Supporting community cohesion through ICT: The epartners programme in Northern Ireland

In the face of deep-rooted sectarian sentiment in Northern Ireland and the pervasive nature of “separateness” between the Protestant and Catholic communities, this article examines school projects designed to promote community cohesion and assesses the role that information and communications technology (ICT) can play to encourage collaboration within a social psychology framework. Further, we report on exploratory research conducted through the evaluation of a pilot program that involved university student tutors working with teachers and pupils in a range of schools. Our findings to date suggest that a strong focus on collaborative work in non-contentious areas of the curriculum has a strong chance of securing support from key stakeholders, including teachers, the main churches and other stakeholders in the educational system.