The launch of a Computer Science curriculum specification in upper secondary schools in Ireland in 2018 was a landmark and a historic development in Irish education. Addressing the historical policy decisions adopted towards establishing the specification, this paper presents an analysis of developments from the 1970s as revealed in key policies…

Empirical evidence suggests that educational attainment nurtures people's social outcomes and promotes active participation in society and stability. However, it is unclear to what extent other types of human capital also correlate with social outcomes. Hence, we explored the opportunity offered by the PIAAC survey through its provision of…

This paper presents a broad statistical picture of trends in Ireland during 1981-91 and the results of the first comprehensive survey of the career patterns of two cohorts of doctoral graduates and professional engineers who graduated during the 1980s. It argues that higher education expansion has not been matched by demand for graduates in the…

An analysis of unemployment rates, wages, and policy initiatives for school "early leavers" in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom suggests that early withdrawal from school represents a substantial, transnational problem attributable to basic policy problems. It is noted that no policy initiatives directly address…