PRIDE OF OUR PLACE - The Centre for Cross Border Studies

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esteem was integral to the development of cultural heritage work. Furthermore it was felt that‘celebrating their culture and language was a major starting point for realising pupils’ sense ofself-value’. 17In ‘Pride of our Place’ all these areas – and in particular relationships, self-esteem and theenvironment – facilitated work on differences and similarities. Observing the children presenttheir place and listening to them talk about their own locality reinforced the pride all theschools had in their own place. Participants came to appreciate what made each place specialand unique and what made each place different. This was echoed in the conclusion of Insidethe Gates: Schools and the Troubles that ‘an essential part of this preparation was ensuringpupils’ pride in their own culture and identity before engaging in cross-community contactwhich demands an appreciation of an alternative culture’. 18 When the children played together,shared playground games and traditions and meals together, opportunities to ‘show and tell’about their area naturally arose. These times were rich and rewarding to witness for allinvolved with the project. The participating children were an inspiration to the adults in theirapproach to and involvement in this work. The richness of the quotes from the teachers andchildren alike bear witness to the genuinely committed approach to the project by theparticipants.The work of the Centre for the Study of Conflict at the University of Ulster initiated severalimportant research projects in the related fields of segregated schools, integrated schools,school links and EMU. 19 Other key groups in these areas were the Corrymeela Community, theNorthern Ireland UNESCO Committee, the United Nations Association and the Council forEducation in World Citizenship. In 1978, as part of the Northern Ireland UNESCO CommitteeProject, Billy Mitchell, a Further Education College principal, enhanced the development of thework of EMU and peace education by encouraging schools to fuse peace education into thecurriculum and the whole ethos of the school. 20 Mitchell believed that the attitude of theteacher to the students was critical to education for peace. This is also a key finding of ‘Pride ofour Place’, in that the role of the teacher in building relationships with the partner school, theteacher’s commitment and approach to the work, the quality of interactions and the leadershipprovided all greatly influenced the school community. Teachers play the central role in thepromotion of EMU by their attitude to this work. Malone, writing in the The Northern Teacherin 1973, stated that the ‘teacher’s role is a vital one’. 21 In selecting schools for participation inwork of this kind, the key players will be the principal and the class teacher. Contacts betweenschools in projects such as ‘Pride of our Place’ need to be carefully planned for successfulrelationships and for promotion of mutual understanding and appreciation of cultural heritage.In Inside the Gates: Schools and the Troubles, Leitch and Kilpatrick make reference to the ethosof the school and the role of respectful relationships:Respectful relationships at all levels within the school organisation were viewed as beingthe most direct expression of the ethos of the school. In most instances this was viewed ashaving direct benefits for the pupils from the outset, in terms of building self-esteem andsetting the groundwork for the growth of tolerance, respect and understanding elsewhere. 22Throughout the 1970s the term used for this concept was ‘community relations education’. Inthe 1980s the term ‘Education for Mutual Understanding’ came into widespread use, and in the1990s the incorporation of Education for Mutual Understanding and Cultural Heritage into theNorthern Ireland statutory curriculum gave the concept greater currency among the public. 23Richardson describes the concept of mutual understanding as ‘a sound and importanteducational concept’ and goes on:Pride of our Place 2002-200617
It involves the promotion of clear thought and the relation of knowledge and understandingin society. As such it should be challenging and will often be uncomfortable, inevitablytouching on sensitive and controversial issues. In the discussion about how to promotechange in a conflicting and disputed society the notion of mutual understanding is clearlyin the ‘‘hearts and minds’’ camp.He continues:An educational approach which seeks to promote awareness of diversity, human rights andmutual understanding must go beyond the accumulation of knowledge into the process ofemotional development, personal growth and social challenge. It could be argued that thisis an essential part of good, balanced education. 