ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the characteristics of education in Northern Ireland, and explores the dimensions of inequality in outcomes. As in many places, there is a link between social disadvantage and educational outcomes, but the chapter argues that this link is neither deterministic nor inevitable. The chapter highlights case studies of communities which show that transformation is possible. Central to this is the role of social capital in mobilising communities in processes that seek to change the life chances of all young people, even in the face of education structures which mitigate against progressive change. The social capital approach also emphasises the role of community solidarity in opposition to the atomising effects of individualist discourses. Structural and policy factors that can be seen as inhibiting educational attainment and which need to be addressed include: the impact of the current economic climate and increasing levels of disadvantage, where 28% of our young people are growing up in poverty.
