Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Research by Professor Miles Hewstone and his lab group Oxford Centre for the Study of Intergroup Conflict has been featured in the national media.  The work focusses on a "natural experiment" in the city of Oldham,  whereby two secondary schools from ethically segregated areas of the city were merged into a single institution.  Oldham has experienced episodes of racial tension in the past, culminating in an outbreak of violence in 2001.

Professor Hewstone and his group studied the factors that promoted integration between white and non-white pupils, and found that the integration is increaing from year to year. This supports the "contact hypothesis" - the theory that encouraging members of potentially antagonistic groups to intermingle promotes integration and reduces conflict.

The work has been covered in a Guardian long read article:  http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/nov/05/integrated-school-waterford-academy-oldham . He and his graduate student Christina Floe were also interviewed on this for the Radio 4 Today programme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06myp4g.  The work was also covered in the BBC R4 Analysis programme, "Will they always hate us?" http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06nnnlt.