'Shocking scale' of prejudices among NI children
Religious and sectarian prejudices can be deeply ingrained among some Northern Ireland children before they are even half way through primary school, it was claimed today.
Some as young as three are already beginning to assume political and cultural preferences, research revealed.
And by the time they are six, a third of them recognise they belong to either the Protestant or Catholic communities with one in six making sectarian statements.
The shocking scale of developing bias within nursery and primary education was disclosed to an all-party group of MPs investigating hate crime in Northern Ireland.
Dr Paul Connolly, based in the Graduate School of Education at Queen’s University, Belfast has carried out a number of major studies on the nature and extent of racial and sectarian prejudices among nursery and primary-aged children.
His findings revealed that:
:: More than twice as many Catholic children stated they did not like the police or Orange Order marches, compared to Protestants.
:: Catholic three-year-olds are much more likely to prefer the Irish Tricolour and Protestant children the Union flag.
:: Catholic children from the age of four upwards are beginning to express preference for names associated with their own tradition such as Seamus and Sinead.
:: Protestant children at that age prefer names such as Stuart and Alison.
:: Even then, there was also a clear preference for Celtic and Rangers shirts.
:: By the age of six, one third of Northern Ireland children have been found less willing to play with Chinese kids and those suffering with disabilities.
:: Children living in areas with high sectarian tensions and violence have already developed strong, negative attitudes towards those from the other community by the time they are aged seven-to eight.
:: And many also routinely witness and often participate in verbal and physical confrontations with children across the sectarian divide.
Dr Connolly, who appeared in front of a meeting in Belfast today of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said: “There is now strong evidence to suggest that racial and sectarian prejudices begin to emerge among children in the early years. In fact for some children, these prejudices can be already deeply ingrained before they are even half way through their primary education.”
He added: “It continues to surprise me that very little work is being done with children at this age. The early years is a critical time in young children’s lives when they often learn and internalise a wide range of attitudes and prejudices.
“And yet, at present, we’re really only taking these matters seriously in the later years of secondary school – a case of ‘locking the stable door after the horse has bolted’.
Dr Connolly told the MPs intervention programmes were needed in the early years if hate crime in Northern Ireland was to be effectively tackled.
He recommended the development of a properly resourced curriculum from nursery age onwards to encourage understanding and respect for cultural diversity and to be more inclusive of others.
Children from seven should also develop a better and more rounded understanding of their own society by examining some of the key historical and political events that have taken place in Northern Ireland.
And in areas of high levels of sectarian tensions and violence, Dr Connolly said it was important that "conflict resolution" efforts should include significant and meaningful work with young children.
He added: “There is a need for any strategy aimed at addressing hate crimes in Northern Ireland to be proactive and to include a significant element of work in the early years.
“Evaluative research I am currently involved in clearly shows that much can be done to encourage young children to respect diversity, and to include others who may be different to themselves.”
