Maynooth University Education Department staff and postgraduate students attend the recent special issue of Irish Educational Studies ‘Investment in Education and the Intractability of Inequality’.

Dr Delma Byrne (Departments of Sociology and Education at Maynooth University, and President of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland) opened proceedings at the launch of the recent special issue of Irish Educational Studies ‘Investment in Education and the Intractability of Inequality’. The special issue was co-edited by Dr. John Walsh (TCD), Dr. Selina McCoy (ESRI), Dr. Aidan Seery (TCD) and Prof. Paul Conway (UL), and was launched by Jan O'Sullivan TD, Minister for Education and Skills. The launch took place in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), Ely Place, on Wednesday 8th October 2014. The issue is based on a research and policy conference hosted jointly by the CAVE Research Centre, School of Education, TCD and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in November 2012 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Investment in Education report.

The special issue highlights the far-reaching societal impact of the Investment in Education report fifty years ago in transforming the Irish educational sector, but also highlights the need for continued investment in education. The themed issue comprising six papers, includes reflections from Prof. Áine Hyland who worked with the Investment in Education team in the 1960s and former Secretary of the Department of Education Seán O’Connor. The study is intended not just to commemorate Investment in Education but to highlight continuing challenges for policy-makers in achieving equality in educational opportunities’.

Dr. John Walsh (TCD), joint editor of the special issue, said: ‘Investment in Education was the catalyst for a far-reaching transformation of Irish education, producing a roadmap for radical reform in primary and second-level education. The report was one of the most significant ever issued by an Irish government in education – it had as much impact on Irish education in the second half of the twentieth century as Economic Development , authored by TK Whitaker, had on the future of the Irish economy.’

Dr. Delma Byrne, President of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI), welcomed publication of the special issue: ‘This study is a fantastic achievement by the editors and contributors, who encompass a wide range of perspectives within Irish education. The breadth of this issue of Irish Educational Studies does a great deal to address current policy challenges while highlighting the long-term influence of Investment in Education.’

Walsh also added: ‘While the system has been transformed over the last two generations, this study also highlights the persistence of significant inequalities at various levels of the education sector. The study shows the transformative impact of investment from early years education to post-primary and higher levels but also underlines enduring problems and long-term legacies of historical under-investment.’ 

Irish Educational Studies is the official journal of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI). The publication can be accessed here.