Rosa Parks showed how a single action can have a huge effect. It's a lesson that transition-year students are learning, reports John Holden

Isaac Newton taught us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is not just the case for atoms and molecules. When Rosa Parks, an African-American, refused to give up her seat for a white bus passenger in Alabama in 1955, her action started a boycott of the racially-segregated transport system in Montgomery, the state capital, that turned into a huge protest movement. It also inspired Martin Luther King jnr to take action.

On a much smaller scale, the diversity and integration programmes on offer in transition year can also be linked to Parks's actions 52 years ago. And they, too, should leave a legacy, having an effect that goes beyond the classroom.

One common transition-year subject is European studies, not least because the culture and geography of the continent, and the workings of the European Union, are important to any student. As well as that, however, European-studies modules help to foster our understanding of other cultures.

"I definitely feel more European since my module," says Rebecca Finnegan, a fifth year at Wilson's Hospital School, in Multyfarnam, Co Westmeath. In transition year she got the chance to travel to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "When we were there we spoke to students from everywhere and found out how they live," she says. "There are plenty of differences between young Europeans, but we still share many of the same views on life. We are united by our diversity."

TY students at Wilson's Hospital are using their European-studies module to tackle issues such as integration, diversity and stereotyping. "We were linked with schools in France, Romania, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland," says 17-year-old Emily McCormack. "We wrote up profiles of ourselves, to exchange with students from linked schools, and we also sent them stereotypes we had heard about their country. I was in the group linked with France. We said they wear garlic around their necks, berets on their heads and eat lots of French bread. They sent back pictures of leprechauns and shamrocks and said we drink too much Guinness."

This year's TY students are compiling questionnaires about Ireland to send to their linked schools. "We have different categories, like Irish culture, sport, history and geography, that we're sending away," says Mark Colton. "I'm doing sport, and I'm linked with Romania. I don't think they'll know much about Gaelic football or hurling, though."

Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, in Kenmare, Co Kerry, has made the National Forum on Europe's public-speaking competition an annual part of its TY schedule. Debating the issue of cross- border crime within the EU this year, the students competed against a number of other schools in Co Kerry. "We argued that they're already doing enough to prevent crime," says 16-year-old Irial O'Connell. "Any more could infringe on European citizens' freedoms. We didn't win, but it was a good experience."

The students recently visited the European Commission offices in Dublin, have planned a videoconference with a school on the Continent and have chosen local tourism as their European discussion topic. "We're linked with schools in Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Dublin and Northern Ireland," says Siobhán O'Shea. "We get their profiles and learn how they live, and then we'll send them info about our lives in Kenmare, what we do in school and the tourist attractions in the area. There won't be much difference between our lives and the lives of those in Dublin and Northern Ireland, but I don't think Irish people feel European in the way people on the Continent do."

But there is certainly a sense of the importance of integration and citizenship at the Irish schools involved with the Horizon Project. Set up by students in Dublin and Belfast in 1994, the project aims to promote friendship and understanding on the island of Ireland. Since then the cultural diversity of the island has increased, so their work grows more important each day. Transition-year students at St Declan's College in Cabra have two classes a week with Horizon, learning about issues such as racism and integration within the context of Northern Ireland. Students with disabilities from St Vincent's Centre also come and join the class each week.

"We've been learning about the situation in the North and how it has progressed over the years," says SeáBurke, a student at St Declan's. "But it's not just about that. Our main project is about stereotypes, not just in Northern Ireland but of immigrants, Travellers - anyone, really. As a teenager, some people probably see me as being lazy and drinking all the time. But that's just a stereotype. My Horizon group are planning a trip up to Belfast next year. I don't have any worries. I think we'll be welcomed."

David Smith, who's in fifth year at St Declan's, believes the North-South issue is no longer relevant. The only difference, as far as he is concerned, is the accent. "It really doesn't matter what religion someone is or where they live," he says. "Ireland is so much more diverse now. Things have changed, and finally we're on the right track. All of a sudden there is a lot more discussion between the politicians of the North and South and a lot more co-operation on the island overall."

Michael McManus, who is in sixth year, has been involved with Horizon since his TY. "Students head away for weekends together and have a great laugh," he says. "When everyone is having fun you learn that there is no difference between people. Any school is welcome to join. It's not just about north and south. The more diverse the better."

