Tolerance and diversity in Ireland, north and south

Iseult Honohan, Nathalie Rougier

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781784996567
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politique et relations internationales
• Subtopic: Nationalisme et patriotisme

This book examines the treatment of cultural and religious diversity - indigenous and immigrant - on both sides of the Irish border in order to analyse the current state of tolerance and to consider the kinds of policies that may support integration while respecting diversity. The first two sections focus on the spheres of education, civic life and politics, including chapters on specific groups (e.g. travellers and immigrants), as well as on the communal divisions in Northern Ireland. Later chapters reflect on the Irish experience of diversity, and consider what may be the most appropriate approaches and discourses to deal with diversity, whether these involve tolerance, recognition or transformative reconciliation. This book will appeal to academics and students in sociology, politics, education, social psychology and Irish studies; it will also be of interest to general readers interested in society, education and politics in Ireland, North and South.

1

‘When you actually talk to them …’ – recognising and respecting cultural and religious diversity in Irish schools

Merike Darmody and Emer Smyth

This chapter addresses the way in which cultural and religious diversity are tolerated or accepted in the Irish education system, focusing in particular on individual and collective attitudes and highlighting the role that schools can play in helping young people to develop strategies for living in a diverse society. The impact of rapid large-scale immigration into Ireland on the profile of the population has been well documented. The increase in the number of newcomers was particularly striking between 2002 and 2006, with the number of migrants nearly doubling during this period (CSO, 2012). The migrant population in Ireland is highly diverse – in April 2011, the time of the most recent Census, there were 544,400 non-Irish nationals in Ireland, representing 196 nationalities from different cultural backgrounds (CSO, 2012). Increased migration has manifested itself in greater cultural diversity within schools and other educational institutions. Educational settings that include students from diverse national and cultural backgrounds have the potential to broaden learning opportunities and diversify the content of teaching material (Ward, 2001). This potential has been acknowledged by a number of EU-level policies promoting the concept of intercultural education (see Triandafyllidou, 2011).

Previous research has recognised the role of the school as an important site for learning respect for, and recognition of, other groups (see Knauth et al., 2008; Smyth, Lyons and Darmody, 2013). In particular, schools can help students in developing positive perceptions of migrants by providing formal and informal opportunities for interaction (Isac et al., 2012). Contact theory, developed by Allport (1954), suggests that direct contact between members of different ethnic groups can result in positive experiences that will help to reduce prejudice against minority group members. This is more likely to occur when the groups have equal status, share common goals and receive support from the authorities and/or the legal framework. The concept has been built upon by educational researchers who suggest that the mixing of native and migrant students at school can contribute towards greater inter-group respect (Janmaat, 2012). From this perspective, the more students know about each other, the better they are equipped to respect each other’s ‘otherness’. Pettigrew et al. (2011) note that cross-group friendships are particularly important in promoting positive views. The timing of migration is relevant in this context, with less positive views about immigrants evident in countries with more recent immigration where there has been less time to develop inter-group contact. In addition, language problems are likely to inhibit meaningful interaction between native and firstgeneration migrant children within school (Janmaat, 2012). Research studies have, however, reached different conclusions about the precise relationship between the degree of contact and attitudes. A strand of literature based on ethnic competition theory suggests that the number of migrants in the classroom may impact on the views of native students who may feel an ‘ethnic threat’ (Vervoort et al., 2011). Such feelings of threat are generally associated with the size of the minority group, that is, with the proportion of migrants in the specific context (Schneider, 2008). In contrast, Hughes et al. (2013) observe that the positive effects of diversity seem to be linear: students attending more (ethnically) mixed schools tended to report more favourable attitudes towards migrants. Rougier and Honohan (Chapter 5 below) note that, for some in school management, accommodating migrant and/or religious diversity might depend on the limited consequences of that diversity on a school’s ethos and/or identity.

