The Politics of Expansion: The Transformation of Educational Policy in the Republic of Ireland, 1957-72

It is widely known that Irish education experienced dramatic changes in the 1960s and 1970s, but this transformation is often identified mainly or even exclusively with the achievement of free second level education. In fact the changes in education policy were much more radical and wide-ranging; it was not any single initiative but the adoption of a general reforming policy by the Irish state which opened the way to a new era in education. The period saw the rapid expansion of higher technical education, the emergence of comprehensive schools and the early development of special education. The influence of international organizations, especially the OECD, was crucial in stimulating educational change. Irish education moved with bewildering speed from a nineteenth century pattern of development into the international mainstream of the postwar era.The book gives a detailed and accessible discussion of the radical changes in Irish educational policy, which was transformed out of all recognition within a single decade. Making use of new archival sources and interviews with key participants, Walsh gives a balanced and original analysis of the forces making for change in Irish education and the obstacles they encountered. The book makes a significant original contribution to our knowledge of Irish education. The book will be of interest to scholars of modern Irish history, politics and public policy. It is essential reading for students of Irish education and of history of education more generally; it will also be invaluable to those with a professional or academic interest in Irish education.