Developing the characteristic spirit of publicly managed schools in a more secular and pluralist Ireland

Abstract

This discussion paper considers the identification and definition of the ‘characteristic spirit’ of publicly managed schools in the Republic of Ireland. Some international approaches to values in publicly funded schools are introduced along with relevant contextual aspects of Irish education including the cultural diversity and secularisation of modern Irish society. The Irish Education Act (1998) gives ultimate responsibility for school values and ‘characteristic spirit’ to the school ‘patron’, a role legally separate from that of school ownership and school management. The underlying values of privately managed faith-based schools are well established. However, the ‘characteristic spirit’ of publicly managed Education and Training Board schools remains largely undeveloped. Appropriate responses to this challenge are identified and discussed.

Keywords:

• Characteristic spirit
• patronage
• publicly managed schools
• values in education
• pluralism
• school-based action research

Notes

1. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994, p. 799) defines a charism as a spiritual gift to a person or group for particular work in the world, where, for example, ‘Catholic schools sponsored by the Franciscans distinguish themselves by living out the charisms of Saint Francis’ (Cook & Simmonds, 2011, p. 320).

2. ETB publicly managed schools are of two kinds: 'partnership schools' and schools under the sole aegis of the ETB. ‘Partnership schools’, for which the ETB is patron, are formally referred to as ‘Designated Community Colleges’ whose co-trustees are historically nominated by a religious denomination. The representative body for ETBs, Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) identifies 56 of the 265 ETB schools as having ‘Designated’ status (personal communication, May 2016). While the current paper is concerned with the 209 majority of ETB schools, the authors are fully cognisant of the implications of the distinction outlined here for the debate on characteristic spirit in Irish publicly managed schools.

3. Established as an educational corporate body in 1984, Educate Together has a network of 77 primary schools. Four second-level schools with Educate Together involved as patron, co-patron or as partner have opened since 2014. http://www.educatetogether.ie/our-schools/second-level