Patterns and paths towards privatisation in Ireland

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the various ways privatisation processes affect Irish education. Due to the long history of considerable church involvement, the notable absence of middle tiers of governance, and more recently, the embrace of neoliberal principles, in large part due to and for economic reasons, the Irish education system represents a fascinating example of a complex interplay between the public and private sectors. The conceptual and analytical tools provided by Cultural Political Economy are used in this paper to highlight why and how privatisation has unfolded and might yet unravel further in Irish education. These tools offer a useful lens through which to examine country-specific developments, whilst locating them in the global picture. Utilising the conceptualisations offered by Cultural Political Economy, this paper demonstrates how different forms of privatisation in Ireland have contributed to what can be described as a complex system of governance with strong private involvement.

KEYWORDS:

• Privatisation
• school autonomy
• governance
• public education
• Ireland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Craig Skerritt is a researcher at the Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection, Dublin City University. His research interests include education policy and governance, school evaluation and inspection, and the impact of change on teacher identity. His work has been published in journals such as Research Papers in Education, Irish Educational Studies, and Improving Schools. Craig is also the Policy and International Programmes Manager at the Royal Irish Academy and a member of the British Educational Research Association and the Educational Studies Association of Ireland.

Maija Salokangas is an assistant professor at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. Her recent book Inside the Autonomous School: Making Sense of a Global Educational Trend (with Mel Ainscow) critiques the school autonomy movement and associated privatisation processes. Her current research examines teacher autonomy in Ireland, Finland, Germany and Sweden.

ORCID

Craig Skerritt http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3695-758X