De-segregating Irish schools:

Implementing Article 29 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Ireland

by Debra James

Sectarian problems and violent division along religious lines occur in countries where there is segregated, religion-based compulsory public education.

Because of this, the General Comment on Article 29 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 'The Aims of Education' implies that the education to which children have a right is secular in nature.

Introduction

All children have the right to grow into their own destiny, not to have it imposed upon them.

In order to do this, they must learn how to make wise choices.

The choices that will shape our future must be made by people whose full potential for intellectual excellence has been achieved in an educational environment where cognitive faculties are developed by the habitual exercise of critical, analytical modes of thinking.

Does 'freedom of religion' endow the right to impose it upon everyone through the school system? Can this imposition be justified by some statistic that says the 'majority' of people in the country are of that faith? Does a minority have, as has been asserted, 'only the rights that the majority chooses to arrogate to it'?

It should not be assumed or expected by the administrators of a public school that all children attending that school will be of a certain faith, or that all children must automatically inherit their parents' religion. This expectation effectively denies children freedom of choice.

Reasoning, like reading, writing, and arithmetic, is an integral part of the education to which every child has a right.

What is 'education'?

The education to which all children have a right may be construed from the General Comment on Article 29 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 'The Aims of Education'.

These general aims are listed as: the holistic development of the full potential of the child (29 (1) (a)), including development of respect for human rights (29 (1) (b)), an enhanced sense of identity and affiliation (29 (1) (c)), and his or her socialization and interaction with others (29 (1) (d)) and with the environment (29 (1) (e)).

From The Aims of Education : . 17/04/2001. CRC/GC/2001/1, CRC General comment 1. (General Comments):

3. The child's right to education is not only a matter of access (art. 28) but also of content. An education with its contents firmly rooted in the values of article 29 (1) is for every child an indispensable tool for her or his efforts to achieve in the course of her or his life a balanced, human rights-friendly response to the challenges that accompany a period of fundamental change driven by globalization, new technologies and related phenomena. Such challenges include the tensions between, inter alia, the global and the local; the individual and the collective; tradition and modernity; long- and short-term considerations; competition and equality of opportunity; the expansion of knowledge and the capacity to assimilate it; and the spiritual and the material. And yet, in the national and international programmes and policies on education that really count the elements embodied in article 29 (1) seem all too often to be either largely missing or present only as a cosmetic afterthought.

Children have a right to an education that enables them to make choices and decisions for themselves: development of their capacity for self-determination.

That is what is meant by 'empowering'. 'Thinking for oneself' must be the goal of education, not mere 'obedience'.

Ethics can be derived from reason alone: there is no need to use the religious 'carrot' of heaven and 'stick' of hell to impress upon children that they should do right and not do wrong.

The present second-level curriculum offers a study of 'comparative religion' that exemplifies what is meant by 'present only as a cosmetic afterthought' because it offers only a superficial comparison of the tenets of various faiths, not a philosophical inquiry into the validity of the 'truthclaims' made by religions, or a critical analysis of religion per se.

What is 'Indoctrination'?

The Longman Dictionary definition of 'indoctrination':

indoctrinate, n.

1 to instruct, especially in fundamentals or rudiments; teach

2 to imbue with a (usually) partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or ideology [prob fr ME endoctrinen, fr MF endoctriner, fr OF, fr en- + doctrine teaching, something taught] - indoctrinator n, indoctrination n

From The Aims of Education:

4. Article 29 (1) states that the States parties agree that education should be directed to a wide range of values. This agreement overcomes the boundaries of religion, nation and culture built across many parts of the world. At first sight, some of the diverse values expressed in article 29 (1) might be thought to be in conflict with one another in certain situations. Thus, efforts to promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all peoples, to which paragraph (1) (d) refers, might not always be automatically compatible with policies designed, in accordance with paragraph (1) (c), to develop respect for the child's own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own. But in fact, part of the importance of this provision lies precisely in its recognition of the need for a balanced approach to education and one which succeeds in reconciling diverse values through dialogue and respect for difference. Moreover, children are capable of playing a unique role in bridging many of the differences that have historically separated groups of people from one another.

What is 'Empowering'?

From The Aims of Education:

9. Third, while article 28 focuses upon the obligations of State parties in relation to the establishment of educational systems and in ensuring access thereto, article 29 (1) underlines the individual and subjective right to a specific quality of education. Consistent with the Convention's emphasis on the importance of acting in the best interests of the child, this article emphasizes the message of child-centred education: that the key goal of education is the development of the individual child's personality, talents and abilities, in recognition of the fact that every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities, and learning needs. Thus, the curriculum must be of direct relevance to the child's social, cultural, environmental and economic context and to his or her present and future needs and take full account of the child's evolving capacities; teaching methods should be tailored to the different needs of different children. Education must also be aimed at ensuring that essential life skills are learnt by every child and that no child leaves school without being equipped to face the challenges that he or she can expect to be confronted with in life. Basic skills include not only literacy and numeracy but also life skills such as the ability to make well-balanced decisions; to resolve conflicts in a non-violent manner; and to develop a healthy lifestyle, good social relationships and responsibility, critical thinking, creative talents, and other abilities which give children the tools needed to pursue their options in life.

