Schools In Northern Ireland Research Articles

Religious experience among Catholic and Protestant sixth-form students in Northern Ireland: looking for signs of the presence of God

ABSTRACTJohn Greer conducted major surveys of sixth-form religion in Protestant schools in Northern Ireland in 1968, 1978, and 1988. John Greer’s colleagues continued that research tradition in Northern Ireland in 1998 and 2010, and extended the survey to include sixth-form students in Catholic schools. Greer’s survey routinely included a question on religious experience, drawing on the approach of Alister Hardy and the Religious Experience Research Unit. The 2010 survey provided the data from around 1500 sixth-form students analysed in the present paper. These new data offer two main points of contrast, between students in Catholic and in Protestant schools, and between students in 1998 and 2010. The analysis preserves Greer’s historic descriptive categories of religious experience styled help and guidance, exams, God’s presence, answered prayer, death, sickness, conversion, miscellaneous, and difficulty in describing.

Space and Place: Lessons from National School Buildings in the North of Ireland

Integrated schooling is currently promoted in post-conflict Northern Ireland, but an earlier attempt to establish secular education in Ireland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – the Irish National Schools system – is often forgotten. A preliminary study of former National Schools indicated architectural differences between rural and urban buildings, possibly linked to the expression of divergent cultural and religious traditions in conflict with the reforming principles of the national system. This paper uses archaeological and anthropological perspectives, including the first recorded excavation of a National School in Northern Ireland, to examine their past and current significance for education, identity and place.

Increasing boys’ and girls’ intentions to avoid teenage pregnancy: a cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial of an interactive video drama-based intervention in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland

BackgroundAdolescent men have a vital yet neglected role in reducing unintended teenage pregnancy (UTP). There is a need for gender-sensitive educational interventions.ObjectivesTo determine the value and feasibility of conducting an effectiveness trial of theIf I Were JackRelationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) intervention in a convenience quota sample of post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. Secondary objectives were to assess acceptability to schools, pupils (male/female, aged 14–15 years) and parents/guardians; to identify optimal delivery structures and systems; to establish participation rates and reach, including equality of engagement of different socioeconomic and religious types; to assess trial recruitment and retention rates; to assess variation in normal RSE practice; to refine survey instruments; to assess differences in outcomes for male and female pupils; to identify potential effect sizes that might be detected in an effectiveness trial and estimate appropriate sample size for that trial; and to identify costs of delivery and pilot methods for assessing cost-effectiveness.DesignCluster randomised Phase II feasibility trial with an embedded process and economic evaluation.InterventionA teacher-delivered classroom-based RSE resource – an interactive video drama (IVD) with classroom materials, teacher training and an information session for parents – to immerse young people in a hypothetical scenario of Jack, a teenager whose girlfriend is unintentionally pregnant. It addresses gender inequalities in RSE by focusing on young men and is designed to increase intentions to avoid UTP by encouraging young people to delay sexual intercourse and to use contraception consistently in sexual relationships.Main outcome measuresAbstinence from sexual intercourse (delaying initiation of sex or returning to abstinence) or avoidance of unprotected sexual intercourse (consistent correct use of contraception). Secondary outcomes included Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills and Intentions.ResultsThe intervention proved acceptable to schools, pupils and parents, as evidenced through positive process evaluation. One minor refinement to the parental component was required, namely the replacement of the teacher-led face-to-face information session for parents by online videos designed to deliver the intervention to parents/guardians into their home. School recruitment was successful (target 25%, achieved 38%). No school dropped out. Pupil retention was successful (target 85%, achieved 93%). The between-group difference in incidence of unprotected sex of 1.3% (95% confidence interval 0.55% to 2.2%) by 9 months demonstrated an effect size consistent with those reported to have had meaningful impact on UTP rates (resulting in an achievable sample size of 66 schools at Phase III). Survey instruments showed high acceptability and reliability of measures (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.5–0.7). Economic evaluation at Phase III is feasible because it was possible to (1) identify costs of deliveringIf I Were Jack(mean cost per pupil, including training of teachers, was calculated as £13.66); and (2) develop a framework for assessing cost-effectiveness.ConclusionTrial methods were appropriate, and recruitment and retention of schools and pupils was satisfactory, successfully demonstrating all criteria for progression to a main trial. The perceived value of culture- and gender-sensitive public health interventions has been highlighted.Future workProgression to a Phase III effectiveness trial.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN99459996.FundingThis project was funded by the NIHR Public Health Research programme and will be published in full inPublic Health Research; Vol. 5, No. 1. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Development of essentialist thinking about religion categories in Northern Ireland (and the United States).

