Northern Ireland education has just had an Independent Review . It remarked that:

‘Northern Ireland could significantly benefit if unnecessary fragmentation or duplication, where they exist, were removed or rationalised.’ (Independent Review Report, 2023, Vol. 2, p. 235)

This special issue has unpacked the complexities and challenges of education in Northern Ireland, describing a system of education  divided by religion/community and social class, with children selected supposedly by academic ability. We have recounted a matrix of supporting bodies, and some of the outcomes of division. While admiring those who work within this system, we have presented evidence that it is not as effective as it could be in delivering educational outcomes, nor in promoting a less divided society. In this blog post we ask: what should inform any change?

Early in the Transforming Education project process, we tried to stay out of that discussion. We aimed to raise issues and set out evidence but, ideally, we felt that any solutions should come from communities themselves. However, proposing no answers provoked some criticism. Accordingly, we developed a briefing paper that discussed the need for change emerging from this research (Milliken & Roulston, 2022). The evidence we presented suggested a number of issues and challenges:

• The way in which schools are managed must better ensure that the needs of children are prioritised so that all young people are better prepared for a shared future.
• Parents should be central to school governance and the composition of governing bodies should reflect a balanced community.
• The removal of the exemption for schools from Fair Employment legislation is a step towards ending religious discrimination in schools, but it will require monitoring and impact measurement.
• Some initial teacher education (ITE) provision in Northern Ireland exemplifies Sahlberg’s (2014) ‘fragmentation and duplication’, separating pre-service teachers by community background. Many Northern Ireland teachers, during their lifetime, attend segregated schools, graduate to segregated ITE, and then return to their segregated sectors to teach, potentially limiting their capacity to contribute to the creation of a more inclusive society.
• Increased religious diversity and secularisation suggests a need for a diminution of the central role played by the Christian churches in education, including revising the Religious Education syllabus and the requirement for a daily act of collective worship.
• Citizenship in the curriculum requires a ‘reboot’. Preparing teachers for teaching controversial issues in more diverse classrooms is also a pressing need.
• The removal of academic selection and a move to all-ability secondary schools would be a step forwards for individual learners and the whole system.

‘The centrality of Christian churches in Northern Ireland education was unchallenged [by the Independent Review] and the requirement for a daily act of collective worship was not questioned.’

This briefing paper presenting the need for change had been written before the Independent Review of Education made its final recommendations. Despite the commentary that began this piece, many issues were not addressed in that review. Although the review recommended that religious education be revised within the curriculum, the centrality of Christian churches in special issue education was unchallenged and the requirement for a daily act of collective worship was not questioned. Other issues appear to have been kicked down the road: a critical review of initial teacher education was recommended but the Review Panel did not specify what changes might be desirable. While identifying benefits of reduced fragmentation and duplication, the argument that the system ‘can accommodate choice … There is no need to insist on uniformity’ (Independent Review of Education, 2023, p. 233) seems paradoxical if not contradictory.

Jointly managed Community schools were mooted and may be helpful. These were described as helping to promote social cohesion within a multi-sectoral context and the report supported

‘the extension of … choice for parents and … the option of attending an Integrated school or a jointly managed community school within a realistic travelling distance available to all families as soon as possible.’ (Independent Review Report, Vol. 1, p. 78).

Consideration of the Independent Review now rests with the Education Minister and it is too early to know whether, or how, this recommendation will be implemented, exactly what these Community schools will look like, and how they might fit into governance structures. However, importantly, the fact that a new type of school is being broached does at least suggest that there is an appetite for change for the Northern Ireland education system. Change is possible, even if in small, incremental steps. What would be useful for Northern Ireland education is for the blog posts in this special issue to stimulate further debate on how best to improve education in Northern Ireland – children and young people there deserve it.

References

Independent Review of Education. (2023). Investing in a better future: Volumes 1&2. https://www.independentreviewofeducation.org.uk/

Milliken. M., & Roulston, S. (2022). How education needs to change: A vision for a single system. Integrated Education Fund. https://www.ulster.ac.uk/research/topic/education/our-research/current-research-projects/transforming-education/how-education-needs-to-change-a-vision-for-a-single-system

Sahlberg, P. (2014). Aspiring to excellence. Final report of the international review panel on structure of initial teacher education in Northern Ireland. https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/20454/1/aspiring-to-excellence-review-panel-final-report.pdf