Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Focus
Research Focus
Joanne Hughes is Director of the Centre for Shared Education at Queen’s. Her main research interests are in the role of education in divided societies, and inequalities in education. She has led more than 20 research projects on these themes with research grants from the EU, ESRC, British Council, British Academy, Nuffield, UNICEF, Atlantic Philanthropies, and a range of other awarding bodies. Current research projects explore longitudinally the effect of inter-group contact between Protestant and Catholic pupils in Northern Ireland, and the development and effectiveness of shared education interventions locally and in international settings, including Israel and states in south east Europe. She is also working with colleagues in CSE to examine minority ethnic and newcomer community experiences of education in NI (led by Rebecca Loader), and the social cohesion impact of academic selection and the grammar school system in NI. In 2016 she was appointed to a prestigious UNESCO Chair on Globalising a Shared Education Model for Improving Intergroup Relations in Divided Societies, and in 2019, her work and that of colleagues was recognised in a Queen’s Anniversary Prize, awarded to Queen’s University for Shared Education. In 2021 she was conferred a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She has advised Government Officials and Ministers nationally and internationally on the development of policies and interventions to promote good relations in schools. In NI her research informed the Shared Education Act (2016) and an associated policy framework, and in North Macedonia, the establishment of a state-wide Interethnic Integration in Education Programme, and the development of resources that have been made available to every primary school in the region. In Israel, Cyprus and Kosovo she is working with local NGOs and officials to develop shared education interventions, and the Deputy Minister of Education in Kosovo currently holds a fellowship in the Centre for Shared Education. Relating to research impact, her work is one of 19 Signature Projects supported in Queen’s Social Charter (2017). Recent (2016-present) expert advisor roles include, British Academy, ‘Education in Conflict and Protracted Crises’; Academy of Social Sciences, ‘Making the Case for Education in the UK’- subsequently launched in the House of Lords (2017); Salzburg Global Session 605, ‘Climate Change, Conflict, Health and Education’; Research Review of mid-Sweden University - Chair of the Education Panel. From 2010-2014 she was editor of the prestigious British Educational Research Journal. She served on the Executive Council of the British Educational Research Association from 2012-2017. From 2017-2021 she held the post of Director of Research in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, leading the School in the submission of two Units of Assessment to REF 2021. Both Units returned in the top 20 within the UK and ranked 4th and 5th in Queen’s. In 2019 she was appointed to the international Learner Research Network Advisory Board.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Network
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R1080SES: Network for Education in Divided Societies: Development Award AH/T005491/1
Gallagher, T., Duffy, G., Hughes, J., Purdue, O. & Turner, R.
03/07/2019 → …
Project: Research
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R2182EDU: Shared Education - Institute for Children and Young People
Hughes, J., Connolly, P. & Donnelly, C.
16/12/2014 → …
Project: Research
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R1904EDU: Parental Participation in peace education: a comparative study
01/08/2007 → …
Project: Research
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R1975SES: Developing and researching shared education in Kosovo
Hughes, J., Blaylock, D. & Turner, R.
29/10/2018 → 31/03/2019
Project: Research
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Is academic selection in Northern Ireland a barrier to social cohesion?
Hughes, J. & Loader, R., 01 Nov 2022, (Early online date) In: Research Papers in Education. 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Building bridges: Dialogue and interaction between teachers from divided communities involved in a shared education project
Hughes, J. & Loader, R., 15 Oct 2021, Language and Social Interaction at Home and School. Caronia, L. (ed.). John Benjamins, p. 295-316 22 p. (Dialogue Studies).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Open AccessFile65 Downloads (Pure) -
Nothing of Benefit: A Response to ‘The Rise and Fall and Rise of Academic Selection: The Case of Northern Ireland’ by Martin Brown et al.
Hughes, J., 01 Sep 2021, In: Irish Studies in International Affairs . 32, 2, p. 499-502 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open AccessFile53 Downloads (Pure) -
Shared education: a case study in social cohesion
Hughes, J. & Loader, R., 12 Aug 2021, (Early online date) In: Research Papers in Education.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile90 Downloads (Pure) -
Shared Education as a Contact-Based Intervention to Improve Intergroup Relations Among Adolescents in Postconflict Northern Ireland
Reimer, N. K., Hughes, J., Blaylock, D., Donnelly, C., Wölfer, R. & Hewstone, M., 16 Dec 2021, (Early online date) In: Developmental Psychology. 58, 1, p. 193–208Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile205 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Elected Fellow of British Academy of Social Sciences
Hughes, Joanne (Recipient), Feb 2021
Prize: Election to learned society
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Making the Case for Education: Academy of Social Sciences Advisory Group on 'Making the Case for Education in the UK'
Hughes, Joanne (Recipient), 2016
Prize: Appointment
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Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education
Gallagher, Tony (Recipient), Hughes, Joanne (Recipient), Duffy, Gavin (Recipient), Robinson, Gareth (Recipient) & Loader, Rebecca (Recipient), 20 Feb 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Radcliffe-Brown Award for PhD Research
Hughes, Joanne (Recipient), 1992
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Addressing inter-group division through education: The Northern Ireland case
Joanne Hughes (Invited speaker)
20 Apr 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Exploring the role of education in promoting social cohesion: evidence from Northern Ireland'
Joanne Hughes (Keynote speaker)
Apr 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference
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The role of the University in promoting positive social impact: A response
Joanne Hughes (Invited speaker)
13 Mar 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Revision of UNESCO 1974 Recommendation: Lead expert advisor to the UK Delegation to UNESCO
Joanne Hughes (Advisor)
Jan 2023 → 2023Activity: Consultancy types › Contribution to the work of national or international committees and working groups
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Ministry of Education, Kosovo
Joanne Hughes (Advisor)
Jan 2023Activity: Consultancy types › Work on advisory panel to industry or government or non-government organisation
Press/Media
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Transfer Test: Academic Selection Perpetuates Division
11/11/2022
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Unionists Reject QUB Paper on Academic Selection
Joanne Hughes & Rebecca Loader
11/11/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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BERA Podcast Series
Joanne Hughes & Rebecca Loader
01/11/2021
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Northern Ireland Assembly debate on the Integrated Education Bill 2022 (Northern Ireland)
Danielle Blaylock & Joanne Hughes
06/07/2021
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Mapping Northern Ireland's Post-BREXIT Future
28/01/2020
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
Impact
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Shared Education: Building Positive Intergroup Relations in Divided Societies
Tony Gallagher (Participant), Joanne Hughes (Participant), Karen Carlisle (Participant) & Caitlin Donnelly (Participant)
Impact: Public Policy Impact, Societial Impact