24. The design and implementation of programmes to promote the values reflected in this article should become part of the standard response by Governments to almost all situations in which patterns of human rights violations have occurred. Thus, for example, where major incidents of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance occur which involve those under 18, it can reasonably be presumed that the Government has not done all that it should to promote the values reflected in the Convention generally, and in article 29 (1) in particular. Appropriate additional measures under article 29 (1) should therefore be adopted which include research on and adoption of whatever educational techniques might have a positive impact in achieving the rights recognized in the Convention.

There is abundant evidence that "major incidents of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" have occurred in Ireland involving "those under 18". So "it can reasonably be presumed that the Government has not done all that it should to promote the values reflected in the Convention generally".

What criteria could be used for assessing the success of 'human-rights based education' here? A measurable decrease in the number of incidents of racism and xenophobia in Ireland would be the best indication that something effective was being done.

The Four R's Now: Reading, 'Rriting, 'Rithmetic and Religion

Every child has the right to be taught to think before they are taught religious doctrine. To impress religion upon a young child before the child's critical faculties are sufficiently developed to enable the child to make up his or her own mind violates the child's right to a high-quality education - an education that results in the 'development of their full potential'.

Neglecting to teach children to think critically and analytically violates the right to be educated in such a way as to develop 'the ability to make well-balanced decisions'. "[Article 29]...insists upon the need for education to be child-centred, child-friendly and empowering, " "The education to which every child has a right is one designed to provide the child with life skills..."

From The Aims of Education:

2. Article 29 (1) not only adds to the right to education recognized in article 28 a qualitative dimension which reflects the rights and inherent dignity of the child; it also insists upon the need for education to be child-centred, child-friendly and empowering, and it highlights the need for educational processes to be based upon the very principles it enunciates. The education to which every child has a right is one designed to provide the child with life skills, to strengthen the child's capacity to enjoy the full range of human rights and to promote a culture which is infused by appropriate human rights values. The goal is to empower the child by developing his or her skills, learning and other capacities, human dignity, self-esteem and self-confidence. "Education" in this context goes far beyond formal schooling to embrace the broad range of life experiences and learning processes which enable children, individually and collectively, to develop their personalities, talents and abilities and to live a full and satisfying life within society. "Basic skills include not only literacy and numeracy but also life skills such as the ability to make well-balanced decisions; to resolve conflicts in a non-violent manner; and to develop a healthy lifestyle, good social relationships and responsibility, critical thinking, creative talents, and other abilities which give children the tools needed to pursue their options in life."

'Other abilities' refers to tools acquired by the development of the child's cognitive processes, not to the child's ability to repeat religious catechisms. Teaching a child to 'believe' before the child has been taught to 'reason' is wrong.

The Four R's of Rights: Reading, 'Rriting, 'Rithmetic and Reasoning

What kind of education teaches empowering "life skills such as the ability to make well-balanced decisions"?

The 'tools needed to pursue their options in life' - to empower a child to fully realise his or her potential - are acquired by means of an education that includes:

Development, by means of exercises gradually increasing in difficulty, of those cognitive processes that lead to the mentality necessary for effective reasoning;

Teaching from a young age analytical and deductive skills that include the ability to discriminate between what is objective and what is subjective, the ability to associate ideas in ways that can reveal new relationships between them (lateral thinking), and the ability to spot faulty logic.

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Related news items

Rights-based policy for children called for

Irish Times, June 19, 2002

by Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child should become the framework for all policy relating to children, according to a public policy research body. The Policy Institute is based in the faculty of business, economics and social studies in Trinity College and undertakes public policy-oriented research, using both in-house researchers from the college and invited research fellows. Its latest publication, by Ms Noirín Hayes, director of DIT's school of social science and legal studies, is Children's Rights - Whose Right? A Review of Child Policy Development in Ireland. According to Ms Hayes, the basis for current policy on child-related matters is welfare-based rather than rights-based and sees children as the passive recipients of protection within the context of the family. She said this approach also characterised the attitude to disability and the role of the State, and the ensuing Bill that was rejected by disability-rights campaigners. The absence of such a rights-based approach allowed a situation where growing numbers of children are homeless, levels of illiteracy and early school-leaving are high, and 46 per cent of local authorities do not provide playground facilities, she writes. A rights-based approach would ensure that children's interests were seen as paramount in all matters affecting them. "Policy that is constructed in the spirit of balance between rights and obligations is more likely to generate integrated responses," according to Ms Hayes. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Ireland in 1992, could act as a mirror against which the duties and obligations of adults and of the state could be reflected, she said. She welcomed the adoption of the National Children's Strategy in 2000. However, she said this now required measures to further it. Such measures should include a minister without portfolio who, for a fixed period, would be responsible for progressing it. He or she would report directly to the Cabinet Committee on Children. The brief of the National Children's Office should be strengthened, according to Ms Hayes, and it should place a report annually before the Oireachtas. Following the passing of the enabling Bill earlier this year, an office of Ombudsman for Children should now be established. In addition, the Bill should be strengthened to include the responsibility of the office to protect as well as promote children's rights. The existing exemption from its remit of children in detention and the children of refugees and asylum-seekers should be removed so that it could protect and promote the interests of all children. Children should be consulted, according to their age and understanding, on matters concerning them, with the establishment of an Advisory or Reference Group of children, linked to the National Economic and Social Council. Ms Hayes also recommends the amendment of the Education Act to allow for the establishment of student councils. These could be established at both primary and secondary level.

