Exploring the relationship between citizenship and community relations –

In the context of education in Northern Ireland

Helen Henderson

Msc: Education for Contemporary Society.

What do you think?

Do you think that community relations and citizenship are connected?

If so, how do you think they are related?

How are citizenship and community relations different?

Rationale

Funding for Education for Citizenship Support Project (SCPH) not renewed by Department of Education due to lack of community relations dimension.

Wider debate about the role of citizenship education in peace-building and community relations in N.I.

Research Questions

1. Are citizenship and community relations connected in theory and practice?

2. What are the tensions in connecting citizenship and community relations and how can these be addressed?

3. What are the barriers that prevent positive collaboration between the formal and non-formal sectors and how can these be overcome?

4. Can policy offer a clear strategy to address these issues?

Methodology

Documentary Analysis Semi-structured Interviews of key policy

makers:• Bernie Kells (CCEA) • June Neill (WELB)• Johnston McMaster (JEDI)• Duncan Morrow (CRC)• Lousie Warde-Hunter (DENI)

Findings: Documentary Analysis A Shared Future:

‘The new cross-curricular theme of local and global citizenship has the potential to make a significant contribution to understanding the causes of conflict between and within communities both in N.I and elsewhere in the world. To make a real impact it is necessary that this work tackles the reality of living in a divided society’

(CRU 2005: 34)

Findings: Documentary Analysis

‘Through the concepts of diversity and inclusion young people can explore the breadth and depth of diversity in their own community..’ (Arlow 2004: 286)

Comparing Language:– CR: EDI: Equity, Diversity and Interdependence– Citizenship: Equality and Social Justice, Diversity

and Inclusion, Democracy and Active Participation and Human Rights.

Findings: Interviews. Tensions in connecting Community Relations

and Citizenship:

– Lack of a shared understanding of what these concepts mean.

– Separated training but the same set of skills. – Lack of connectedness– Competitiveness:

“there is a danger of people taking sides being in one or the other camp and defending their territory” (Morrow)

Findings: Interviews How are they connected?

• “Community relations is our context” (Warde-Hunter)

• “We have to start coming from the relationship perspective, within that web of relationships we’ve got EDI, the various citizenship issues, civic society, the political society” (McMaster)

• “There are different entry points into all of this, citizenship is one, community relations is one, so too is EMU, and community development” (Kells)

Barriers between formal and informal education sectors.

“The formal sector of DENI needs to be much more in dialogue with the informal sector of that department. We use the expression joined up thinking, joined up talking would be a start”

(Kells)

“We need to decide better what the strengths of each systems is, we want to be complementary to each other. Some of our best teachers are the ones who have had experience working in the informal sector and have developed these methodological skills” (Neill).

Conclusions Community Relations and Citizenship are

inextricably linked. It is the context in which CR and Cit are taught that creates the biggest difference (formal v informal).

Citizenship builds social capital (Print, 2004) whereas community relations acts as bridging capital.

Supports Morrows fears where,. “there is citizenship of the community but not anything that connects”.

Model and Recommendations

Recommendations

Over-arching policy that includes all these concepts.

Communication and collaboration Combined training There is a need for educational policy to

take a confident step to state that this work is important.