Learning Society 1

Democratic schooling practices in the Republic of Ireland:

the gaps between the rhetoric and reality – Timothy Murphy
(2008)

By

Donal J. Stewart
Student Number: 05127742

Submitted to the Open Learning Centre, National

University of Ireland, Galway

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MA in

Adult Learning and Development

Master of Arts in Adult Learning and Development, January 2010

Tara Prenderville Dr. John Bradley

MA Course Administrator NUI, Galway
NUI, Galway
CONTENTS

Detailed Paper Description 3

Introduction 3
Democratic process and civic engagement in the Republic of Ireland 3
Theocentric world view 4
Mercantile world view 4
Limit situations 5
Limit acts 5
Conclusion 6
Reflection – Democratic schooling practices in the Republic of Ireland: the gaps 6
between the rhetoric and reality
Introduction 6
Reflection 7
Conclusion 10
References 11

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Detailed Article Description

Introduction

Murphy, T (2008) paper focuses on schooling in Ireland and the conditions required
for the advancement of education for a democratic society. In particular ‘theocentric’
and ‘mercantile’ influences were taken into consideration. In addition the potential of
Service Learning as an educational tool was looked at with regard to its democratic
responsibility.

He contends that educators are aware of the connection between our democratic
society and the schooling system and that the same system contains practices which
can severely impede the democratic project of society. His paper refers to two
educationalists in particular Paulo Freire and Maxine Greene. The is because their
ideas were convergent with regard to ‘the potential of the educational project to effect
human transformation’.

Human potential which has not been realised because of ‘limit situations’ in the
schooling system was looked at and why it may have prevented full democratic
potential. The paper concludes with a potential solution to resolving the ‘limit-
situations’

Democratic process and civic engagement in the Republic of Ireland

Murphy, T (2008) commented on the general topography of the ROI in relation the
democratic processs and civic engagement of people which he believes was as a direct
result of Nationalist and Catholic influences - That the moral code of the Catholic
church prevented other codes from being introduced into our society. He refers to
Garvin’s assumption that the Catholic church’s influence was comparable to having a
second Governement.

Murphy refers to O’Sullivans ‘theocentric’ and ‘mercantile’ paradigms, the former

being based on the Christian view of nature and destiny and that both the Catholic and
Protestant churches transformed schools into institutions which were directly

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controlled by the clergy. This culminated in the Catholic church in particular having
control over education which allowed them to influence their culture on society
through education.

‘Theocentric’ world view

The Department of Education was so greatly influenced by the Catholic church that
their Teachers Handbook, Part 1 refers to ‘Gods image’ and ‘… a soul to be saved’.
The influence of the church extended to socialistic agencies of the state, which when
combined with their influence over education, saw the emergence of consensual
conception of the social order throughout Irish society.
Murphy expresses Drudy and Lynch (1993) concern of the forestalling of the
development of a critical structural analysis of the education system because of
consensus and also espresses O’Sullivan (2005) concern of an absence of any real
dialogue between the state and society that could cultivate ‘a realization of the
complexity, production, siuatedness and functioning of interpretive frameworks in our
lives’.
A learners ability to ask questions of teachers and texts, ideology, politics and
economics has been recognised as something which needs to be put in place
according to (Apple, 1986). The ascendant position of the church at the time
prevented the development of a learner’s critical faculties.

‘Mercantile’ World View

Murphy refers in his paper to Clancy (1986) and his contention that the educational
system in the 1960s was being assessed in its ability to facilitate the achievement to
economic growth and export-oriented industrialisation. The Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that there was a gross
under-investment in education which impacted negatively on Irelands potential for
economic development. The Government of the day acted and increased investment in
education to meet the economic investment of the country through education. The
‘mercantile paradigm’ therefore contributes to economic growth through education.

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Murphy agrees with Fitzgerald’s position with regard to the absence of a civic
morality code and that such an absence is as a result of the ‘theocratic’ and
‘mercantile’ paradigms in the devlopment of Irish society.

The author returns to Freire and Greene and reiterates the congruence between both
educationalists with regard to their ideas on the educational project to effect human
transformation. ‘Conscientization’ (Freire) and ‘wide awakeness’ (Greene) the author
believes are similar in their understanding of the above. Murphy indicated that if one
were to understand what they consider to be the cornerstone of the democratic project
from an educational perspective, it would allow for a more informed critique of the
schooling system in ROI. Both Freire and Greene are conscious of the need for human
freedom as part of the fabric of society.

Limit-situations

Schools attempts to improve their profile and ranking by removing low achieving
pupils from their schools to other school is not uncommon according to the author.
This according to the Murphy affects the poorest in our communities. In addition,
parents who subscribe to their childrens education are disproportionately
oversubscribed by upper-class students. Thrupp (1999) commented that the shutting
out of the working class from schools will accrue advantages – teaching being easier
and achievement levels will rise which effectively boosts the position of schools in
league tables. In this regard the author also alludes to the fact that because of the
points system and the need to gain high results, students are being inhibited in their
development. The authors primary concern with regard to these ‘limit situations’ is
that some people as outlined above will not reach their full potential.

