The research for this paper has first and foremost been of an exploratory nature, and as such does not serve to give any definitive answers. At the same time, though, it provides an insight to a means of trying to manage the diversities of a shared society, and one that has experienced a violent conflict and is trying to reconcile the parties involved. It was uncertain what I would find, and what I would make of them when the time came for interpretation and review. In accordance with the qualitative method settled upon, even finding “nothing” in relation to the Northern Ireland conflict would in itself provide a find, and I was prepared to work from that perspective.
In the writing of this text I have employed two methods of gathering data, the most prevalent of which being qualitative content analysis. There have already been conducted several studies pertaining to the conflict and the Northern Irish society since the Good Friday Agreement that also concerns the attitudes in the divided society. In practice, it quickly became clear that the conflict was a non-issue in polite company, and as such analysing literature that describes the conflict and the means employed to reconcile the communities appeared the least intrusive or offensive method. Furthermore, it is a method well suited for exploratory research.
The texts employed have been reports of surveys, interviews and policy documents, as well as texts pertaining to the conflict itself. This material provides an insight to the lingering effects of the conflict, the measures taken to build bridges between the two communities, general attitudes and a sense of how it is affecting the children of today.
This method was combined with an intensive 6 weeks in Northern Ireland, 5 of which were spent at an integrated school. I’ve employed the method of participant observation in order to achieve a better understanding of the role that integrated education in the process of reconciling the two communities. I visited with a school that allowed me to observe the interaction between pupils and pupils and teacher, in class and during break time. As such, the focus is less on the perceptions of the individuals, but the social positions they ascribe to the self and others in the context constituted by the educational institution.
It was a long process of trying to get in touch with schools in the area. I contacted the Department of Education responsible for schools in Northern Ireland who in turn referred me to an online archive of schools and nurseries in the region.
After many emails, most of which I never got a response to, I received an email from the headmaster of a school saying that they would be happy to help me in my studies.
Rather than trying to discern what went on behind the children’s faces, their thought processes and their perspectives – their inner selves – I sought to observe their actions and interactions within the social context. In this case the social setting is the school, with classmates, teachers and pupils from other classes.
One could say the observations in general are first and foremost focused on the front-stage in Goffman’s analysis of (1959), where the actors behave accordingly to the discourses and conventions pertaining to the expectations set by the scene, in this case this primarily means the school setting. As such, I was only privy to their act as part of a team on stage. For
this text that means that my reflections surrounding back-stage life are rooted in theory and literature surrounding the symbolic landscape outside of the stage. However, off-stage
“performances” were given through individual conversations with members off the staff, where they were not primarily in their role as a teacher or assistant, but would discuss this or that pertaining to the performance in class. This also means that I am not familiar with the children’s home relations. Nor do I have knowledge as to whether their parents are positively inclined towards the other community, which can be a contributing factor to both their attending an integrated school, but also which attitudes the children express.
To repeat that quote from my lectures at the University of Tromsø: “Man is an animal suspended in a web of significance he himself has spun and keeps spinning.” (Geertz, 1973, p.
5) The “web” this time is not the agents’ subjective perceptions, but how, through their interaction, they construct the social reality. My intentions as a researcher in this setting have been to study the social reality of the children and teachers as it is produced through their interaction.
One aspect that may have provided me with more information is language. Not in the sense that I didn’t understand the words spoken, but as have been mentioned previously, there are certain tells that divulges information on the individual which as an outsider I was not privy to. On the other hand, that knowledge may have affected my interpretations.
Furthermore, this aspect might have caused me to miss potentially valuable clues regarding the positions of the agents.
During my stay, I got several opportunities for off-the record conversations with staff at integrated schools, as well as locals who were willing to explain some of the dynamics within their society, all of which were privy to the purpose of my visit. These conversations have been very valuable in my own musings and interpretations of the literature employed.