misoska. 2021. “Children’s Outgroup Giving in Settings of Intergroup Conflict: The Developmental Role of Ingroup Symbol Preference.” Developmental Psychology 57(8): 1350–58. “The History of Integrated Education.” IEF: Integrated Education Fund. https://www.ief.org.uk/integrated-education/the-history-of-integrated-education/ (May 21, 2023).
McGuinness, Samuel J. 2012. “Education Policy in Northern Ireland: A Review.” Italian Journal of Sociology of Education 4(1): 205–37.
“Schools Side-by-Side, but Worlds Apart: The Possibilities of Reconciliation through Integrated Education and Shared Education in Northern Ireland.” 2018. The Yale Review of International Studies. http://yris.yira.org/essays/2381 (May 31, 2023).
