Experiencing Interethnic Relations in Cypriot Schools

The aim of this paper is to examine the way teenagers experience and report interethnic relations with emphasis on interethnic violence in the school environment in Cyprus. It will report findings from a qualitative investigation from an EU funded research project titled: “Children's Voices: Exploring Interethnic Violence and Children's Rights in the School Environment”. The qualitative investigation included semi-structured interviews with school teaching staff and counselors and with  experts whose work was related with interethnic relations in schools. Additionally, eight focus groups with children (4 in primary and 4 in secondary schools) were conducted to explore teenagers' perspectives. Findings indicate that in Cyprus there is an environment of growing concern about the presence of migrants. People coming mostly from Asia and Eastern Europe and people of Islamic faith appear to be more vulnerable to prejudice. Overall there are mixed perceptions about interethnic tolerance in schools ranging from negative to (politically correct) positive ones. While the prevalent discourse of multiculturalism in Cyprus uses the rhetoric of integration, what appears to be happening in the Cypriot educational system is assimilation practices focusing on language acquisition. Whenever the latter is successful potential tensions tend to minimize. These findings point to interesting directions for educational policy regarding the whole gamut of interethnic relations in Cyprus at a period in time when the current economic crisis appears to have largely negative effects on multi-ethnic coexistence and to the prospects of a resolution to the prolonged ethnic conflict between the two main communities of the country.