Exploring the relationship between
citizenship and community relations –
In the context of education in
Northern Ireland
Helen Henderson
Msc: Education for Contemporary Society.
What do you think?

Do you think that community relations
and citizenship are connected?

If so, how do you think they are related?

How are citizenship and community
relations different?
Rationale

Funding for Education for Citizenship
Support Project (SCPH) not renewed by
Department of Education due to lack of
community relations dimension.

Wider debate about the role of
citizenship education in peace-building
and community relations in N.I.
Research Questions
1. Are citizenship and community relations
connected in theory and practice?
2. What are the tensions in connecting
citizenship and community relations and how
can these be addressed?
3. What are the barriers that prevent positive
collaboration between the formal and nonformal sectors and how can these be
overcome?
4. Can policy offer a clear strategy to address
these issues?
Methodology
Documentary Analysis
 Semi-structured Interviews of key policy
makers:

•
•
•
•
•
Bernie Kells (CCEA)
June Neill (WELB)
Johnston McMaster (JEDI)
Duncan Morrow (CRC)
Lousie Warde-Hunter (DENI)
Findings: Documentary Analysis

A Shared Future:
‘The new cross-curricular theme of local and
global citizenship has the potential to make a
significant contribution to understanding the
causes of conflict between and within
communities both in N.I and elsewhere in the
world. To make a real impact it is necessary
that this work tackles the reality of living in a
divided society’
(CRU 2005: 34)
Findings: Documentary Analysis

‘Through the concepts of diversity and
inclusion young people can explore the
breadth and depth of diversity in their own
community..’ (Arlow 2004: 286)

Comparing Language:
– CR: EDI: Equity, Diversity and Interdependence
– Citizenship: Equality and Social Justice, Diversity
and Inclusion, Democracy and Active Participation
and Human Rights.
Findings: Interviews.

Tensions in connecting Community Relations
and Citizenship:
– Lack of a shared understanding of what these
concepts mean.
– Separated training but the same set of skills.
– Lack of connectedness
– Competitiveness:
“there is a danger of people taking sides being in
one or the other camp and defending their
territory” (Morrow)
Findings: Interviews

How are they connected?
• “Community relations is our context” (Warde-Hunter)
• “We have to start coming from the relationship
perspective, within that web of relationships we’ve
got EDI, the various citizenship issues, civic society,
the political society” (McMaster)
• “There are different entry points into all of this,
citizenship is one, community relations is one, so too
is EMU, and community development” (Kells)
Barriers between formal and
informal education sectors.

“The formal sector of DENI needs to be much
more in dialogue with the informal sector of that
department. We use the expression joined up
thinking, joined up talking would be a start”
(Kells)

“We need to decide better what the strengths of
each systems is, we want to be complementary to
each other. Some of our best teachers are the
ones who have had experience working in the
informal sector and have developed these
methodological skills”
(Neill).
Conclusions

Community Relations and Citizenship are
inextricably linked. It is the context in which CR
and Cit are taught that creates the biggest
difference (formal v informal).

Citizenship builds social capital (Print, 2004)
whereas community relations acts as bridging
capital.

Supports Morrows fears where,. “there is
citizenship of the community but not anything that
connects”.
Model and Recommendations
Recommendations
Over-arching policy that includes all
these concepts.
 Communication and collaboration
 Combined training
 There is a need for educational policy to
take a confident step to state that this
work is important.
