The Economics of Shared Education

Abstract

It is important at the outset to be clear about what Shared Education Programme (SEP) does and does not do. The two strands of SEP — education and reconciliation — are independent. It is perfectly possible for pupils who are from schools of the same community to share classes and derive the educational benefits that SEP confers but without, of course, the value added of reconciliation. While inter-community school sharing is a fundamental pillar of SEP in its own right, given the geographical concentration in Northern Ireland of schools affiliated to the two communities it is the cheapest route to realising the educational benefits associated with school sharing.