This paper introduces Living Scenes, and intergenerational programme of learning which has been in operation in selected schools in Ireland for the last thirteen years. An overview of the programme is followed by a description of the hidden curriculum and the transmission of arbitrary culture in an educational context. This is followed by an…

The development of the Irish system of education was, not unlike all critical aspects of Irish identity, fundamentally shaped by its relationship with its colonial neighbour. Prior to Independence in 1922, the system of education promoted was a fundamental part of a strategic effort to ensure cultural assimilation and political socialisation.…

In this article, the author describes how to bring Paulo Freire (or his ideas) into a learning group that visits the Botanic Gardens as part of a horticultural course and how her experiences at an art exhibition on two different occasions (both in Ireland and Sweden) impacted on her work as a teacher. As a result of working with students and…