ABSTRACT

Education plays an important role in bridging divisions and promoting positive intergroup relations. A number of initiatives aimed at improving relations in conflict-affected societies have been based on the contact hypothesis. However, very little attention has been devoted to the potential of such interventions to reduce social distance between groups. Moreover, the voices of the young people involved in such programmes have rarely been taken into consideration. This paper tries to address these gaps using a qualitative methodology. It presents the views and experiences of post-primary pupils involved in planned educational contact encounters in two countries that have experienced interethnic violence: Northern Ireland and the Republic of North Macedonia. The findings suggest that planned contact can be effective in reducing social distance. However the programmes need to provide opportunities for more frequent meetings, more personalized communication between pupils, and the sensitive exploration of contentious issues to ensure long-lasting changes.

摘要

教育在弥合分歧和促进积极的群体间关系方面发挥着重要作用。许多旨在改善受冲突影响社会关系的举措都是基于接触假设。然而，很少有人关注此类干预措施在减少群体之间的社会距离方面的潜力。此外，很少考虑参与此类项目的年轻人的声音。本文尝试使用定性方法解决这些差距。它介绍了在经历过种族间暴力的两个国家（北爱尔兰和北马其顿共和国）参与计划的教育接触接触的小学生的观点和经验。研究结果表明，有计划的接触可以有效减少社交距离。