24The actual term ‘Education for Mutual Understanding’ was agreed in a formal sense at the firstmeeting in June 1983 of the Northern Ireland Council for Educational Development Committee,which was originally designated as a ‘Specialist Steering Group on Community Relations’.According to Alan Robinson, Education for Mutual Understanding features the concepts of‘respect’ and ‘relationships’. He refers to the key concept of ‘mutuality’. ‘It is suggested thatmutuality is a way individuals and groups relate together respectfully as equals to undertakecommon educational tasks’. He goes on:Mutuality can grow if teachers (and others) can create opportunities for pupils to learnmore about themselves, to study and talk about issues of concern to them and thecommunity, to learn about others who may be as similar as they are different, and, aboveall, to achieve together. 25In recent years there have been many projects based on Education for Mutual Understanding. AReview of the Schools Community Relations Programme (2002), published by the NorthernIreland Department of Education, makes recommendations on many aspects of this work,including the role of parents in establishing school-community links. This report alsorecommends ‘gradient mechanisms’, which enable schools to engage with their community ina planned manner. 26 The concept of gradient mechanisms is important in scaffoldingparticipation in projects such as ‘Pride of our Place’. The recommendation from the Review ofthe Schools Community Relations Programme that the central commitment of each programmeshould remain the same –‘to bring children together in genuine, meaningful encounters whichreflect the real issues of the community in which they live’ – highlights the importance of suchgenuine and meaningful encounters. 27The New Primary School Curriculum for Northern Ireland (being introduced officially from 2007)will include new ‘areas of learning’, including Personal Development and MutualUnderstanding (KS1&2). 28 The new area of Personal Development will take in much of EMU,Cultural Heritage and Health Education. The 1999 Revised Primary Curriculum in the Republicof Ireland, particularly the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum, ispresented in three strands: Myself, Myself and Others and Myself and the Wider World. 29 ThisSPHE curriculum ‘provides particular opportunities to foster the personal development, healthand well-being of the individual child, to help him/her to create and maintain supportiverelationships and become an active and responsible citizen in society.’ The promotion of abroad and varied range of methodologies in the teaching and learning contexts in bothcurricula enhances the many active learning opportunities for children.18 Pride of our Place 2002-2006
Page 1 and 2: PRIDE OF OUR PLACE2002-2006FINAL RE
Page 4 and 5: TABLE OF CONTENTSAcknowledgements 0
Page 6 and 7: CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTIONThe project
Page 8 and 9: • To facilitate pupils to explore
Page 10 and 11: • Water studies: river studies (D
Page 12 and 13: School Project Partner Project Date
Page 14 and 15: It was with great interest that I w
Page 16 and 17: and June. Many of these partnership
Page 20 and 21: There have been many beneficial lea
Page 22 and 23: They took responsibility for their
Page 24 and 25: The two-day residential workshops e
Page 26 and 27: One very helpful resource was the h
Page 28 and 29: the children were now very proud of
Page 30 and 31: The importance of learning in the c
Page 32 and 33: connected. I didn’t know that Cú
Page 34 and 35: talking, comparing notes, playing f
Page 36 and 37: e its most beneficial and valuable
Page 38 and 39: CHAPTER FIVEIMPACT ON THE TEACHERWh
Page 40 and 41: Already overloaded school work left
Page 42 and 43: Site visits, the use of ICT and the
Page 44 and 45: • Whole school involvement is par
Page 46 and 47: They only wrote once and I wish I c
Page 48 and 49: Disappointing aspectsThere were few
Page 50 and 51: and made suggestions aboutformat. T
Page 52 and 53: I have learned that they do things
Page 54 and 55: Working in groups and greeting new
Page 56 and 57: Children had to think about their m
Page 58 and 59: CHAPTER 7IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITYI t
Page 60 and 61: I think he benefited greatly from t
Page 62 and 63: CHAPTER 8CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDA
Page 64 and 65: As a result of the rich information
Page 66 and 67: As the project developed over the t
Page 68 and 69:
Opportunities were provided for the
Page 70 and 71:
Practical aspects• Once-off conta
Page 72 and 73:
It is recommended that a structure
Page 74 and 75:
APPENDICESAppendix ATeacher Questio
Page 76 and 77:
• Story• Use of drama• Interv
Page 78 and 79:
Characteristics of GoodPracticeQues
Page 80 and 81:
Characteristics of GoodPracticeQues
Page 82 and 83:
Appendix DEVALUATION OF ‘PRIDE OF
Page 84 and 85:
Since detailed information was obta
Page 86 and 87:
such as making bird-boxes. Myths an
Page 88 and 89:
• The context of this project als
Page 90 and 91:
partner school. The whole area of s
Page 92 and 93:
that teachers should, if possible,
show all

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