Conceptualisations and constructs of children and childhood are temporally and contextually grounded. Historical documents are rich sources of insight and understanding regarding how children were understood, valued and treated at various times by particular societies. This article explores the conceptualisation of children and childhood in the 26-county Irish Free State (South) and the 6-county Northern Ireland (North) in the 1920s following the partition of Ireland, through the lens of educational documentation, primarily national primary school curricula. The focus on both jurisdictions is interesting in the context of partition, exploring the sometimes divergent and often convergent ways in which children were conceptualised across borders and boundaries. This article reveals, using Sorin and Galloway’s framework as a conceptual and analytical tool, that conceptualisations of children were broadly similar in the North and South but differed in their focus and enactment in both fledgling states. These disparities are largely attributable to the very different political, social and religious orientations of both jurisdictions and the use of education as a vehicle for nation-building, as well as identity and gender formation. The article also explores alternative conceptualisations of children in education policy in the North and South by presenting case study ‘outliers’ of educational provision. A century since partition, conclusions and implications are noted that resonate with contemporary elements of convergence and divergence on educational policy and the conceptualisation of children across the island of Ireland.

中文翻译：

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跨越国界和界限的有争议的童年：来自 1920 年代北爱尔兰和爱尔兰自由州课程规定的见解

儿童和童年的概念化和建构是有时间和背景的。历史文献是关于特定社会在不同时期如何理解、重视和对待儿童的洞察力和理解的丰富来源。本文通过教育文献（主要是国立小学）的视角，探讨了 1920 年代爱尔兰分裂后 26 个郡的爱尔兰自由邦（南部）和 6 个郡的北爱尔兰（北部）的儿童和童年的概念化课程。在划分的背景下，对这两个司法管辖区的关注很有趣，探索了儿童跨越国界和边界概念化的有时不同且往往趋同的方式。这篇文章揭示，使用 Sorin 和 Galloway 的框架作为概念和分析工具，北方和南方对儿童的概念化大致相似，但在这两个新兴州的重点和制定方面有所不同。这些差异主要是由于两个司法管辖区的政治、社会和宗教取向截然不同，以及将教育用作国家建设以及身份和性别形成的工具。本文还通过介绍教育提供的“异常值”案例研究，探讨了北方和南方教育政策中儿童的替代概念。一个世纪以来的划分、结论和影响被注意到，这些结论和影响与当代在教育政策和整个爱尔兰岛儿童的概念化方面的趋同和分歧元素产生共鸣。