Changes in the Irish Education System.
The Irish education system has experienced dramatic changes in the last few decades. Education plays a major role in Ireland today, with the growing importance of good education credentials to obtain high skills and competitive jobs. We have seen change in the areas of technology, increased marketisation of education, different types of education, Ethnicities, religions role, women 's equality, class and so forth. These changes have brought many benefits and enhanced education standards in this country for most, however they have not benefited others as much.
A major turning point in the Irish education system was the introduction of free education into this country. This allowed everyone the right and opportunity to education despite their background or social class. While in the past only the rich could afford to educate their children and very few working class children had the opportunity to continue onto secondary school, if even finish primary school. Education stopped people from moving upwards in an already class divided society. Normally a working class child was only sent to primary school for a few years until they reached a suitable age to start working. However this changed drastically with the introduction of free fees for second level education in 1967 and free third level fees in 1995, in an attempt by the government to create a more skilled and educated work force. These free fees allowed people who previously wouldn 't have been able to afford to continue their education to second and third level to do so. Giving young people the chance to get qualifications also allowed them to move up the class ladder. Today in Ireland 52% of secondary school leavers attend some third level institution. However there is an argument that these free fees only benefit those who can take advantage of them. It is argued that poorer people still can 't afford to send their children to post primary institutes and in particular onto third level due to increasing costs
A major turning point in the Irish education system was the introduction of free education into this country. This allowed everyone the right and opportunity to education despite their background or social class. While in the past only the rich could afford to educate their children and very few working class children had the opportunity to continue onto secondary school, if even finish primary school. Education stopped people from moving upwards in an already class divided society. Normally a working class child was only sent to primary school for a few years until they reached a suitable age to start working. However this changed drastically with the introduction of free fees for second level education in 1967 and free third level fees in 1995, in an attempt by the government to create a more skilled and educated work force. These free fees allowed people who previously wouldn 't have been able to afford to continue their education to second and third level to do so. Giving young people the chance to get qualifications also allowed them to move up the class ladder. Today in Ireland 52% of secondary school leavers attend some third level institution. However there is an argument that these free fees only benefit those who can take advantage of them. It is argued that poorer people still can 't afford to send their children to post primary institutes and in particular onto third level due to increasing costs
References: Macionis, John J. and Plummer, Ken, 2002, Sociology: A Global Introduction. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. The Irish Times Tovey, Hilary and Share, Perry, (2000), A Sociology of Ireland. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan