R'E' and CITIZENSHIP IN A NEW NORTHERN IRELAND

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R.E. and CITIZENSHIP IN A NEW NORTHERN IRELAND

• New Power Sharing Government
• Shared Future Agenda
• New School Curriculum
• Citizenship
• Religious Education
• Budapest 2007

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Power Sharing at last May 2007

• Power Sharing at last May 2007

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Childrens future is in our hands
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Emerging from the past is a journey not a
destination
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What are the key principles?

• To begin the journey of
• Sharing over separation (14)
• accepting that separate but equal is not an
  option.and parallel living is morally
  unsustainable (20)

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Division is still a reality on the ground
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Facts and Figures.
Controlled Schools 78 Protestant 8
Catholic 14 Other Catholic
Maintained 99 Catholic (165,575) 0.7
Protestant ( 559) 0.3 Other (
341) Grant Maintained Integrated 45
Protestant 43 Catholic
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Changing face of N Ireland

• Almost 50 of N Ireland growth in overall
  population in the year ending June 2005 was down
  to 6,700 incomers
• Estimate of the number of migrants for 2006 is
  60,000

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What does a Shared Future look like?
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What does the process look like?

• Co-existence?
• Assimilation?
• Integration?
• Multiculturalism?
• Multi Ethnicism
• Something else?

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Are there operating principles?

• Unity
• cannot be so extensive and deep that it leaves no
  space for diversity
• cannot be so formal, abstract and valueless
• Diversity
• should not be so wide and varied that it leaves
  our communities fragmented
• cannot be passive, mute and ghettoised.
• Drive for social cohesion
• cannot blur difference, culture and cannot seek
  to be the only goal for a multi cultural society
• Ghandi I do not want my doors to be walled and
  my windows stuffed. I want the cultures of all
  lands to blow freely about my house. But I do not
  want to be blown off my feet by any

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Our Challenge

• Only do apart what we cannot do better together
• Government and public service to lead by example
• To consider the importance of relationships over
  targets
• To focus on process not structures

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Shared Future Educational Context

• A shared future March 2005
• All schools should ensure through their
  policies, structures and curriculum, that pupils
  are consciously prepared for life in a diverse
  and intercultural society and world
• Review of Schools Estate towards greater sharing
  across sectors
• Community Relations and Good Relations
• Section 75 of Northern Ireland Act (1998)
• requirement to have regard to the desirability
  of promoting good relations between persons of
  different religious beliefs, political opinion or
  racial group
• Equality Commission
• Human Rights Act (1998) and parental rights in
  education

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Northern Ireland is a Contested Society

• A stable society is characterised by people
  sharing a common sense of identity
• A high degree of support and unanimity is
  accorded to state institutions and institutions
  of law and order
• In a contested society there is no shared sense
  of identity and people have traditions/ loyalties
  which can be exclusive and unlikely to
  accommodate difference
• Need for curriculum change to address divisions

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Curriculum Objectives
To develop the young person as a contributor to
the economy environment
To develop the young person as an individual
To develop the young person as a contributor to
society
Key Elements
Personal understanding Mutual understanding Pers
onal health Moral character Spiritual awareness
Citizenship Cultural understanding Media
awareness Ethical awareness
Employability Economic awareness Education for
sustainable development
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Being creative
Thinking, Problem solving, Decision making
Managing Information
Thinking skills

Personal Capabilities

Self-management
Working with Others
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• Personal Development
• Personal Development focuses on encouraging
  each child to become personally, emotionally,
  socially and physically effective, to lead
  healthy lives, to become confident, independent
  and responsible citizens, making informed and
  responsible choices and decisions throughout
  their lives.
  