Social essentialism, the belief that members of certain social categories share unobservable properties, licenses expectations that those categories are natural and a good basis for inference. A challenge for cognitive developmental theory is to give an account of how children come to develop essentialist beliefs about socially important categories. Previous evidence from Israel suggests that kindergarteners selectively engage in essentialist reasoning about culturally salient (ethnicity) categories, and that this is attenuated among children in integrated schools. In 5 studies (N = 718) we used forced-choice (Study 1) and unconstrained (Studies 2-4) category-based inference tasks, and a questionnaire (Study 5) to study the development of essentialist reasoning about religion categories in Northern Ireland (Studies 1-3 & 5) and the U.S. (Study 4). Results show that, as in Israel, Northern Irish children selectively engage in essentialist reasoning about culturally salient (religion) categories, and that such reasoning is attenuated among children in integrated schools. However, the development trajectory of essentialist thinking and the patterns of attenuation among children attending integrated schools in Northern Ireland differ from the Israeli case. Meta-analysis confirmed this claim and ruled out an alternative explanation of the results based on community diversity. Although the Northern Irish and Israeli case studies illustrate that children develop selective essentialist beliefs about socially important categories, and that these beliefs are impacted by educational context, the differences between them emphasize the importance of historical, cultural, and political context in understanding conceptual development, and suggest that there may be more than one developmental route to social essentialism. (PsycINFO Database Record

The right to education for young people excluded from mainstream in a divided society

This paper offers a rights-based analysis of the equity of educational experience allocated to young people excluded from school in Northern Ireland. Using Tomaševski’s ‘4As scheme’ as a conceptual guide, the availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of alternative education provision is examined. The article begins with a brief overview of the contextual landscape within which the sector operates, alluding to the definitional and procedural difficulties that have hindered the delivery of equitable alternative education services to date, before an examination of the current legal architecture within which the right to education may be given further realisation is detailed. The latter part of the article considers the extent to which the organisation, management and delivery of the EOTAS sector is rights-compliant, before concluding that the right to education, as it stands under domestic and international law, does not extend far enough to ensure and protect the educational entitlements of children excluded from school.

Adolescent trust and primary care: Help-seeking for emotional and psychological difficulties

Although a quarter of adolescents are likely to experience emotional and psychological difficulties, only a third of them will seek professional help. In this exploratory study we undertook focus groups with 54 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 in eight post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. Young people do not trust their GPs, perceiving them as strangers, impersonal and uncaring. The basis of distrust is different among males and females. The findings are discussed in light of adolescents’ developmental challenges of identity formation and the consequent demand to be respected and taken seriously by adults.

We need to talk about managerialism: On the importance of values dialogue and renewal within Catholic schools

Whilst reports of value tensions between new managerialism and Catholic education have emerged as a key theme in the academic literature, there remains little empirical understanding of how teachers negotiate these complex terrains in Catholic schools. Drawing on qualitative data from teachers in two Catholic post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, this paper sought to explore how Catholic teachers developed a distinctively Catholic ethos against a culture of ‘creeping managerialism’. The paper has shown that despite the predominance of managerial practices, tensions between managerialist values and the ‘Catholic ethos’ did not emerge in either context: in one school managerialism permeated the school and the Catholic ethos was constructed within this context. In the other school a staff process of spiritual renewal had consolidated a commitment to the Catholic faith and social inclusion. It was argued that the dialogical engagement around Catholic values may help Catholic schools defend against the harsher manifestations of managerialism without compromising the pupils’ capacity to realise their academic potential.

