Education for the country girls: vocational education in rural Ireland 1930–1960

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the position of rural women in Irish society during the period 1930–1960, focusing on their engagement with vocational education. Irish vocational education was organised and delivered in a way that was in keeping with a wider gendered ideology as represented in the policy discourse with gender-segregated training, the promotion of traditional domestic roles and a lack of a vision underpinning vocational training that would disrupt traditional gender roles. Rural women and girls did not directly contest this ideology but did push boundaries against the roles that were ascribed to them. This article builds on existing work in the field. Previous studies focused on curricular options and employment success rates of secondary educated girls compared with those who attended vocational education. This study extends that research through its specific focus on vocational education for rural girls, their attendance at day and evening classes and their employment opportunities.