NCJ Number
56140
Date Published
1978
Length
22 pages
Annotation
THE EFFECTS OF CIVIL DISORDER IN NORTHERN IRELAND ON SCHOOL BUILDINGS, ENROLLMENT FIGURES, INTERNAL SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AND ADMINISTRATION, AND THE SOCIAL DEMANDS ON THE SCHOOLS ARE DISCUSSED.
Abstract
THE VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN IRELAND HAS RESULTED IN PHYSICAL DAMAGE TO A SMALL NUMBER OF SCHOOLS AND THE TEMPORARY LOSS OF PART OR ALL OF THE SCHOOL PREMISES TO THE HOUSING OF REFUGEES AND MILITARY PERSONNEL. WHILE THE USE OF SCHOOLS FOR HOUSING WAS TEMPORARY, THE REPAIR OF PHYSICAL DAMAGE HAS BEEN MORE TROUBLESOME DUE TO LENGTHY PROCESSES IN SECURING REPAIR FUNDS AND THE RELUCTANCE OF WORKMEN TO ENTER THE 'HIGH RISK' AREAS WHERE MANY OF THE DAMAGED SCHOOLS ARE LOCATED. DUE TO THE SECTARIAN NATURE OF THE CONFLICT (PROTESTANTS VERSUS CATHOLICS), THE CIVIL DISORDER HAS CAUSED POPULATION SHIFTS; MINORITIES OF PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS IN PARTICULAR AREAS HAVE MOVED TO AREAS DOMINATED BY THOSE OF THEIR OWN AFFILIATION. WHILE THIS HAS NOT PRODUCED AN OVERALL DECLINE IN SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, IT HAS DISRUPTED CONTINUITY IN CLASSROOM TEACHING. ATTENDANCE FELL IN SCHOOLS LOCATED IN AREAS OF EXTREME TENSION AND VIOLENCE, BECAUSE PARENTS KEPT THEIR CHILDREN HOME TO PROTECT THEM FROM HARASSMENT ON THE WAY TO AND FROM SCHOOL. ALSO, MANY OF THE OLDER YOUTHS PARTICIPATED IN VIOLENCE AND DISORDER. ORDER IN THE CLASSROOM HAS BEEN RELATIVELY GOOD, BECAUSE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ARE FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES DIVIDED INTO PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC. THE CONFLICT IN THE LARGER SOCIETY, THEREFORE IS NOT REFLECTED IN THE STUDENT BODIES. WHILE MORALITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ARE TAUGHT IN THE SEGREGATED SCHOOL SYSTEM, THERE IS AN INFLUENTIAL GROUP THAT BELIEVES THAT EDUCATION CAN MAKE NO SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE EMERGENCE OF A MORE ORDERED COMMUNITY SO LONG AS THE DUAL SYSTEM PREVAILS. (RCB)