The Economics of Schooling in a Divided Society ― The Case for Shared Education

Countries that have suffered ethnic or religious conflict and become segregated societies reflect these divisions in education provision for their children. Northern Ireland is a case study in point where a parallel system of schools offers education in Catholic maintained schools and Protestant (de facto) controlled schools. While school segregation is the most obvious manifestation of Northern Ireland's fractured society, there are more important issues of 'educational inequality' with respect to schools and pupils. This book analyses three issues in some detail: segregation, educational performance and inequality in educational outcomes between schools and between pupils from deprived and affluent family backgrounds. Thus far public policies to tackle these issues have been met with limited success. The authors consider an alternative approach, which they term 'shared education', the aim of which is to improve school performance and, in so doing, to dismantle some of the barriers between maintained and controlled schools.

Vani Borooah, who was born in India, is Emeritus Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Ulster and Adjunct Professor at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, and Honorary Fellow at the Australian Institute for Business and Economics at the University of Queensland. He is a past President of the European Public Choice Society and of the Irish Economic Association, and Member and Secretary of the Royal Irish Academy.

Colin Knox is Professor of Comparative Public Policy at Ulster University. His research interests are devolution in Northern Ireland and comparative public sector reform in developing countries. Knox is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).