ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of pupils and teachers within two primary school Shared Education partnerships in Northern Ireland; in particular, how intergroup contact is experienced within such contexts. A comparative, instrumental case study design was employed, which included document review, observation of Shared Education activities, interviews with school principals and teachers, and arts-based group interviews with children. While the paper supports existing research from secondary schools which suggests the potential of Shared Education to create spaces for building positive relations between pupils, the findings also highlighted several key issues which further extend understanding of Shared Education. Firstly, it emphasised the importance of planning, time and structure in Shared Education activity in order to dispel negativity and social awkwardness; secondly, it suggested the need for teachers to ‘model’ positive cross-group relations in their relationships between each other; and thirdly, it revealed a lack of clarity around how to deal with controversial issues as part of Shared Education activity. The paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need for additional guidance for schools around the intended aims and outcomes of Shared Education in relation to its potential to promote positive intergroup contact.

摘要

本文的目的是探讨北爱尔兰两所小学共享教育伙伴关系中学生和教师的经历；特别是在这样的背景下如何体验群体间的接触。采用了比较的工具性案例研究设计，包括文件审查、共享教育活动的观察、对校长和教师的采访以及对儿童的基于艺术的小组采访。虽然该论文支持中学现有的研究，这些研究表明共享教育有可能为建立学生之间的积极关系创造空间，但研究结果还强调了几个关键问题，这些问题进一步扩展了对共享教育的理解。首先，它强调了规划的重要性，共享教育活动的时间和结构，以消除消极情绪和社交尴尬；其次，它表明教师需要在彼此之间的关系中“塑造”积极的跨群体关系；第三，它揭示了作为共享教育活动的一部分如何处理有争议的问题缺乏明确性。该文件最后建议，围绕共享教育的预期目标和成果，学校需要就其促进积极的群体间联系的潜力提供额外的指导。它揭示了作为共享教育活动的一部分如何处理有争议的问题缺乏明确性。该文件最后建议，围绕共享教育的预期目标和成果，学校需要就其促进积极的群体间联系的潜力提供额外的指导。它揭示了作为共享教育活动的一部分如何处理有争议的问题缺乏明确性。该文件最后建议，围绕共享教育的预期目标和成果，学校需要就其促进积极的群体间联系的潜力提供额外的指导。