Limit-acts
Freire and Greene invite learners to reach beyond ‘limit-situations’ toward untapped
possibilities of what could be. The author was prompted to look at teaching and
learning opportunities for pre-service teacher educators. A greater understanding of
the educational project with regard to its democratic remit was the purpose behind his
investigation. Policy documents from the OECD indicated that teachers are expected
to know and be able to do and that their profiles need to be embedded in the education

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system. The author invited pre-service teacher education students to take part in
service learning activities - service learning being ‘teaching/learning method that
connects meaningful community service with academic learning, personal growth,
and civic responsibilities, so as to gain further understanding of course content, a
broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of responsibility’
(Murphy, T 2008). The results were as follows;

• One participant was involved in an outreach programme whose background

was rural-middle class. It benefited her greatly and allowed her to come to a
richer understanding of what is involved in the educational project. “The
principle aim of these projects was not to radically improve the students
academically but to change their attitudes to education and the usefulness of it
to them”.
• Another participant of equal background who worked with an adult literacy
organisation had to think more seriously about the process involved in
learning to read and write. She commented, “What service learning did for me
was to remove the scales from my eyes and see that education should be about
individuals and ensuring that each individual maximises their potential as
human beings”.

Conclusion
Important merits and short comings of the educational system were identified in light
of Freire and Greens arguments. ‘Limit-situations were also identifed and ‘limit-acts’
which could ameliorate the more negative consequences of ‘limit-siuations. Service-
learning experiences were also outlined as a ‘limit-act’ to give us a greater
understanding of the purpose of the educational project in society.

Reflection - Democratic schooling practices in the Republic of

Ireland: the gaps between the rhetoric and reality

Introduction
There are many influences in Ireland over countless years which have impacted on the
education of its people. The policies and beliefs of the clergy, nationalism, our

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European connection and successive Governments must be considered if accurate
reflections of Murphy’s paper are to be dealt with properly.

There is no doubt that the education of our society as a whole and at all levels from
infancy through to adulthood and beyond has been dealt a major blow because of the
agendas of others. Others being organisations and people whose understanding of the
purpose and application of education to its population differs greatly from the
theorists who in general terms define education in a comparable way. Curzon, L
(2004) reflects this comparability by stating “Education in our culture is concerned
generally with the handing on of beliefs and moral standards, accumulated knowledge
and skills”. He believes that society’s way of life must be learned. The understanding
of the experiences of previous generations is a primary task if learners are to be
assisted in their understanding of family life, their social environment and the
institution they are attending. They are also extremely conscious of the
responsibilities of others in the need to educate people, not necessarily because of
their own beliefs, but more for the betterment of those under development in
education. Curzon, L (2004) stated “Every teacher, before he begins the work of
instruction, should have some definite idea of what constitutes an education;
otherwise he may work to very little purpose”. As part of this reflection I believe it is
also worth looking at ‘conditioned human behaviour’ only because in the context of
this essay, people’s behaviour to circumstances has greatly influenced our past,
present and future development.

Reflection

Nationalism and Catholicism are in my opinion two of the most powerful traditions
the Irish people have experienced and endured in this country for hundreds of years.
Their influence continues to impact on our society to the extent that successive
Governments and their policies are conditioned by both of them. The two main parties
in ROI are self professed nationalists and will continue to strive for a 32 county
Ireland. This nationalist attitude is reflected in our educational system which as a
general concept for the people of ROI has become of little consequence. This is
because the younger generation no longer care about political agenda or their

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aspirations. People are no longer interested in those who represent nationalism and
instead would aspire to a value system which is represented by people who are seen to
be decent, dignified and who have the capacity to understand their life situations.
.
The same could be said of the catholic influence where in recent times have seen
people in general become embittered and disillusioned with recent abuse scandals.
The media have greatly influenced their downfall and have now begun to focus on the
number of clergy who knew about the abuse and who refused to take responsibility
for their inaction. Because of the inaction and abuse it would be true to say that in
many circles of life in this country today it is considered unsavoury for a Christian
Brother or a Priest to teach young children in our school system.

On reflection and in the context of our democratic schooling practices, it might be a

possibility to consider that both of these influences, which were so powerful in the
past, could now be extracted from the argument. The traditional belief models
presented on a nationalist and theocratic agenda may have seen a paradigm shift – or a
changing of the guard, with the population deciding what their view of the world
actually represents. The critical structural analysis of the education system and of
society more generally as depicted by Murphy, may therefore have become more
critical.

