ABSTRACT

The ethnic separation of the school system in Northern Ireland along Catholic and Protestant community lines limits opportunities for daily cross-community interaction between young people. Recent research has shown that, whilst the deployment pattern of teachers is largely consistent with this divide, a small proportion of teachers has diverted from the community-consistent path and are teaching in a school not associated with their own community background. Narrative interviews with a purposive sample of these cross-over teachers has provided rich insights into their experiences. The research presented here explores the extent to which these cross-over teachers felt able to reveal and engage their ethnic identity in their teaching. A mixed pattern is observed; whilst some had endeavoured to hide or disguise their identity, others had embraced their otherness and were consequently better placed to achieve agency in their practice.

摘要

北爱尔兰学校系统沿天主教和新教社区的种族隔离限制了年轻人之间日常跨社区互动的机会。最近的研究表明，虽然教师的调配模式与这种划分基本一致，但一小部分教师已经偏离了与社区一致的道路，并在与他们自己的社区背景无关的学校任教。对这些跨界教师的有目的的样本进行的叙事访谈为他们的经历提供了丰富的见解。这里介绍的研究探讨了这些跨界教师在多大程度上能够在他们的教学中揭示和参与他们的种族身份。观察到混合模式；虽然有些人试图隐藏或掩饰他们的身份，