"It’s our children that are separated" - Intercultural Education in Northern Ireland’s Shared & Integrated Education

This thesis investigates the role of intercultural education in promoting intercommunity understanding in post-conflict Northern Ireland. It comprises a systematic literature review of outcomes associated with integrated education and a qualitative empirical study of parents’ roles in shared education, providing an analysis of intercommunity relations through these approaches. The systematic review analysed 12 studies (published between 1996 and 2022) involving over 35,000 participants, finding that integrated education generally supports improved intercommunity relations, a greater sense of inclusion and more open identity development. Framed by social identity theory, critical multiculturalism and contact hypothesis, the review highlights the benefits of meaningful intergroup contact while cautioning against identity hierarchies. Following this, a qualitative study explored parental experiences in the shared education programme using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Grounded in a constructivist epistemology and informed by social identity theory and critical multiculturalism, findings revealed limited direct parent-to-parent contact. However, it was reported that family dialogue not only shaped children’s understanding of culture and conflict, but also influenced and reframed parents’ own perspectives. A key finding was the need for more structured parental support in this role. The thesis concludes that although both types of mixed-community schooling are associated with positive outcomes for intercommunity relations and identity at the child-level, parental involvement in shared education is underutilised. Educational psychologists are well-placed to support parents through the use of frameworks such as critical multiculturalism. It is recommended that more intentional inclusion of parents is considered in policy and practice, positioning them as key stakeholders in fostering social cohesion and supporting peacebuilding goals.