Connolly, P. (2009) Developing Programmes to Promote Ethnic Diversity in Early Childhood: Lessons from Northern Ireland. Working Paper No. 52. The Hague, The Netherlands: Bernard van Leer Foundation.

This working paper focuses on some of the issues and challenges faced in developing early childhood programmes to promote racial and ethnic diversity in societies characterised by deep divisions and/or conflict. The central argument of the paper is that the development, delivery and evaluation of such programmes need to be informed by three core values: they should be children’s rights-based, outcomes-focused, and evidence-informed. Northern Ireland provides a useful case study because its people are emerging from 30 years of armed conflict. The ability to study the development of an early childhood programme aimed at promoting understanding and respect for ethnic diversity in such a context raises a number of fundamental issues of relevance to a wide range of other situations and contexts. Paul Connolly is Professor of Education and Director of the Centre for Effective Education at Queen’s University Belfast, and the founding Co-Director of the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and Ethnic Diversity.

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