About the Book

About the Author

Paul Connolly is currently Professor of Education within the School of Education at Queen's University Belfast. He is also Director of the NFER at Queen's Centre for Educational Research. Paul has extensive experience of using a wide range of research methods from personally undertaking in-depth ethnographic case studies to directing and analyzing large-scale surveys and randomised controlled trials. He has been teaching quantitative methods and statistics for over 10 years.

Paul's main research interests lie in the area of diversity and inclusion in the early years. As a sociologist, he is particularly interested in understanding the ways in which race, ethnicity, social class and gender interact in young children's lives and impact upon their attitudes and identities. He has undertaken a number of detailed ethnographic studies in this area including: Racism, Gender Identities and Young Children (Routledge, 1998) and Boys and Schooling in the Early Years (Routledge, 2004). He has also undertaken larger surveys of young children's awareness and attitudes as well as evaluations of the effectiveness of cultural diversity programs in early childhood using experimental methods.

Further details on Paul's research, including a full list of publications, can be found on his website at www.paulconnolly.net.