Equality of Condition? Exploring Minority Ethnic Group Experiences of Education in Northern Ireland

The period since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in 1998 has seen an exponential rise in inward migration to Northern Ireland, with around 8% of the school-age population now comprising children and young people from minority ethnic groups. In this paper, we examine the experiences of families from minority backgrounds, including recent migrants and those from generations previously settled in Northern Ireland, as they navigate school choice and the transition from primary to post-primary education in a system characterised by academic selection and denominational segregation. Drawing on an ‘equality of condition’ framework, relating to the purposes and processes of education (Lynch and Baker, 2005), and adopting a qualitative approach, our findings highlight the interplay between identity categories, accrued or accessed social, educational, economic capital, and formal and informal power structures in mediating school experience. We propose that dimensions and intersections within this dynamic may contribute to equality of condition deficit for some minority families as they seek to secure primary and post-primary school placement for their children.<br/><br/>