Shelley McKeown

Stories that move them: Changing children’s behaviour toward diverse peers

Globally, our social worlds are becoming increasingly racially and ethnically diverse. Despite this, little attention has been given to how children negotiate this diversity. In this study we examine whether a value-in-diversity storybook intervention encourages young children to engage in intergroup contact with racially diverse peers. The lunchroom seating behaviour of 4- to 6-year-olds attending three racially diverse primary schools was recorded at three different points during a one-week period. Seating behaviour was coded based on the race of the children and levels of segregation were calculated (Campbell et al., 1996). Before hearing the story, we observed racial self-segregation; children were more likely to sit with same-race peers. However, immediately following the story, children were no longer significantly racially segregated. This effect was not maintained; up to 48 hours later children again showed evidence of racial self-segregation. Our findings suggest that exposure to racially diverse peers alone is not sufficient for promoting intergroup contact. We argue that it is vital to develop sustainable teacher-led interventions if we are to harness the potential of diverse school settings for bolstering intergroup relations.

Social Identity Theory and Intergroup Conflict in Northern Ireland

The conflict in Northern Ireland, known colloquially as the ‘Troubles’, is often understood as a religious war but in fact is underpinned by competing religious, political, and national ideologies, often dichotomised into those who wish Northern Ireland to reunify with Ireland and those who wish it to remain part of the United Kingdom. These ideologies are bound up in a series of social identities that are represented by the Protestant and Catholic communities. In this chapter, we trace the relationship between identity, conflict, and peace in Northern Ireland from the emergence of the ‘Troubles’ up until and following the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Peace Agreement. Specifically, we cover four key themes that underlie much of the work on social identity in Northern Ireland: (a) the prevalence of social categorisation, identification, and comparison strategies; (b) the role of identity in conflict; (c) the relationship between stress, coping, and identity; and (d) the role of intergroup contact in promoting identity for peace. In doing so, we argue that whilst identity lies at the root of the Northern Irish conflict, it also presents important exciting opportunities for peace.

Intergroup contact and the mediating role of intergroup trust on outgroup evaluation and future contact intentions in Cyprus and Northern Ireland

It is well supported that intergroup contact reduces prejudice and that positive contact can increase trust and improve attitudes between groups in conflict. In segregated societies, however, contact is often difficult or undesirable when political parties or institutions obstruct interactions contact. Therefore, when contact does occur it is vital that it is of positive quality that could potentially lead to increased intentions for further contact, as a way of facilitating sustained contact, desegregation and promoting peace. With this in mind, the present article examines intergroup contact, intergroup trust, and future contact intentions in 2 conflict settings; Cyprus and Northern Ireland. Participants took part in an online survey that asked them to report on their contact experiences, intergroup trust, outgroup evaluation, and future contact intentions. Separate models are tested for Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland (n = 268) and for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus (n = 408). As expected, participants from Northern Ireland experienced more and better quality contact compared with participants from Cyprus. For Protestants, Catholics, and Greek Cypriots, results show that quality of contact, above quantity of contact, predicts future contact intentions, and improved attitudes through the mediation of intergroup trust. For Turkish Cypriots, contact quality additionally directly predicted outgroup evaluation without necessarily increasing trust. We argue that positive contact is an important route for promoting desegregation in societies with high residential segregation but that it is vital to understand contextual and group status when understanding these relationships.

Integrated education in Northern Ireland: Education for peace?

Across the globe, education is used as a tool to promote peace and build harmonious relations. Integrated, mixed, or inclusive education is one example of this, where children and young people from different racial and/or religious backgrounds are educated together. This is usually with the hope of helping to create a non-discriminating and cohesive society, particularly in places with a history of conflict such as, Northern Ireland. Since the outbreak of the conflict, known as the “troubles”, education has been used as one means to improve intergroup relations in Northern Ireland. This paper reviews the existing literature on integrated education in Northern Ireland and assesses the impact of attending an integrated school, on intergroup relations. In addition, it presents findings from 11 years of national survey data collected among Northern Irish 16-year-olds. Results show that young people who attended integrated schools feel more positive towards the outgroup and are more likely to endorse contact and mixing, than those who attended religiously segregated schools. These findings are discussed in relation to policy implications and new educational initiatives in Northern Ireland.

Beyond the irony of intergroup contact: The effects of contact and threat on political participation and support for political violence in Northern Ireland.

Research has suggested that intergroup contact can ironically lead to a reduction in commitment to social change and that threat can play an important role in this process. In post-agreement societies, however, characterized more so by symbolic rather than material conflict, the role that intergroup contact and threat play in social action may be particularly complex. This article examines intergroup contact, intergroup threat, support for political violence, and political participation among a student sample (n = 152) of Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Results show that contact is associated with lower symbolic and realistic threat for both groups and to lower levels of support for political violence but not to political participation. Symbolic threat mediated the association between contact and support for political violence and between contact and political participation for the Protestant majority group only. This suggests that contact may have a positive effect upon group relations but that this is dependent upon status and the social–political context.

Conclusion: The Next Voyage

In our journey we have circumnavigated the globe and our eyes have been opened to the wide-ranging contribution social identity theory has already made to our understanding of peace and conflict. In doing so, we have become aware that the impact of the theory goes far beyond race and ethnic relations and addresses some of the biggest challenges facing today’s world; health, inequalities, social change, and sustainability. One clear outcome of this journey is the discovery that it does not matter where you are in the world or how far along the road to peace you are, social identities are integral to our lives. As such, we believe that our journey does not end with this conclusion; rather we hope that it sets the course for the next voyage in which social identity research is brought to the fore.

A Political Psychology of Conflict: The Case of Northern Ireland

The zeitgeist influencing much contemporary psychology and wider scholarly thought is one that individualises political processes. This is particularly the case when we attempt to understand political violence and conflict. Those engaged in political violence, or even affected by it, are often represented by Western media at least, as terrorists, criminals or mentally unstable (Horgan, 2003; Pupavac, 2004). Drawing on theory and research from political psychology, here we set out to demonstrate that macro-social and collective processes are crucial to any analysis of political violence and conflict. Indeed the individualisation of the problem can and often is in itself a political act (Pupavac, 2004).