What does it mean to be Irish? Children's construction of national identity1

Bibliographic Data

ID8068089
AuthorsFionnuala Waldron (St. Patrick's Hospital, corresponding author), Susan Pike (0000-0001-6476-5465, St. Patrick's Hospital)
Year2006
Volume25
Issue2
Pages231-251
Publication date2006-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIrish Educational Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0332-3315 • E-ISSN: 1747-4965
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03323310600737586
OpenAlexW2079836691
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited24

Ideas relating to identity and belonging are central to the public discourse around citizenship that has emerged in Ireland and internationally in recent years. One thread of that discourse relates to the role of national identity in societies that are increasingly diverse and multicultural. In view of the growing importance of citizenship education, understanding children's ideas about national identity is vital if educators are to engage children in the construction of an hospitable, critical and reflective citizenry. This research was undertaken in two phases during 2003 and 2004. Participating in the study were 119 children, drawn from a range of social contexts. Premised on a social constructivist view of children and childhood, the research drew on participative and democratic methodologies. While the study suggests the existence of an essentialist conception of Irish identity, it also demonstrates the capacity and willingness of children to engage in critical reflection on their constructions of Irishness. Notes 1. We wish to acknowledge the support of St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra in facilitating the completion of this research. 2. Their habitual presence in the class may or may not have had a direct impact on the views of their classmates. However, given the normal social relations between children and the development of an active anti-racist programme by the school in response to changing demographics, it is reasonable to assume some impact. 3. In choosing schools of different social and economic contexts, we were allowing for the possibility that there would be inter-school differences. Two of the schools have a consciously chosen and distinctive ethos. Premised on the idea of religious and cultural pluralism, multi-denominational schools, in an Irish context, prioritise children's rights and consciously promote a democratic and participative school culture, which they see as a defining characteristic of their sector. The participating Gaelscoil belongs to a sector which is committed to the use of the Irish language as the primary medium of communication and learning within the school and with the promotion of a positive attitude towards other aspects of Irish culture. Like the multi-denominational sector, it depends for its survival on the agency and involvement of parents. Consequently, it would have a strong and committed school community and close identification of the parents with the school's project. Moreover, while the other participating schools belong to the dominant denominational sector, each one is distinctive in social and economic contexts and in what it chooses to prioritise. The inner city school, for example, has a very strong and visible anti-racist programme. 4. The methodology used in this research has been subjected to an extended discussion and critical analysis in Waldron (Citation2006). 5. This is one of the areas where school context seemed to matter, in a way which might subvert expectations, with over 70% in one school grouping identifying the Irish language as a feature of Irish identity as opposed to 14% in another and 45% of the children in the participating Gaelscoil. 6. This is a term commonly used in Ireland to describe having a good time, a fun-loving person or an enjoyable event. 7. It is interesting to note that there was one significant contextual difference in the use of drink-related and stereotypical images. While all children used stereotypes to suggest how others may view Irish people, children who were attending the Irish language–medium school used only positive, modern images to indicate how they saw Irish people and they used no drink-related images in their drawings. Whether this clustering of images can be tied into school ethos or school project is open to question and it may simply be a characteristic of this particular school or, indeed, the result of children sharing their images with each other. 8. It is not possible to give a complete analysis of their views, as expressed in the interviews, on this complex area here. We hope to offer a detailed analysis of the interviews in a later publication, paying particular attention to the cross-cutting concepts of assimilation and pluralism. A more focused analysis of this data may throw up other issues. 9. There were differences between schools in this area. However, it is worth noting in this context that one of the researchers is English and that she worked with the children in the schools that joined in the second stage of the project. It is probable that this had some effect on the children in those schools, acting perhaps as a brake on the expression of anti-English sentiments. It is also possible that it had an overall effect on those children's responses at all stages. However, this was not apparent in their writings and drawings

Irish · Linguistics · Sociology · Irish and British Studies · Philippine History and Culture · Psychology · Religious Education and Schools · Philosophy

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