100 years of inequality?: Irish educational policy since the foundation of the state

Abstract

ABSTRACT 2022 marks one hundred years since the foundation of the Irish State, and thus an appropriate time in which to reflect on how educational policy has shaped the nation over the course of a century. This article examines one hundred years of education policy through an equality lens, asking how the concept of educational equality has been understood, fostered and mediated. Framing policy implementation across three defined periods, 1922–1959, 1960–1980 and 1981–2022, it argues that with the exception of a brief window which occurred during the 1960s, education policy has not been underpinned by rigorous policy formation based on considerations of social justice. 1 1 We employ the term equality throughout as this was the term used by politicians and policy-makers in the period under review. While originally conceived of in terms of access, the 1990s marked a shift in emphasis towards equality of participation. Nonetheless, a rather limited application of the concept, narrowly understood in terms of access, still dominates to this day.