This book examines educational policy at primary, secondary and university level in Ireland from the foundation of the State to the present day. Primarily an attempt to set policy within a historical context, the book draws together compelling research on the evolution of key changes in topics as diverse as the use of corporal punishment, the evolution of skills policy in post-primary settings and the development of the universities in the post-1922 period. The book includes detailed analysis of more recent policy initiatives and changes in, initial teacher education, curriculum change, and special and inclusive education and will be of interest to those working in the various fields, students and the general public. It presents detailed discussions of change in the Irish education system, demonstrating how policy initiatives, particularly since the early 1990s, have brought about significant transformation at all levels. In doing so, the book also demonstrates that the origin of change often lay in earlier developments, particularly those of the mid-1960s. Policy development is closely linked to external factors and influences and chapters on academic selection and teachers' recollections of policy, for example, set developments within the wider historical context employing the views and recollections of teachers so that the influence of change on day-to-day practice is revealed.

This book provides a complete overview of the development of education in Ireland including the complex issue of how religion can coexist with education and how a national identity can be aided through Irish language teaching. It also offers a comprehensive exploration of the development, issues, challenges and future of education in Ireland within the context of historical studies.

This book provides the first complete account of Patrick Pearse's educational work at St. Enda's and St. Ita's schools (Dublin). Extensive use of firsthand accounts reveals Pearse as a humane, energetic teacher and a forward-looking and innovative educational thinker. Between 1903 and 1916 Pearse developed a new concept of schooling as an agency of radical pedagogical and social reform, later echoed by school founders such as Bertrand Russell. This placed him firmly within the tradition of radical educational thought as articulated by Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux. The book examines the tension between Pearse's work and his increasingly public profile as an advocate of physical force separatism and, by employing previously unknown accounts, questions the perception that he influenced his students to become active supporters of militant separatism. The book describes the later history of St. Enda's, revealing the ambivalence of post-independence administrations, and shows how Pearse's work, which has long been neglected by historians, has had a direct influence on a later generation of school founders up to the present.

The Lilliput Press is proud to reissue this iconic view of Dublin’s northside docks area in the 1980s, which comprises Ronan Sheehan’s text and over 50 black and white photographs by Brendan Walsh. Widely regarded as one of the finest studies of Dublin during this period, The Heart Of The City was taught in UCD and Trinity and to students of Urban Folklore. This edition features a revised introduction by Sheriff Street-born writer and actor Peter Sheridan. Dublin film-director John Carney (Bachelor’s Walk, Once, Begin Again) writes a new foreword. More poignant still in the aftermath of The Celtic Tiger, this is a remarkable portrait of a people and city so badly affected by the catastrophic collapse of employment on the docks in the 1960s and by irresponsible urban planning

"The Boy and the Crow" is the gripping, fast-paced story of 16-year-old big city gang member, Daniel Cagney. Convicted of a crime in juvenile court, he is sentenced to spend a year's probation on the Vermont farm of his grandparents, whom he has not seen for many years. From the moment he arrives at the farm, Danny struggles to adjust to his new life on foreign turf. He continues to believe that it is only a matter of time before he escapes to the city, but a young crow, which he almost kills one day, "conspires" to change his mind. Under his grandparents' watchful eyes, Danny begins to resist the pull of the ghetto that he has left behind. He meets a beautiful girl who accepts him for who he is, but her zealous father wants him out of his daughter's life for good. To make matters worse, Danny soon becomes the target of local bullies and the county sheriff. Then, his fellow gang members come calling.