The existing literature indicates that the extent of cross-national interaction in educational institutions is generally low and that most migrant students have primary bonds with co-nationals (Ward, 2001). Research on native students’ perspectives on migrant students has remained sparse. Some existing research has observed gender differences, with native girls generally holding more positive views and displaying more empathy and less inter-group anxiety regarding migrant students than their male peers (Isac et al., 2012; Tormey and Gleeson, 2012; Hughes et al., 2013). Positive views of migrants are also found to be associated with higher socio-economic status and higher educational expectations among native students (Isac et al., 2012), in line with research on adult inter-group relations (Hainmueller and Hiscox, 2007). Isac et al. (2012) argue that the determinants of native student attitudes concerning migrants are mainly related to the characteristics of the students themselves, with classroom and country characteristics having only relatively modest effects on attitudes.

In the context of ongoing inward migration, schools in Ireland continue to be faced with challenges in how best to integrate migrant children. Responding to these concerns, there is now a growing literature on the experiences of migrant children in the Irish educational system (Devine et al., 2008; Lyons and Little, 2009; Smyth et al., 2009; Darmody and McCoy, 2011; Darmody et al., 2011a; Darmody et al., 2011b; Devine, 2011). However, there is a general paucity of research on the attitudes of native Irish students regarding migration and migrants. This is a significant lacuna, considering the importance international research has attached to the impact of inter-group contacts. Some insight can be gained from the few existing studies that have focused on social distance, indicating closer social interaction with students ‘like us’ (Tormey and Gleeson, 2012). Interestingly, the latter study shows that social distance is greater between two indigenous groups (namely, ‘settled’ students and students from the Traveller community)¹ than between native Irish and migrant students. In fact, the social distance of natives from migrant groups is relatively low, especially with respect to Black African and Eastern European migrants, although higher levels of social distance from Muslims were observed, highlighting the complex way religion interacts with other dimensions of diversity in inter-group contact. The study also revealed gender differences, with girls exhibiting on average lower levels of social distance from migrants than boys did. Age of native students also proved to be significant: older students, particularly boys, tended to report greater social distance from migrant groups than their younger counterparts. In a qualitative study, Meade and O’Connell (2009) found that Irish teenagers tended to hold stereotypical views towards migrants, particularly regarding their reasons for coming to Ireland and their reliance on the social welfare system. However, their study indicated that these views were not necessarily static, but were prone to change, with students moving between negative and positive representations of migrants over the course of the group interview.

The vast majority of international research on social contact between migrants and native students has been undertaken from the perspective of migrants. Fewer studies have explored the views of native students on migration in general and on migrant students in a school context. Drawing on a national study of school provision for migrant students and young people, this chapter aims to fill this gap in research. In particular, the chapter draws on focus group interviews with Irish students from a range of second-level schools. The methodology used in the study is discussed in the following section.

Research methodology

The analysis presented in this chapter is based on the results of a larger project, Adapting to Diversity, the main objective of which was to explore the experiences of migrant children and young people in Irish schools, and to show how schools addressed the challenges posed by migration. The original study combined national survey data with in-depth case-studies of primary and second-level schools (for further details, see Smyth et al., 2009). The study involved a postal survey of all (733) second-level principals and a sample of 1,200 primary principals selected to be representative of all primary schools in size, location (urban/rural) and disadvantaged (DEIS)² status. There was a high response rate (over 60 per cent) to the survey. To supplement the survey data, twelve case-study schools were chosen to further investigate school provision for migrant children and young people. In addition, two schools that had no ethnic minority students were selected for comparison purposes. Within each of the schools, in-depth interviews were conducted with key personnel dealing with migrant students. In order to capture the student perspective, group interviews, usually comprising six students, were conducted with primary and second-level students, with newcomer and Irish students interviewed in separate groups.

In this chapter, the analysis focuses on the eleven focus group interviews conducted with native Irish school students in the six second-level case-study schools which had migrant students (see Table 1.1 for a profile of these schools). Interviews were conducted mostly with second (lower secondary) and fifth year (upper secondary) students selected by the principal or teacher. During the interviews students were asked questions about whether they had made any friends from other countries; what they thought it would be like for migrant students to come to schools in Ireland and to their school in particular; whether they would like to be a migrant in Ireland; what their perceptions were of the growing cultural diversity in Ireland; their perceptions on how migrant students in their school get on socially and academically; whether they know much about the countries migrant students come from; and whether migrant students get teased or bullied for being from a different country. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded with the qualitative software N6 and later analysed to identify the central themes emerging.