• CCEA

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1. PERSONAL UNDERSTANDING AND HEALTH
Self esteem Feelings and Emotions Dispositions
attitudes Health and Safety
2.MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN THE LOCAL GLOBAL
COMMUNITY
Relationships Rights and Responsibilities Similari
ties and differences Approaches to
conflict Cultural difference diversity
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Lessons from Research

• Willingness to engage in controversial issues
• Differences in the sectors
• Recognised need for specific training, for
  example, racism, Human rights, and active
  methodologies

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Lessons from Paul Connolly

• There is a need for us to be concerned about
  diversity and inclusion in the early years
• It is possible for educational programmes to
  encourage young children to respect differences
  and to be more inclusive
• There is a need to be focused and explicit
• There is a need to involve parents and local
  communities

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Why education must break the Sound of Silence

• People avoid talking about certain topics
• How can a society move on from conflict unless we
  find a way to talk about the legacy of division
  and conflict?
• Evidence reveals people find it freeing to break
  through silence to more informed understanding
• Schools and teachers have a responsibility to
  promote better community relations, tolerance and
  reconciliation among children and young people

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Local and Global Citizenship

• Where has it come from?
• Educational research identified a gap in the
  curriculum
• Council of Europe and U.N. promotion of
  education for human rights and democracy
• England Citizenship Education statutory since
  August 2002
• Scotland one of 5 national priorities, June 2002
• Wales within PSE, statutory from 2003
• Republic of Ireland Civic, Social and Political
  Education mandatory since 1997
• University of Ulster/CCEA pilot project in
  Social, Civic and Political Education (March 1999
  2002)

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Key Features of Citizenship in new Curriculum

• Exploration of key themes in local and global
  contexts
• Future Orientation
• Opportunity for school based interpretation
• Principle of flexibility
• Content
• Method of delivery within the context of Learning
  for Life and Work which includes personal
  development, education for employability and home
  economics

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KEY THEMES

• Recurring issues Role of the media, aspects of
  the law, challenging stereotypes and prejudice,
  conflict management and resolution
• Democracy and Active Participation
• Equality and Social Justice
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Human Rights and Social Responsibility
• Local ? Global
• Individual ?Society ?State

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Diversity and Inclusion

• Provides opportunities to consider the range and
  extent of diversity in society and to identify
  the challenges and opportunities which diversity
  and inclusion present
• What factors influence our sense of personal and
  group identity?
• What are the challenges and opportunities of
  diversitygt
• What can be done positively to manage diversity
  and inclusion?

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Equality and Social Justice

• Provides opportunities to understand that society
  needs to safeguard individual and collective
  rights in order to ensure that everyone is
  treated equally and fairly
• How can we protect groups/individuals who face
  discrimination?
• How can we support groups/individuals who are
  marginalised in society?
• How can we promote social inclusion?

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Democracy and Active Participation

• Provides opportunities for young people to
  understand how to participate in and influence
  democratic processes and to be aware of the role
  of these processes in promoting inclusion,
  justice and democracy
• What are the characteristics of a democratic
  society?
• Who makes the decisions that affect me?
• How can I play a part in my school, my community
  and in democratic processes?

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Human Rights and Social Responsibility

• Provides opportunities to understand that a
  globally accepted values-base exists which
  reflects the rights and responsibilities of
  individuals and groups in democratic societies
• What do we mean by human rights and how are they
  protected?
• How can we promote the values underpinning human
  rights?
• How can we take responsibility individually, as a
  society and through our government?

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Key Stage 4 Pupils should be enabled to

• Respond to the specific challenges and
  opportunities which diversity and inclusion
  present in Northern Ireland and the wider world
• Identify and exercise their rights and social
  responsibilities in relation to local, national
  and global issues
• Develop their understanding of the role of
  society and government in safeguarding individual
  and collective rights in order to promote
  equality and to ensure that everyone is treated
  equally

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Key Stage 4 Pupils should be enabled to

• Develop awareness of the role of non-governmental
  organisations
• Develop awareness of key democratic institutions
  and their role in promoting inclusion, justice
  and democracy
• Develop their understanding about how to
  participate in a range of democratic processes

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Education
The place of Faith
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Education Concerns?

• What is the role of religion in schools?
• What is the role of Faith communities in
  schools?
• What about faith schools?