The Horizon Project has also linked up with a group in the North called Education by Choice, which offers an alternative for teenagers who have had bad experiences in mainstream schooling or have been out of school for some time. Joe Conere, its founder, saw the co-operation being brought about by Horizon and decided to join up.

"It is great for the students to get a cross-Border perspective," says Conere. "We have travelled down south a couple of times to participate in various Horizon projects, and it's always great fun. Last time we were down there were Catholic, Protestant and Jewish students and a group from India as well. We're a Protestant group based in east Belfast, and for some of our students it may be the first time they've been away from their own environment with other teenagers from different religions and cultures."

So whether it's getting closer to our northern neighbours, to our European friends or to anyone else, for that matter, the actions you take in TY could trigger positive reactions in the way people treat each other and live together in the future. Rosa Parks would be proud.

[  www.thehorizonproject.orgOpens in new window ]

Why we deal newcomers an unfair hand

Cultural diversity has many benefits, but sometimes it can result in a communications breakdown. People's daily habits, mannerisms and approaches to life can differ depending on where they are in the world. None is wrong, but the differences can cause misunderstanding and even conflict.

Cross Cultural Directions is an organisation that looks at how best to resolve communication issues between cultures. "We develop skills for successful cultural interaction between people," says Karen Ruddock, its founder, who has lived and worked all over the world.

"People need to understand the cross-cultural issues there can be in any group, and by helping individuals to appreciate their own culture and values they will, in turn, be able to appreciate others." It has a lot to do with improving communication skills."

This is useful training for anyone, not just students, so Cross Cultural Directions has worked not only in schools but also in businesses and other organisations around Ireland.

But how can "understanding" be taught? One activity, which looks at how to see things from an outsider's perspective, is a card game. Different players are given different rules to play it with, although none of them realises this at the beginning. So at first each person tries to play the game differently. It becomes very frustrating, as everyone thinks everyone else is cheating. To make matters worse, players aren't allowed to speak, even if they feel like screaming.

"The game illustrates how it can sometimes feel to be a foreigner in a different society," says Ruddock. "They do things one way - the way they have always done it - but everyone else seems to be doing things differently. Couple this with being unable to communicate in the native language and it can make a person feel completely powerless.

"We also look at people's perceptions and stereotypes," she says. "We use an iceberg to show this. What you can see above the water is what most people know about the iceberg. But with every iceberg there is a huge part hidden underneath the surface which can't be seen. This represents the part of our identity that is hidden.

"In understanding, the most important thing is to get people to appreciate their own history. What is learned is that people aren't as they seem. You must judge only on personality and not on looks."

See www.cross-culturaldirections. com

The problem with stereotyping

One of the central issues the Horizon Project explores is our perception of other people. According to the dictionary, a stereotype is "a person or thing that conforms to an unjustifiably fixed mental picture".

We make stereotypes about the people around us all the time. In some ways they are how we make sense of the world, and they can seem to make it easier for us to understand the complexities of a society.

The problem, according to Horizon, is that "we often fill gaps in our knowledge in terms of groups and individuals with negative views and stereotypes based on little or no experience of the same group". In addition:

Stereotyping reduces our complexities to simplistic categories such as asylum seeker, homosexual or even woman.

It turns beliefs about particular groups into "truths".

It can demonise large groups, such as Muslims, because of the actions of a tiny minority, such as Islamic fundamentalists.

It can perpetuate social prejudices, inequality and community mistrust, as was the case in Northern Ireland.

More often than not, the groups being stereotyped are denied the chance to respond to how they are represented by others.

The following are groups of people in our society. What stereotypes are there for each one, and where might such perceptions have come from?

The elderly
People with disabilities
Gardaí
Asylum seekers
Teenagers
Catholics
British
Chinese
Protestants
Teachers

The media's role

Stereotyping is common in the news, entertainment and advertising industries. Each media sector wants to reach as wide an audience as it can as quickly as possible. It must therefore present information in a

way that is easy to understand. Stereotypes are convenient categories to give the target audience a swift general understanding of a person or group. Such stereotyping generally relates to class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.