The Transformation of Higher Education in Ireland, 1945–80

Abstract

The Irish higher education (HE) system has undergone a far-reaching transformation over the past half a century, driven in part by changing social and cultural norms but primarily by government intervention linked to the dominant national priority of economic development. The origins of far-reaching policy change can be traced to the period immediately follow- ing the Second World War, when a small, ‘elite’ Irish HE system struggled to cope with the consequences of long-term official neglect of third-level education, combined with the first indications of increasing social demand. A dramatic change in government policy towards higher education, com- bined with the impact of increased participation in the second-level sector, stimulated a long-term transformation of higher education in the 30-year period from the 1950s to the 1980s. The sea change in HE policy early in this period was driven by changing attitudes among domestic politi- cal elites, linked to the influence of international ideas mediated through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Government policies focused on quantitative expansion of participation, coupled with a far-reaching diversification at system, institutional and sub- ject levels to meet perceived economic requirements for a more highly skilled workforce and accommodate increasing social demand for third-level educa- tion (Æ Buachalla, 1984, pp. 165–7; Clancy, 1989 in Mulcahy and O’Sullivan, pp. 99–150).KeywordsHigh EducationIrish TimeHigh Education AuthorityConstituent CollegePublic Account CommitteeThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.