This paper prompts us to consider "representation" with respect to a committee structure "managing" the development of the Irish senior cycle physical education framework. The paper is timely due to the national interest in the senior cycle subject development in Ireland and complements work undertaken on the development of…

Strategic planning has become an integral part of the management of higher education institutions worldwide. The experiences of all but one of the Republic of Ireland's 21 universities and institutes of technology with strategic planning are explored from 2000 to 2010. At the starting point in 2000, only two institutions had a documented strategic…

In this case study, Irish academics reflect on our involvement in a project--Transformative Engagement Network (TEN). This project aims to transform the nature of the engagement between the various stakeholders impacted by or concerned with climate change and to insert the voice and concerns of the most vulnerable food producers into climate…

Graduation day often includes an oration by a Vice-Chancellor or President reminding the newest cohort of alumni to "keep in touch" with their alma mater. Often, graduates dismiss this invitation instead of embracing this lifelong opportunity. As the only constant -- and constantly growing -- stakeholder group of higher education…

The success of schools' counselling services often depends on the support of various key stakeholder groups. This study reports on the attitudes of key stakeholders working within the Welsh Government school-based counselling strategy. Using a survey methodology, the opinions of local authority leads/service managers (n=25), school management…

This study considers the extensive critique of the impact of the "market" or "neoliberal" model on learning and its outcomes in the light of alternative models. The purpose is to consider the potential impacts of the market on learning and its outcomes and to contextualise critique by considering alternative coordination…

"An overview of contemporary curriculum discourse shows a worrying drift to the technical; in current curriculum debates, technique is winning out over substance, procedure over principles" (Looney 2001, p.149). As a project worker in the School Completion Programme in Ireland I ask what and who education is for and look at to whom and…

In this article, different inspection models are compared in terms of their impact on school improvement and the mechanisms each of these models generates to have such an impact. Our theoretical framework was drawn from the programme theories of six countries' school inspection systems (i.e. the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Ireland, the province…

Purpose: This paper aims to report and analyse the lessons learned from a case study on the implementation of a quality management system within an IT Division in a higher education (HE) organisation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a review of the relevant literatures and the use of primary sources such as document analysis,…

In the absence of mandatory planning and support to assist all young people who leave care in Ireland, after-care provision is a "neglected" area of service provision and has been criticised for being inconsistent and ad hoc. The benefits of keyworker support for young people making the transition out of care is more clearly articulated…

This article explores how power relations are constructed in the governance of higher education institutions. It examines and deconstructs, from a Foucauldian perspective, power relations and mechanisms in the relationship between the state and higher education institutions, and between academic and management staff. This research article…

Internationally, citizenship education has come to the fore in the past decade. It may be particularly important within the context of societies with a legacy of political conflict, such as Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, where it is being implemented as part of the statutory curriculum. This article explores understandings of…

Innovation is essential for the education sector. The ways in which curriculum decision making is organised reflects different implicit approaches on how educational systems pertain to promote innovation in education. Curriculum holds an outstanding place when seeking to promote innovation in education, as it reflects the vision for education by…

This research describes and analyses recent policy developments in Ireland in relation to the practice of selling psychoactive substances which, while not themselves illegal, mimic the effects of commonly used illegal drugs. These so-called "legal highs" had been sold in Ireland through an increasing number of "head shops"…

This article reports on a study which aimed to explore the extent to which drug policy making in Ireland might be deemed to be a rational, evidence-based process. The research was completed during the first half of 2008, as the National Drug Strategy 2001-2008--which explicitly claimed to have research as one of its main "pillars"--was…