Inequality, segregation and poor performance: the education system in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is now a post-conflict society but one of the legacies of the “troubles” is an education system which is defined by religious affiliation/identity. A parallel system of schools continues to exist where Catholics largely attend “maintained” schools and Protestants “controlled” or state schools. While segregation along religious grounds is the most obvious fault line in Northern Ireland schools, more insidious problems of access and performance inequalities exist which have been overshadowed by efforts to improve community relations between children and promote integrated education. This article uses school leavers’ data to examine the nature of inequality in schools and consider an alternative policy option for tackling inequality and segregation, respectively.

Recruiting faith- and non-faith-based schools, adolescents and parents to a cluster randomised sexual-health trial: experiences, challenges and lessons from the mixed-methods Jack Feasibility Trial.

BackgroundThe move toward evidence-based education has led to increasing numbers of randomised trials in schools. However, the literature on recruitment to non-clinical trials is relatively underdeveloped, when compared to that of clinical trials. Recruitment to school-based randomised trials is, however, challenging, even more so when the focus of the study is a sensitive issue such as sexual health. This article reflects on the challenges of recruiting post-primary schools, adolescent pupils and parents to a cluster randomised feasibility trial of a sexual-health intervention, and the strategies employed to address them.MethodsThe Jack Trial was funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research. It comprised a feasibility study of an interactive film-based sexual-health intervention entitled If I Were Jack, recruiting over 800 adolescents from eight socio-demographically diverse post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. It aimed to determine the facilitators and barriers to recruitment and retention to a school-based sexual-health trial and identify optimal multi-level strategies for an effectiveness study. As part of an embedded process evaluation, we conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with principals, vice-principals, teachers, pupils and parents recruited to the study as well as classroom observations and a parents’ survey.ResultsWith reference to social learning theory, we identified a number of individual-, behavioural- and environmental-level factors that influenced recruitment. Commonly identified facilitators included perceptions of the relevance and potential benefit of the intervention to adolescents, the credibility of the organisation and individuals running the study, support offered by trial staff, and financial incentives. Key barriers were prior commitment to other research, lack of time and resources, and perceptions that the intervention was incompatible with pupil or parent needs or the school ethos.ConclusionsReflecting on the methodological challenges of recruiting to a school-based sexual-health feasibility trial, this study highlights pertinent general and trial-specific facilitators and barriers to recruitment, which will prove useful for future trials with schools, adolescent pupils and parents.Trial registrationISRCTN 11632300. Registered on 19 December 2014.

Seeking Help From Everyone and No-One: Conceptualizing the Online Help-Seeking Process Among Adolescent Males.

Online help-seeking is an emerging trend within the 21st century. Yet, despite some movement toward developing online services, little is known about how young people locate, access, and receive support online. This study aims to conceptualize the process of online help-seeking among adolescent males. Modified photo-elicitation techniques were employed within eight semi-structured focus group sessions with adolescent males aged 14 to 15 years (n = 56) across seven schools in Northern Ireland. Thematic analyses were conducted within an ontological framework of critical realism and an epistemological framework of contextualism. Informal online help-seeking pathways increased opportunity for social support and reduced stigma but also included loss of control and reduced anonymity. Formal pathways offered increased anonymity but concerns were raised regarding participants' ability to locate and appraise the quality of information online. A conceptual model of online help-seeking has been developed to highlight the key help-seeking pathways taken by adolescent males.

The effect of a classroom activity break on physical activity levels and adiposity in primary school children

Despite recognition that regular physical activity is essential for good health, many children do not accumulate sufficient daily physical activity. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a classroom-based activity break on accelerometer-determined moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and adiposity in primary school children. One hundred twenty children from seven primary schools in Northern Ireland participated in the study. In each school, one class of children was randomly assigned to an intervention group and another class to a control group. Teachers of the intervention classes led a 5-min activity break three times per day for 12 weeks. Accelerometer-determined MVPA, height, weight and four skinfolds were measured at baseline and post-intervention. Compared with the control group, the intervention group significantly increased weekday MVPA (+9.5 min) from baseline to post-intervention. There were no significant changes in BMI; however, an increase in sum-of-skinfolds of the intervention group was observed. Classroom-based activity breaks led by the teacher are successful in increasing children's physical activity levels. The programme shows a positive step in improving overall physical activity levels and contributing to the goal of 60 min daily MVPA.