Bigotry bred in segregated schools in NI

Irish Times, June 27, 2002

by Mary Holland

Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man. The Jesuit maxim springs to mind on reading the report by my colleague, Carol Coulter, of a new survey of attitudes among primary school children in Northern Ireland. Here, for example, are the views of two six-year-olds on the Tricolour: l. "It's a good flag. I'm a Catholic and it's a Catholic flag." 2."It's a Fenian flag. Only bad people have that colour of flag." So much for the green, white and orange which still flutters from many cars in Dublin, as though the drivers cannot bear to abandon the wonderful sense of togetherness we experienced during the World Cup. "Too Young to Notice? The Cultural and Political Awareness of 3- 6-year-olds in Northern Ireland" was carried out for the University of Ulster by Dr Paul Connolly, Prof Alan Smith and Ms Berni Kelly. At a time of year when we will see again images of toddlers wearing T-shirts sporting slogans such as "Born to Walk the Garvaghy Road", the findings make salutary reading. They also challenge the views of those, particularly in the churches, who argue that education is not a factor in promoting sectarianism in the North, and that the beginning of bigotry has far more to do with what a child absorbs at home: how Mum answers questions, the way that Dad responds to items on the television news. Dr Connolly and his team found that at the age of three over 40 per cent of children were aware of the community divide and between 5 per cent and 7 per cent identified with their own community. However, only a tiny minority made sectarian comments. This changed dramatically by the time the children had spent two years in nursery or primary school. By the age of six, a third of those questioned identified strongly with one community or the other, and 15 per cent were making overtly sectarian comments. THEIR inquiry involved interviewing 352 children from nursery and primary schools, representative in terms of gender, age, religon and social class. The methods and images used were designed to allow the children to feel comfortable in expressing their views. Those involved in carrying out the interviews believe that, if anything, the figures underestimate the level of sectarianism among primary school children. As Dr Connolly said, the rapid increase in community identification and the rise in sectarian attitudes, which occurs after two years of compulsory education, must raise "important questions about the indirect effects that our segregated school system is having on the development of young children's awareness and attitudes". Over the past 30 years, and particularly since the Belfast Agreement was signed in 1998, millions of euro have been poured into projects designed to promote harmony and a better understanding between the two communities. Those involved have included the European Union's Special Fund for Peace and Reconciliation, the British and Irish governments, the Ireland Fund, the Joseph Rowntree Trust and others. All the major churches have taken part in conferences and agonised research to produce reports with titles such as "The Challenge of Sectarianism". Special bodies have been set up to monitor the progress of schemes designed to bring children from the two sides together. Programmes such as Education for Mutual Understanding form part of the school curriculum. The Peace and Reconciliation industry, as it is fondly known to those who work in it, is a major factor in keeping the province's unemployment rates at an all-time low. One stark fact remains. Four per cent of Northern Ireland's children are educated together in integrated schools. Increasingly, they live in segregated areas and only meet each other when the riots start at night. The argument is made that bringing children together in schools would risk provoking more violence. The first and last serious attempt to create an integrated education scheme took place in 1923. Secular schools were proposed in which there would be no denominational religious teaching. This was opposed by all the major churches and duly dropped. We are still living with the results today. IN the past, it may have seemed reasonable for each community to cling to segregated education to preserve its "ethos". We know now that if there is to be any hope for a better future, there will have to be a move towards an education system which promotes tolerance and understanding from a child's first days at school. Martin McGuinness has, in the past, expressed support for integrated education. Yet, the Burns report "Education for the 21st Century" hardly mentions it. There is much that is brave and visionary in this bulky overview of the future of post-primary education in Northern Ireland, most notably its determination to abolish the 11-plus selection test, which brands many children as educational failures. Already Mr McGuinness is under pressure from those campaigning on behalf of Northern Ireland's grammar schools to pull back on the issue of selection. He and his embattled department may well feel that implementing the key proposals in the Burns Report provides them with more than enough problems to be going on with. But Burns, for all its virtues, does not go far enough in tackling the fundamentally sectarian nature of Northern Ireland's segregated school system. That will only happen when children are educated together from the nursery on.

Page last modified June 27, 2002