Two studies used random sample surveys to test the "contact hypothesis" on intergroup attitudes of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. In Study 1, archival data from two different surveys in 1989 (N = 310 Catholics, 422 Protestants) and 1991 (N = 319 Catholics, 478 Protestants) showed that contact was positively related to attitudes toward denominational mixing. Study 2 (N = 391 Catholics, 647 Protestants) explored predictors of intergroup forgiveness, and also showed that intergroup contact was positively related to outgroup attitudes, perspective-taking, and trust (even among those who had a worse experience of sectarian conflict). These studies indicate that research in peace psychology can provide a deeper understanding of the conflict in Northern Ireland and, in due course, contribute to its resolution.

Intergroup Contact, Forgiveness, and Experience of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland

Despite a number of references to research fatigue and over-researching in the literature, the concepts have yet to be empirically investigated within qualitative contexts. This article, therefore, seeks to explore how researchers understand and account for research fatigue and over-researching. Using the results generated from a grounded analysis, a number of precursors are identified and discussed. These include lack of perceptible change attributable to engagement, increasing apathy and indifference toward engagement, and practical causes such as cost, time, and organization. It is suggested that marked levels of research fatigue are likely to occur where the mechanisms that challenge research engagement increase and the supporting mechanisms decrease. Furthermore, claims of over-researching are likely to be reported in contexts where repeated engagements do not lead to any experience of change or where the engagement comes into conflict with the primary aims and interests of the research group.

`We're Over-Researched Here!' Exploring Accounts of Research Fatigue within Qualitative Research Engagements

This article examines the potential and limitations of pedagogy of discomfort in a classroom of 10‐ and 11‐year‐old students of an integrated school in Northern Ireland. At the centre of the analysis are the students’ and the teacher’s emotional experiences and the resulting consequences when a discomforting pedagogical activity (an adaptation of the classic ‘Blue‐Eyed, Brown‐Eyed’ exercise) is implemented to teach students about social injustice. The theoretical framework that informs this investigation is grounded in the notion of ‘pedagogy of discomfort’. A qualitative, ethnographic perspective forms the basis for the data collection and analysis. The findings show that the pedagogical exercise does not have the same impact on all participants, yet it contains several risks, most notably those of differential power and privilege between teacher and students and the ethical implications of putting some children (even temporarily) in a disadvantaged place. The implications are discussed in terms of teach...

Discomforting pedagogies: emotional tensions, ethical dilemmas and transformative possibilities

Reconciliation is about bringing disparate communities together and creating the communication necessary to reduce intergroup barriers, generate understanding, and connect with others to achieve a peaceful togetherness. This article investigates the role of sport events in contributing to reconciliation and inclusive social change between disparate communities in ethnically divided Sri Lanka. Following an interpretive mode of enquiry, findings suggest that if strategically designed, sport events allow the establishment of interpersonal friendships and the creation of inclusive social identities along national lines, organizational lines, common interests and imagined factors. Events can create ‘momenta of togetherness’ for members of disparate ethnic groups and as such may contribute to positive social change and a sense of imagiNation. While sport events provide a starting point, booster and catalyst for positive social change and development on a community level, they need to be integrated into a larger...

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Sport events and ethnic reconciliation: Attempting to create social change between Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim sportspeople in war-torn Sri Lanka

Education is often seen as a means of achieving social change. Underlying this view is contact theory, which argues that increased contact between social groups will help reduce prejudicial attitudes and alleviate racial and ethnic divisions. This article tests and extends these propositions by examining the long-term impact of segregated and integrated education on political identities and attitudes. Using a pooled sample of surveys conducted on the adult population in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2003, we address, for the first time, the question of whether or not experiencing a religiously integrated education has a significant effect on the political outlooks of Protestants and Catholics. The results suggest that attendance at a religiously integrated school—either one formally constituted as integrated or a religious school incorporating a proportion from the opposite religion—has positive long-term benefits in promoting a less sectarian stance on national identity and constitutional preferences. The results also support recent research that has shown that the impact of contact on intergroup relations may not only vary significantly in terms of the nature of the contact situation but also in terms of the societal status of the groups involved. We conclude that as the numbers experiencing integrated schooling grows, these individuals have the potential to create a new common ground in Northern Ireland politics.

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Integrated Education, Intergroup Relations, and Political Identities in Northern Ireland

As the integrated education movement in Northern Ireland passes its twenty‐first anniversary, it is pertinent to explore the legacy of mixed Catholic and Protestant schooling. This paper summarises the findings of different studies regarding the impact of integrated education in Northern Ireland on social identity, intergroup attitudes and forgiveness and reconciliation. The research is discussed in relation to its implications for the theory and practice of integrated education in Northern Ireland and also for other societies with a legacy of ethnopolitical conflict. It proposes that integrated education in Northern Ireland impacts positively on identity, outgroup attitudes, forgiveness and reconciliation, providing hope and encouragement for co‐education strategies in other countries that have suffered from prolonged conflict. Despite a number of challenges, it is clear from the research presented here that integrated education holds great potential both for building social cohesion and for promoting fo...

Claire McGlynn

Papers

Moving out of conflict: the contribution of integrated schools in Northern Ireland to identity, attitudes, forgiveness and reconciliation