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Abstract
Further education typically represents the vocational, technical and practice-based forms of education, but this is now being repositioned in a neo-liberal era that is driving a performance-based and market-orientated vision of education in the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere. The implacable drive of neo-liberal economics in everyday practice is evident in the current economic and training discourses of further education, which aim to upgrade the employability of low-skilled and marginalised sectors of the population. The article provides an overview of shifts in educational policy and practices that align Irish further education with what has occurred in the UK and elsewhere through processes of professionalisation and performativity. Analysis of the potential impact on notions of professional identity in the sector helps to articulate the principles, pedagogies and philosophies that will be vital when contesting the performance cultures of New Managerialism that seem likely to ensue. We explore the implications in terms of the policy discourses, organisational structure and professional practices of further education. We contend that changes in these areas have profound impacts on the learning and knowledge base of further education, constraining its social justice and transformative capacity for the learners at the heart of further education.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Bernie Grummell is a Lecturer and Research Manager at the Department of Adult and Community Education and the Education Department in Maynooth University. Her research interests include adult and community education, equality and social justice, media literacy, educational leadership and development issues.
Michael J. Murray is a Lecturer in Sociology at the Department of Adult and Community Education, Maynooth University. His research interests include power and politics, transnational governance, environmental justice and Northern Ireland politics.
Notes
1. http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1999/en/act/pub/0026/sec0002.html (accessed 4 June 2013).
2. http://www.education.ie/en/The-Education-System/Further-Education-Training/ (accessed 31 May 2013).
3. http://www.education.ie/en/The-Education-System/Legislation/Further-Education-and-Training-Bill-2013.pdf (accessed 20 July 2014).
4. The National Qualifications Framework offers a range of qualifications across second level, further and higher education in Ireland from level 1 certificates to level 10 doctoral awards (http://www.nfq.ie/nfq/en/; accessed 18 July 2014).
5. The Department of Education and Skills is responsible for the Education Training Boards (formerly VEC) which provide further education, as well as primary and second level education, with the Higher Education Authority responsible for the higher education sector.
6. DETE delivered further education through Foras Áiseanna Saothar (FÁS), the National Employment and Training authority established in 1967 as ANCO to provide vocational training for employment mainly through apprenticeships (now SOLAS operating under DES).
7. Solas (An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna) was established in 2013 to develop, fund and coordinate training and further education programmes. (http://www.solas.ie/about.aspx; accessed 18 July 2014).
8. Public and political controversy over the excessive spending in FÁS arose following newspaper investigations in 2008–2009 (http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/how-the-fas-scandal-unfolded-26569297.html; accessed 18 July 2014).
9. Protests against government cuts in community development sectors include the Communities Against Cuts campaign (http://www.cwc.ie/2012/11/communities-against-cuts-pre-budget-protest/; accessed 24 October 2013), as well as a host of protests against cutbacks in the mental health, special needs, disability, family support and other social inclusion and equality groups since 2008.
10. The European Lifelong Learning Project Report (2009) ‘Access and Retention: the experience of non-traditional learners in Higher Education’ 2008–2010 (RANLHE) defines ‘non-traditional’ as students who are under-represented in HE and whose participation is constrained by structural factors: including students from low-income families, first-generation entrants, students from (particular) minority ethnic groups, students with disabilities and mature students (http://www.dsw.edu.pl/fileadmin/www-ranlhe/files/MerrillGonzalezMonteagudo_ICERI2010_finalpaper.pdf; accessed 28 June 2013).
12. ‘Fetacisation’ is an informal term used by many further educators referring to the impact of performance measurement imposed by the FETAC system (Further Education and Training Awards Council whose awarding system was the precursor to QQI). ‘Fetacisation’ has also permeated the research agenda through the work of postgraduate researchers whose work explored the impact of performativity on professional practice and student learning (see McDermott Citation2010, McGlynn Citation2012, O'Neill et al. Citation2014).
13. Professional accreditation of further education ITE programmes is now required by the Teaching Council since 2013: http://www.teachingcouncil.ie/initial-teacher-education-ite/professional-accreditation-of-further-education-ite-programmes.1066.html (accessed July 2014).
14. www.education.ie (accessed 9 May 2013).