In the long history of the Catholic school in Europe, it has taken various forms, linked to local cultures and to the history, particularly religious but also political, of each state. While it is possible to account for this diversity, it is also important to highlight common features and challenges, such as secularisation and globalisation,…

The year 2022, one hundred years since the foundation of the State, provides an opportunity to reflect on the development of policy in relation to educational equality over the course of the last century, including promises made and opportunities lost. This article looks back at one hundred years of education policy through an equality lens,…

This paper critiques the idea that secular education policy can neutrally recognise children's non/religious identities at school. It also empirically analyses how one child becomes restricted by, and eludes, classed, gendered and adult-centred moral codes enacted through local school recognition. The concept of "policy assemblage" is…

Education is a key mechanism for the restoration of inter-community relations in post-conflict societies. The Northern Ireland school system remains divided along sectarian lines. Much research has been conducted into the efficacy of initiatives developed to bring children together across this divide but there has been an absence of studies into…

This paper explores and compares the experiences and perspectives of primary teachers regarding the teaching of religion in Catholic schools in Ireland and South Korea. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten teachers from each country. The findings highlight the contrasting perspectives of teachers from the two countries regarding the…

This paper charts the development of one of Ireland's first comprehensive schools located in Carraroe in County Galway. Through a systematic, historical analysis of Department of Education and diocesan correspondence, this article provides a unique insight into how official policy was reconciled at ground level. The analysis exposes the ambiguity…

In this study, we focused on teachers' knowledge and awareness of LGBT+ issues in a Catholic secondary school in Ireland. We explored the barriers teachers encounter that prevent them from being openly supportive of LGBT+ students. For this study, 40 teachers completed an online questionnaire, which was followed by a smaller focus group interview…

Based on the oral history testimonies of Sister-teachers, this study provides an insight into the impact of the Free Education Scheme (1967) on the lives of women religious in Ireland. This major initiative was generated and driven by men; however, it had a direct impact on the professional lives of thousands of women who ran schools. The article…

A long tradition of both State and religious interest and support characterised provision for education on the island of Ireland from the 1700s. Following the partition of Ireland in the 1920s, the newly created political entities of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland forged separate and distinct education policy trajectories that largely…

Ireland's cultural identity has transformed significantly in the past few decades as a result of large-scale inward migration. Consequently, the creation of culturally responsive school environments has become a major concern in policy discourses in recent years. Despite the prevalence of such discourses, research on the cultural responsiveness of…

In Ireland primary RE is a fractured, contested, complex and changing territory devoid of a common language and characterised by a proliferation of syllabi and curricula generated for increasingly diverse school types. For centuries the dynamic decolonising process has led to a questioning of former orthodoxies and an attempted de-linking of the…

The Irish Department of Education and Skills' "National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030" (2011; better known as the 'Hunt Report') and subsequent policy initiatives continue to impact on the Republic's HE sector. This paper examines the effect of such initiatives on Mary Immaculate College, a third-level Catholic College of…

Growing secularisation of the population and the arrival of new culturally and religiously diverse migrants are posing new challenges to schools in the Republic of Ireland (Ireland). These challenges are particularly acute in Irish primary schools, the majority of which are under Catholic patronage. Recent changes have necessitated an extensive…

In 1831, the British Government decided to become directly involved in the provision of elementary education in Ireland, a country over which it then had jurisdiction. By European standards of the time this was a highly unusual step. A number of scholars have interrogated the factors that led to this outcome as well as the role played by various…

Radical economic policy change from the 1950s had major implications for Irish education which had traditionally drawn its values and orientation from Catholicism and cultural nationalism. While change to the economically-related administrative structures were bold and innovative, responses in the sphere of education were less so. This article…