Is the policy sufficient? An exploration of integrated education in Northern Ireland and bilingual/binational education in Israel

For the past few decades contact interventions have played an important role in efforts to manage conflict and promote better relations between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland (Shared Future Document, 2003) and Arabs and Jews in Israel (Bar-Tal, 2000). The target for many such initiatives has been children and young people. Reflecting on this and in parallel developments, it is found that both countries have seen the creation of new and innovative approaches to educating, together, children of diverse religious, political, and national backgrounds. In Northern Ireland integrated schools emerged in the 1980s as an alternative to existent segregated schools. At around the same time, bilingual, binational schools were first established in Israel as an experiment in Arab/Jewish coeducation. In both contexts the schools reflect an ideological commitment to a more peaceful society and are based on the theoretical premises of the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954). Based on qualitative research in four schools, this chapter examines the nature of the contact experience in two integrated schools in Northern Ireland and two bilingual/binational schools in Israel. Through comparative analysis, it illuminates some of the contextual and process variables that seemingly mediate the quality and moderate the effectiveness of contact in each school setting. The final section highlights some issues that may be of relevance to policymakers and practitioners.