In order to generate higher levels of interest in politics and participation in political processes, political or citizenship, education in schools must be at the heart of the curriculum and be characterised by active, learner-centred approaches. This paper hypothesises that, when compared with Germany, a more limited form of political education…

This paper reports a longitudinal study of levels of moral reasoning in a convenience sample of Irish undergraduate university students, using the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). The study was timely, as higher education institutions are becoming increasingly interested in the promotion of social capital and the development of the whole person. A…

This paper offers a historical perspective on government policies for the rationalisation of higher education (HE) in Ireland through a critical re-appraisal of the initiative for "merger" of Trinity College and University College Dublin. The initiative launched by Donogh O'Malley in 1967 was the first significant attempt by an…

Most studies of the relationship between education and economic development focus on the line of causation running from the former to the latter. The present paper studies how the pattern of Irish development has influenced the structure of the Irish education system. The first section sets out the economic context of late industrialisation within…

This paper is based on the recollections of its author of the work of the Investment in Education team from its inauguration in summer 1962 until the completion of its work in early 1965. The author was a research assistant to the team throughout the period of the study and was directly involved in the collection and analysis of the data on which…

In 1965, following a review of second-level education in Ireland, the report "Investment in Education" was published. While a concern with educational inequality and disadvantage pre-dates this report, it clearly identified the significant socio-economic disparities in educational participation at the time and emphasised an urgent need…

Beginning with a historical review of Irish education policy since the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, this paper focuses on the issue of investment in education through the lens of the "Investment in Education" report. Following this historical review, the author explores how the legacy of the past continues to define the…

Thirty years after the publication of "Investment in Education," Patrick Clancy wrote that the report represented "the" foundation document of education' in the era since the introduction of economic planning in the late 1950s. This paper considers the importance of the report in disseminating theories of human capital…

The educational community appreciates the editors of "Irish Educational Studies" for making the Interview with Sean O'Connor, in Dublin, Ireland available to a wider audience in 2014. The interview was originally in Sean O'Connor's home in Dublin on 8 September 1986. By that time, O'Connor had retired as Secretary of…

Historically, the valuing of deaf children's voices on their own schooling has been underrepresented in educational policies, curriculum frameworks and discursive practices and, in particular, in the debates and controversies surrounding oralism and Irish Sign Language in deaf education in Ireland. This article discusses children's…

Irish public policy strongly promotes greater flexibility in higher education. This review paper examines Irish policy conceptualisations of flexible learning. The review finds that the promotion of flexible learning is positioned within strongly economistic discourses of lifelong learning, and primarily in human capital terms of meeting the…

Irish society has experienced unprecedented demographic change since the turn of the twenty-first century, and increasingly, educators are facing the prospect of having to respond to the changing nature of cultural diversity in their classrooms. Traditionally characterised as"Catholic, white and Gaelic", Irish schools are said to be…

Education for wholeness continues to remain a contentious issue within a liberal and progressively democratic culture. McLaughlin's work can help us conceptualise wholeness as it has been understood in traditional and progressive education, what he describes as "wholeness as comprehensiveness" and "wholeness as…

This paper examines the emergence of new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education in Ireland in the 15 years period 1997-2012. Framing accountability in terms of the three main approaches to it globally in education systems, that is, compliance with regulations, adherence to professional norms and attainment of results/outcomes, we…

The government of Ireland, like many European countries, is currently under severe pressure from external forces to grow the economy. One possible way to maintain and grow its economy is through the production of a highly educated and globally competitive workforce. In an effort to develop such a workforce, the government, through the Department…