Adolescents’ reflections on school-based alcohol education in the United Kingdom: education as usual compared with a structured harm reduction intervention

Alcohol consumption by adolescents in the United Kingdom (UK) remains high. School-based interventions are expected to play a key role in preventing adolescent alcohol consumption. A series of focus groups were conducted with pupils who received alcohol education as usual and pupils who received a Northern Ireland adaptation of the School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP), a universal alcohol education program designed to reduce the harms experienced by young drinkers. This study sought to compare and contrast the participants’ engagement with and enjoyment of the different alcohol education that they had received. Focus groups were completed with 129 pupils in 16 schools in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Alcohol education as usual was viewed negatively and was regarded as unstructured, boring, repetitive, and unrealistic. In contrast, the adaptation of SHAHRP was viewed positively and was regarded as enjoyable and worthwhile, and engaging and relevant to the participants’ experiences of alcohol use. These findings suggest that one reason why alcohol education as usual may not be successful in preventing adolescent drinking and protecting adolescents from negative outcomes may be due to its failure to engage participants. Higher acceptability by pupils means that the adaptation of SHAHRP may be one viable alternative.

Promoting Creativity in the Kitchen: Digital Lessons from the Learning Environment

AbstractCreativity and learning are heightened when individuals are exposed to problem‐solving activity (Y. Cho, Chung, Choi, Sea, & Baek, 2013); however, while creativity has historically been promoted in schools, educationalists experience difficulty in integrating it meaningfully to the curriculum (Y. Cho et al., 2013). This is relevant in terms of how students learn culinary food skills in the classroom, where it is necessary for students to generate solutions to difficulties during food preparation and in transferring this learning to the home environment. The challenge for educators is tailoring student creativity to a learning environment which is resource led, directed by a defined curriculum and influenced by the need to meet learning styles of today's “digital natives” (M. Prensky, 2001). Therefore, this research investigates students' perceived impact of podcasting on food skills development in the context of Home Economics at secondary level. The findings reported within this paper represent a component part of a larger research study exploring the impact of podcasting on practical cooking skills development. The study comprised of a quasi‐experiment using six test and control schools in Northern Ireland. In contrast to full cookery demonstrations, podcasting demonstration focuses on individual basic skills and encourages individuals to transfer learning by grouping individual skills to create nutritious meals. Eighteen student focus groups within the six test schools, ages 11–14 were identified to provide their perceptions of podcasting as a learning resource. Qualitative results suggest that students maximized food skills development using this technology, and developed skills through interpretive and integrative creativity.

The ‘Healthy Me’ project: evaluating a mental health promotion initiative in primary schools in Northern Ireland

The ‘Healthy Me’ project: evaluating a mental health promotion initiative in primary schools in Northern Ireland

Perspectives on adolescent alcohol use and consideration of future consequences: results from a qualitative study

ABSTRACTConsideration of future consequences (CFC) is described as the attention that individuals pay to the potential outcomes of their behaviour, and how their behaviour is affected as a result of attention to these outcomes. Greater CFC has been associated with less alcohol use, thus indicating its potential utility in health-promotion initiatives. A focus group methodology was employed with 13–14 year olds (N = 129) in 16 high schools in Northern Ireland and Scotland to attain their thoughts on how adolescents in general consider the future consequences of alcohol consumption; and to provide some clarity on the nature of CFC and whether it is singular or dichotomous in nature (i.e. do individuals distinguish between immediate and long-term consequences and are they influenced by these in different ways). The participants indicated that the majority of adolescents do not consider the consequences of alcohol consumption at all; while to a lesser extent, some adolescents consider the consequences but ignore them. If adolescents do refrain from alcohol, immediate consequences are more influential in their decision-making than long-term consequences. These findings should help to inform and guide the development and delivery of health-promotion initiatives, and provide some clarity about the nature of CFC and the manner in which the construct should be examined or utilised during future research.

