The upcoming Convention on Education provides a welcome opportunity to reflect on the current education system, what it has achieved and the extent to which it is fit for purpose in a rapidly changing society.
The convention, chaired by Prof Anne Looney, will meet four times from May to November, with a report then compiled for the Government.
Ireland’s education system has, by many conventional measures, performed well over recent decades. We have widened participation and achieved among the highest rates of higher education completion internationally, developments that have supported economic and, to a lesser degree, social progress. The quality of our students has attracted some of the most dynamic enterprises in the world.
Yet, it is widely recognised that further improvements are necessary if the system is to respond effectively to the needs of all students. Thus, the question remains as to whether or not the system, as it is currently designed, is best placed to equip students for the demands of an increasingly volatile world shaped by artificial intelligence, rapid technological change and significant social, political and economic transformation.
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Historical legacies and institutional constraints
Education policymaking in Ireland throughout much of the 20th century was marked by a conservative, cautious and often fragmented approach. To some extent, this was to be expected given the predominantly administrative role played by the Department of Education as well as the dominance of the Catholic Church in shaping policy. The church’s hegemony, alongside the department’s reticence to play a direct role in policymaking, is reflected in the department’s contemporary organisation and practice.
Repeated reviews of the department have found it to be overworked, reactive, overly absorbed in short-term operational issues and lacking space for long-term strategic thinking. Although these reviews have generated a series of recommendations, these have only been implemented to a limited extent.
Rethinking education policy
Convinced of the need for significant reform of the education system, we explored the trajectory of education policy formulation in Ireland over recent decades. These discussions resulted in the publication of an article in Irish Educational Studies that examines the influences on policy development and enactment since 1990; the strengths and shortcomings of the existing system; and the practical challenges of translating policy into practice. In the article, we argue that if it is to effectively carry out its role, the Department of Education must undergo significant transformation, which will require a fundamental shift from a reliance on inherited structures towards rigorous and proactive policy leadership.
Achieving this will require a major expansion of policymaking capacity across the department, including a comprehensive, independent reassessment of the role, resources and organisational structure of the inspectorate, which continues to serve as the department’s primary source of educational expertise. Change will also be required at school level.
Currently, school principals and their colleagues are overburdened with excessive administrative demands that detract from their capacity to fulfil their role as educational leaders. Empowering school leaders to lead is a fundamental requirement, as is the recognition of the messy reality of policy enactment at school level. Perhaps most importantly, the education system continues to reflect enduring patterns of inequality, at the same time maintaining dominant power interests.
A challenge for the convention
We believe it is vital that the convention examines in a comprehensive manner the persistence of weaknesses, long-identified in our system, that have not been adequately addressed. These include:
- the lack of capacity for strategic planning within the department, and the associated absence of systematic evaluation of the performance of the education system as a whole;
- the remoteness of the department from the realities at the school coalface, leading to rigid policy instruments and the stifling of local innovation;
- the limited capacity of the system to recognise and respond effectively to the needs and experiences of students who come to school at a significant disadvantage, and to improve their outcomes.
These weaknesses have led to a rigid focus on a narrow range of standardised inputs, leaving the system too slow to respond to the changing needs of students, and to the new challenges and opportunities created by the accelerating technological revolution.
Carefully designed policies will have to be developed in order to support students to navigate a volatile and stressful environment shaped by pervasive social media and insurgent artificial intelligence.
Student success depends heavily on the quality of school leadership and the capacity of those working in schools to engage students in exciting education pathways suited to their talents. These features can be cultivated by policymakers if the system fosters innovation and provides time and support to create the environment in which all students have an opportunity to thrive.
Delivering these conditions will require conscious policy choices about what the system values, supports and enables.
- Prof Judith Harford is professor of education at UCD, Richard Bruton is a research economist and former minister for education, and Dr Brian Fleming is an author and retired secondary school principal.
