Description of impact
The project applies findings from my theoretical research on civility to construct a framework to guide educational and youth services provision in post-conflict Northern Ireland by promoting activities that foster respectful dialogue, reasonable disagreement, and critical thinking.This initiative thus aims to have both short and long-term social and political impact, which includes developing in children and young people the above skills by embedding philosophical skills in the core of the curriculum. Nurturing skills in this area will equip children as future citizens to deal with issues faced by contemporary liberal democracies, such as polarisation and division, in addition to those posed by the growing influence of technology, including misinformation, online hate and political conflict, and censorship. The project thus aims to have regional, and potentially national and international, impact.
Who is affected
Primary beneficiaries will be children and young people in NI, which potentially includes the approximately 180,000 children currently engaging with the primary curriculum in addition to the 120,000 who engage with youth services (overlap expected). Secondary beneficiaries will be NI society more broadly.Narrative
The framework developed via The Critical Civility Project is rooted in my years of research on freedom of speech, civility, and toleration, in combination with an established literature on philosophy with children.Engagement to date includes:
- An information session about the project (01/23) for headteachers, policy-makers, members of relevant organisations, and political representatives.
- Delivery (01/24-03/24) of over 70 sessions in ten primary classes across NI.
- Delivery (12/23-02/24) of several cross-community sessions with youth organisations, in partnership with UCD.
Impact status | In preparation |
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Impact date | 2023 |
Impact level | Engagement |