A critical investigation of the nature and extent of cyberbullying in two post-primary schools in Northern Ireland

This study aimed to investigate internet usage among post-primary pupils in years 9, 11 and 13 in two contrasting post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, the nature and incidence of cyberbullying among these pupils, and the ways in which their schools are currently addressing the problem. A mixed methodological approach was adopted: a paper questionnaire was completed by pupils in Years 9, 11 and 13 (n = 425) in the two post-primary schools; focus group interviews were conducted with pupils from each year group (n = 18); and individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with the pastoral care coordinators (deputy heads with responsibility for pupil wellbeing) of each school (n = 2). The findings confirm that the post-primary pupils in these two schools own a range of internet-capable media devices and spend considerable time online. The incidence of cyberbullying among these pupils was relatively low, and most often consisted of hurtful or nasty comments sent via texts or posted on social networking sites. The study reveals inconsistencies between the approaches taken by the two schools, but also generally low levels of staff training, little engagement with parents, a lack of pupil confidence in the school’s ability to discuss cyberbullying openly, and a worrying absence of any systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the schools’ current strategies for tackling this complex issue.

Recruiting schools, adolescents and parents to a sexual-health trial: experiences, challenges and lessons learned from the Jack Trial (NCT02092480)

Method The Jack Trial is an NIHR-funded feasibility study of a film-based sexual health intervention, recruiting over 800 adolescents from 8 post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. In order to examine the feasibility of piloted recruitment and retention methods and assess acceptability of participation across the range of schools and individuals approached, we analysed qualitative data from triangulated sources including a parents’ survey and semi-structured interviews with principals, viceprincipals, teachers and parents recruited to the study.

‘Plugging the gap’: shared education and the promotion of community relations through schools in Northern Ireland

Although there is no consensus among educationalists as to the role schools play as drivers of hostilities in divided societies, there is broad agreement that they can facilitate more positive intergroup relations. In Northern Ireland the promotion of school based intergroup contact has been offered as a means through which this can happen. Until 2007, the approach was twofold, reflected on the one hand in short‐term contact opportunities for pupils in predominantly Catholic and Protestant schools, and on the other, in support for integrated schools that educate Catholics and Protestants together. In 2007 the Shared Education Programme was introduced to ‘bridge the gap’ between short‐term opportunities for contact, and ‘full immersion’ integrated schools. Informed by contact theory, shared education offers curriculum‐based interaction between pupils attending all school types, aimed at promoting the type of contact likely to reduce negative social attitudes and ultimately contribute to social harmony. In this paper, we examine the impact of shared education thus far. Our analysis suggests that while shared education is generally effective in promoting positive assessments of other group members, there is a danger that programme impact may be inhibited by the foregrounding of educational over reconciliation priorities. Appreciating that the downplaying reconciliation objectives may have been necessary when the programme was established in order to maximise recruitment to it, we argue that if the full potential of shared education is to be realised, moving forward, it is important for schools to engage with issues of group differences.

Classroom segregation: where do students sit and how is this related to group relations?

With increasing ethnic and racial diversity in the classroom, understanding classroom dynamics and the use of space has become increasingly important. In particular, when theoretical perspectives, such as that offered by intergroup contact research, promotes the importance of contact between competing groups to improve relations. Adopting a behavioural approach, the research presented here observed intergroup behaviour between Protestants and Catholics, through seating choice, in three integrated secondary schools in Northern Ireland. In addition, it considered the use of classroom seating plans by teachers. The sample involved students from Year 8 (aged 11–12) and Year 10 (aged 13–14), and their teachers. For observations of seating behaviour, data collection took place at three time points in the school year (September, January and June). Teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their use of seating plans during the January data collection phase. Seating choice was analysed using a statistical index of segregation. Results found persistent religious segregation over time, despite intergroup contact potential. In addition, the use of teacher enforced seating plans was examined and evaluated, suggesting that they may be restricting natural opportunities for intergroup friendship formation. Findings are discussed in relation to implications for theoretical understandings of contact theory, research methods and policy.

Assessing outgroup prejudice among 13–15-year-old students attending Catholic and Protestant secondary schools in Northern Ireland: An empirical enquiry

Northern Ireland has been and remains a religiously divided community. This study sets out to examine outgroup prejudice among a sample of 1799 13–15-year-old students attending Catholic or Protestant schools and employs both bivariate analyses and hierarchical modelling to chart the associations between outgroup prejudice and personal factors (sex and age), psychological factors (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism), and religious factors (affiliation, church attendance, and personal prayer). After taking personal, psychological, and religious factors into account, little variance in levels of outgroup prejudice between students could be attributed to the type of school they attended.