ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the case studies of two groups of 5–6-year-old boys in Northern Ireland – those attending South Park Primary School, located in an affluent, middle class area, and those attending North Parade Primary School, situated in a socially isolated and economically-deprived area that continues to experience relatively high levels of sectarian tensions and violence. It begins with a brief discussion of the methods used and the approach taken to analysing and interpreting the findings from the two case studies. The chapter aims to compare and contrast the two areas in relation to their differing socio-economic characteristics, their very different experiences of the violence in Northern Ireland and the differences found in relation to educational performance and provision generally and then within the two schools more specifically. It discusses South Park and North Parade and set out the broader social contexts within which the two groups of young boys are located.
