Food and sustainability are intrinsically linked, yet the majority of food education in the Republic of Ireland focuses solely on health, and this form of education fails to address the complicated nature of the modern food system and its negative impact on biodiversity. Using the capabilities approach as a framework, this article argues that the…

Europe's knowledge economies need high-level skills, the capacity to innovate and to support democratic societies. In this perspective, the main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of higher education and how this is promoted in various countries in Europe and beyond. The evidence, conclusions and…

Europe's knowledge economies need high-level skills, the capacity to innovate and to support democratic societies. In this perspective, the main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of higher education and how this is promoted in various countries in Europe and beyond. The evidence, conclusions and…

Recent enlargement of the European Union (EU) has created debate as to the suitability of current structures and policies for effectively engaging citizens and developing social cohesion. Education and specifically modern foreign language (MFL) teaching are argued by the literature to play a key role in equipping young people to interact and…

The importance of education in developing ethically sensitive individuals who use principled moral reasoning when facing dilemmas has been widely acknowledged (Pascarella and Terenzini 1991; Rest et al. 1999b). However, ethics is typically omitted from the higher level curriculum and, if raised at all, comprises a very minor element of the course…

The first comparative study of the spread of mass education around the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this unique new book uses a bottom-up focus and demonstrates, to an extent not appreciated hitherto, the gulf between the intentions of the government and the reality on the ground. This book is divided into four…

From 2008-2009 the author was commissioned by AONTAS in partnership with Irish Aid to carry out a piece of research which aimed to examine how there could be a strategic focus on the integration of development education, or incorporating a global dimension to learning, into adult and community education in Ireland. It also examined whether or not…

This article will attempt to sketch what are considered to be the necessary conditions for the advancement of democratic citizenship in society today. The pivotal role that education plays in this process will be examined and, for that purpose, particular reference will be made to two very influential educationalists, who have written extensively…

Northern Ireland endured a quarter century of political violence from 1969 until the declaration of ceasefires in 1994. Although a political settlement was signed in 1998, the actual implementation of agreed institutions has proved to be very difficult and the actual institutions have been fragile (and are currently under suspension). The purpose…

Within the course of a decade Ireland has emerged from being a country of emigration to a country of immigration. Since the mid-1990s, Ireland has undergone rapid economic expansion with the recent economic growth resulting in approximately 252,000 migrants entering Ireland over the last 6 years, according to the Irish Times (2003). While a large…

This article deals with the role of Irish Higher Education (HE) in the context of the promotion of citizenship. It examines the circumstances in which Irish Higher Education currently operates in terms of access and participation with particular reference to the recent OECD Report (2004), "Review of Higher Education in Ireland". The…

This volume contains papers submitted to the 12th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES), held in Sofia and Nessebar, Bulgaria, in June 2014, and papers submitted to the 2nd International Partner Conference, organized by the International Research Centre 'Scientific Cooperation,' Rostov-on-Don,…

This document contains 11 papers about the potential for progressive educational practice in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. "Editorial" (Mae Shaw, Jane Thompson, Liam Bane) discusses the tradition of common purpose in education and the need to tackle social exclusion, educate for active citizenship, and promote lifelong learning and…