Elite Schooling and Social Inequality

"This book is breathtakingly refreshing. Not only is it intellectually engaging and a pleasure to read, it provides a highly original analysis into how social class privilege is reinforced through elite schooling in ways that reinforce upper-class male privilege in particular. Given the originality and scope of its research, the book represents a major sociological and educational achievement. However, its contribution is much greater than this. It raises profound questions about the moral myopia of Irish society when it comes to social class inequality. And in so doing, it lays down a political and moral challenge to successive Irish government and educational management as to why they continue to provide public funding and private subsidies, respectively, for schools that actively reproduce inequality." (Kathleen Lynch, Chair of Equality Studies, University College Dublin, Ireland)

This book is the first significant sociological study of Ireland’s elite private schools. From the selection process to past pupils’ union events, from the dorms to the rugby pitch, the book unravels how these schools gradually reinforce exclusionary practices and socialize their students to power and privilege.This book is the first significant sociological study of Ireland’s elite private schools. It takes the reader behind the gates of these secretive institutions, and offers a compelling analysis of their role in the reproduction of social inequality in Ireland. From the selection process to past pupils’ union events, from the dorms to the rugby pitch, the book unravels how these schools gradually reinforce exclusionary practices and socialize their students to power and privilege. It tackles the myths of meritocracy and classlessness in Ireland, while also providing keys to understanding the social practices and legitimacy of elites. By bringing out the voices of past pupils, parents and school staff and incorporating vivid ethnographic descriptions, the book provides a rare snapshot into a privileged world largely hidden from view. It offers a unique contribution to research on elite education as well as to the broader fields of sociology of education and inequality. As such, it will appeal to researchers, practitioners and the general public alike, in Ireland and beyond.