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Educational Cohort Generations in Northern Ireland 1922–1972, with Particular Reference to Males

Although the educational system in Northern Ireland has been subjected to extensive sociological research since the 1970s with extensive debate over the use of the educational system to secure equality of opportunity, a single reference summarizing the history of the Northern Irish educational system with direct reference to social stratification issues does not exist. This article has three main goals. First, conceptual differences between four analytically distinct types of phenomena are clarified: age or maturation effects; cohort or generational effects; historical trends; and period effects. The cohort generation is proposed as a structural variable of equal significance to other variables such as social class, gender, religion or ethnic group. Second, a detailed overview of the changes in the Northern Ireland education system over its first fifty years with particular reference to the implications of these changes for the analysis of social mobility is given. Third, data on changes in educational attainment in the male population of Northern Ireland over the same fifty year period are presented in order to clarify the conceptual discussion and overview of the educational system. Sociologically-determined cohort generations developed for Northern Ireland are used to place this presentation in a valid historical context.