There are many obstacles to the advancement of education if we are to instigate the
educational process as defined by scholars. Primarily, the function of education must
include its entire people including the under privileged and disadvantaged. There is no
doubt that schools and colleges in this country are to a great extent interested in their
rank and in the achievements of their pupils – not because they are necessarily
enthused with pupil success but because they have achieved a higher rank because of
their success as compared to other schools. Money and social class continues to speak
in this country which in effect impacts negatively on other schools. The impact to
pupils at a lower level is negative and their opportunities into the future are impeded.
Societal well being as defined by Parsons, T (1959) cannot be guaranteed if there is a
question of inequality in the Irish education system. The categorisation of students in
2nd level education for acceptance into 3rd level courses is currently based on a
points system where evidence has proven that higher levels of attainment have been

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achieved in private schools, The Irish Times (2009). The researchers in this article say
private schools generally reported much better results than State schools. School
performance was assessed by the number of students who progressed to third level
and by the types of institutions to which the students progressed. Class distinction
therefore causes inequalities and societal unrest – something which has been topical in
ROI in recent times.

This ‘limit situation’ can only be addressed by Government. Reference is made to

Department of Education and Science (1999, p.6) where it states that “education not
only reflects a society but is an influence in shaping its development. It helps to equip
children to share in the benefits of society in which they live and to contribute
effectively to that society’s sustenance and evolution”. This ethical statement is not
enacted when one considers the ‘limit situation’ presented above which is endemic in
our educational system.

Successive Governments in its attempt to achieve national economic prosperity has

for many years looked at the educational system as being the portal to their objectives.
In particular curricula and meritocracy have driven pupils to learn for the sake of the
countries prosperity. Education in today’s society is in fact perceived as a business in
which the student is the customer and the teachers is a functionary who is directed
through curricula to prepare their subjects for the workplace. The OECD was also
very direct in their interpretation of the performance of the Irish educational system
when they stated that there was gross under investment in education and that this was
impacting negatively on economic growth. Government expenditure in education
greatly increased as a result of their observations. And so their understanding of
education and its direct correlation with economic growth and prosperity was set in
stone.

Educators understanding of pupil’s community and social circumstances are

questionable. This is because of their lack of interaction within these communities.
Murphy is quite correct in his paper when he suggests that “teaching and learning
opportunities for pre-service teacher educators could allow for greater clarity and
depth of understanding regarding the nature and meaning of the educational project in
society”. The responsibility towards an understanding of a student’s background and

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social circumstances lies in the hands of the teacher and their superiors. Social and
economical disadvantage may not be fully understood which, if known, could
influence a teachers methods and approach to teaching. Dewey (1938) stated “The
educator is responsible for a knowledge of individuals and for a knowledge of subject
matter that will enable activities to be selected which lend themselves to social
organisation, an organisation in which all individuals have an opportunity to
contribute something, and in which the activities in which all participate are the chief
carrier of control”. His belief corresponds directly to Murphy’s assumption that a
teachers responsibility extends beyond the classroom and into the communities of
their pupils. This type of interactivity is reinforced through community understanding
on the one hand and community learning through teachers on the other. It is a win-win
situation and will eventually assist educators in the educational system making an
attempt to direct teaching towards the needs of communities and society rather than
through the agenda of successive Governments - Governments who are influenced by
the European Commission and the OECD etc.

Conclusion
Murphy quite rightly focuses on the need for all parties to have an understanding of
the meaning of education. How that meaning directly relates to society and
communities. His belief that the educational system needs to have an understanding of
those being taught through service learning and the need to critically assess the
educational system is foremost in his mind. In-equality in the system is a priority if
we are to see the full potential of the whole of society. The non effectiveness of the
Catholic Church and apathy toward nationalism, which will not change in the long
term, has given educators a new problem especially with regard to curricula. The
Mercantile view which associates economic growth and prosperity with the
educational system needs to part of the critical assessment of our educational system.
I believe it is now the responsibility of educators to direct Government in their remit
to help people to have their understanding of the world recognized and for the
educational system to be a reflection of their life experiences in association with new
knowledge.

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References
Apple, M. 1986. Teachers and Texts: A political economy of class and gender
relations in education. New York: Routledge and Keegan Paul.

Department of Education 1971. Primary School curriculum: Teachers Handbook,

Part 1. Dublin: Stationary Office.

Dewey, J 1938. Experience and education: New York, Kappa Delta Pi

Drudy, S. 2003. Crude League Tables are no measurement of results. The Irish
Times.

Drudy, S and Lynch, K 1993. Schools and society in Ireland. Dublin: Gill and
MacMillan.

Dunne, J. 2002. Citizenship and Education: A crisis of the Republic.

Freire, P. 1970, 1995. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York.

Greene, M. 1973. Teacher as stranger. Educcational philosophy of the modern age.

Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Lynch, K. 1999. Equality in Education. Dublin: Gill and MacMillan.

Murphy, T. 2005. Maxine Greene and the democratic project in education.

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