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Education -Guiding Principles

• the education system should
• provide for the development of all aspects of the
  individual
• promote a culture of tolerance, reconciliation
  and respect for diversity of cultures
• relate to the changing needs of society and the
  economy

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Church involvement

• Current situation
• Controlled schools have transferors on the Boards
  of Governors
• Voluntary Grammars and GMI schools do not
• Catholic managed schools have Church
  representation
• Catholic schools include sacramental prep

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Integrated Schools

• Essentially Christian in character
• Offer a Christian rather than a secular approach
  to education
• Allow for sacramental preparation in primary
• Try and involve local faith communities

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Education Statistics

• State of play in the 1296
• schools in N.Ireland.
• 61 Integrated schools
• 37 schools have over 10 other tradition(9
  have 70/30 split15 have 75/25 split)
• 0.5 non Catholics in Catholic Schools
• 15 non Protestant in Controlled schools

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RE and Worship

• 1986 All schools shall include collective
  worship, whether in one or more assembly non
  distinctive
• Pupils and teachers can withdraw
• RE will be non denominational based on Holy
  Scriptures and not inspected except by request
• Ministers of religion shall be granted reasonable
  access

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BACKGROUND

• RE is a compulsory part of the curriculum for all
  grant-aided schools in NI
• The Core Syllabus sets out the central matters -
  topics, values and skills which are to be
  included in the programme for RE
• The Core provides the basis on which schools with
  the approval of their Boards of Governors can
  construct schemes of work to suit their own
  particular needs

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Religious Education

• Parents have the right to withdraw their child
  from part or all of RE or collective worship.
• Schools have to provide RE in accordance with the
  core syllabus drawn up by the four main churches
  and specified by the Department.
• The Churches were asked to review the core
  syllabus and, in doing so, to give particular
  consideration to the inclusion of World Religions
  
• The Minister has accepted their Proposals.

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The Core Syllabus and other World Faiths

• The four main churches were asked by the Dept
  Education to consider the inclusion of the study
  of other world religions
• Churches responded recognising we live in a
  diverse yet increasingly connected world.
• But members of other faith traditions were not
  involved in drawing up the Core Syllabus
• For a fuller understanding of the world and its
  peoples it is proper that a study of other
  cultures and belief systems be encouraged

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Christianity and other world faiths

• Therefore strong educational and sociological
  reasons for, from a Christian perspective,
  looking at the beliefs of others
• Within a Christian-centred Core for RE units of
  study be included at an appropriate age as an
  introduction to world faiths other than
  Christianity
• Pupils at KS3 be introduced to two world faiths
  as deemed by the BoG of each school to reflect
  the local and NI social context
• Such teaching at other key stages is a matter for
  BoGs to approve as part of RE beyond the core

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Other World Faiths continued

• Purpose of proposals to help pupils develop an
  awareness and appreciation of people of other
  faiths
• To avail of opportunities to further respect and
  understanding explaining special days of
  celebration when members of other faiths are
  present

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• The revised core syllabus will be introduced from
  September 2007, alongside the revised curriculum
  and will be supported by teaching materials
  developed with the support of a representative
  advisory group co - chaired by the Churches and
  the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and
  Assessment (CCEA).

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• The revised RE core syllabus includes
  Christianity, morality and for the first time,
  World Religions and a  requirement at Key Stage 4
  for pupils to study The Christian Church from
  both a Protestant and a Roman Catholic
  perspective.
• It provides a common core for the teaching of RE
  that schools are free to build upon in a way that
  suits the needs of their pupils and the ethos of
  the school.
• This is in keeping with the greater flexibility
  being provided by the revised curriculum and
  gives schools scope to include, for example,
  additional material on World religions or any
  other RE related subject matter.

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• Challenges-
• What specific role do churches have in education?
• What role can individual Christians play?
• How do we advance towards a Shared Future?
• Do we, for example, promote parental choice or
  equality of provision?
• What if any role do Faith schools play?

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The Questions

• What questions about R.E. and Citizenship in my
  country has this presentation raised?
• What part can/ should R.E. play in promoting
  inclusion or reconciliation in a diverse or
  divided society?
• What part can Citizenship play?
• Other questions?