Table 1.1 Profile of the case-study schools

Research findings

The framing of immigration to Ireland: the influence of broader social attitudes

The interviews with students in the case-study schools were conducted in 2007, a time immediately preceding the sharp economic downturn in Ireland and coinciding with a peak of immigration flows. At the time, immigration was a hotly debated topic in the media and policy discourses. The perception that immigrants would take jobs away from the existing population, depress the wages of existing workers or be more likely to claim benefits was taking root but was not backed up by empirical evidence. Increased immigration also resulted in a more ethnically diverse student population in many Irish schools. During the focus group interviews, Irish students were asked about their views on increased immigration into Ireland. Previous research has established links between gender, social class, out-group size and attitudes towards migrants (see above). The interviews with Irish students were conducted in different school contexts: coeducational and single-sex; designated disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged; and in schools with varying proportions of migrants (see Table 1.1).

Contact theory would predict that attitudes to immigrants would be more positive in schools with higher proportions of immigrant students. On the whole, however, the views of students were mixed across and within the case-study schools. While, in an interview context, respondents may wish to express ‘socially acceptable’ views and minimise their degree of prejudice, the very mixed views voiced by Irish students would appear to indicate that this was not a significant factor in our study. A central strand among those who were more positive about immigration was a recognition that diversity contributed to Irish culture and provided a greater awareness of difference among Irish people:

It’s [immigration is] fantastic. […]
Well, it’s much easier to find out about new cultures, new languages coming in, plus of course the workforce growing. Anyhow, most of them are really nice people too so. (Brayton Square, fifth year) ³

It’s good that we are getting to see all the different types of people and what they are like. (Brayton Square, second year)

It opens up the whole world mixing with other people. (Huntington Road, second year)

Some students felt that direct contact with migrants had modified their own perspectives and resulted in more positive views about them, in line with existing research.

They are tough.
But then any time you meet them they’re lovely and you get on grand with them.
Oh they are lovely […] I think you just need to get to know them too.
Well, if you don’t know any of them you probably judge them like they shouldn’t be here […]
When you actually talk to them it’s a different story. (Lowfield Street, fifth year)

At the same time, this quote illustrates the ambivalence in attitudes towards migrants ‘we know’ and the migrant group as a whole. Conversely, limited contact with migrants translated into more neutral attitudes on the part of one student in Bentham Street who noted that ‘People from different countries coming to live [in Ireland] does not really bother me; I don’t see them all that much. Like in England I don’t know if t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Notes on the contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Iseult Honohan and Nathalie Rougier
• 1 ‘When you actually talk to them …’ – recognising and respecting cultural and religious diversity in Irish schools: Merike Darmody and Emer Smyth
• 2 Recognising difference while promoting cohesion: the role of collaborative networks in education: Tony Gallagher and Gavin Duffy
• 3 Tolerance, recognition and educational patronage: Ireland’s constitutional politics of school choice: Eoin Daly
• 4 Traveller education: policy and practice in Northern Ireland: Jennifer Hamilton, Fiona Bloomer and Michael Potter
• 5 Tolerance of religious and cultural diversity in Irish institutions: comparing hijabs in schools and turbans in the Garda reserve: Nathalie Rougier and Iseult Honohan
• 6 Minority and majority community integration in Northern Ireland: a matrix of tolerance: Ruth McAreavey
• 7 Politics, professions and participation: immigrants in the Irish public sphere: Neil O’Boyle
• 8 Academic ‘truth’ and the perpetuation of negative attitudes and intolerance towards Irish Travellers in contemporary Ireland: Úna Crowley and Rob Kitchin
• 9 Two wrongs don’t make a right: (in)tolerance and hate crime laws in Northern Ireland: Chris Gilligan
• 10 Prejudice and (in)tolerance in Ulster: Neil Jarman
• 11 Acknowledging religious and cultural diversity in an antagonistic society: the challenge of Northern Ireland: Duncan Morrow
• 12 Taking intolerant liberalism seriously: Bryan Fanning
• 13 Toleration, respect and recognition in Northern Ireland: Cillian McBride
• Conclusion: Iseult Honohan and Nathalie Rougier
• Index