Views from Outside ‐‐ other Professionals’ Views of the Religiously Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland

The group of religiously integrated schools which have been established in Northern Ireland over the last ten years mark a major break in the traditional system of denominational education in the province. These schools provide parents with a new educational choice for their children and as such fit in well with current government policy. Within the Northern Ireland context, however, one of their main objectives is to make a positive contribution to improving community relations and here their wider impact may be more problematic. In an attempt to analyse some of the complex feelings generated by religious integration in education, this case study examines the views of the principals of existing denominational schools in an area where an integrated school has been established. It reveals a wide range of religious, political and financial concerns and emotions and a worrying level of uncertainty and even antagonism. Much more attention may need to be paid to establishing relationships between integrated an...