In Ireland as elsewhere, the value of putting evidence and scientific advice at the centre of public policy-making, has rarely been more evident. The prominence of the science-policy interface has renewed interest in the prospects for evidence based policy (EBP) in education. Notwithstanding the political rhetoric around EBP in education, little…

To make sense of the changes provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate aftermath, this paper critically examines digital education policy responses in the context of the 'new realities' faced by schooling. Based on seven case studies contributed by authors from Australia, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Canada, Sri Lanka, two key questions…

The processes of formulation of language policies have not been researched thoroughly. This paper aims to explore the relationship between ideas, power and agency in language policy-making and specifically with reference to the formulation of language-in-education policy for multilingualism in Ireland. Through an argumentative approach to language…

In recent years, as evidenced in the transnational proliferation of codified competence frameworks for teacher education purposes, we have seen the increased politicisation and regulation of the task of teaching and what it means to be a teacher. Making the case for an ethico-political conceptualisation of teacher identity and, using a…

Adult Education in the Republic of Ireland has experienced exponential change. Since 2013, the Further Education and Training (FET) sector has developed and implemented a range of strategies and policies transforming the landscape. Policy implementation is a complex process and as the 16 Education and Training Boards work to interpret FET policy…

Return on investment (ROI) has become part of the policymaking toolkit, particularly pertinent for activities like school-based career guidance deemed optional by some policymakers. There are institutions supporting ideal ROI methods alongside an academic critique, but little research on how ROI has been applied in practice in a guidance setting.…

Education is pivotal in the global effort to reduce inequalities. Through education, there are numerous opportunities to advance gender+ equality both within and outside of educational institutions. Gender budgeting, a strategy designed to align policies, plans and financial decisions with gender equality commitments, was used in this research to…

Recent policy in Ireland enhanced the position of school placement in Initial Teacher Education programmes. This paper considers how care ethics has a vital role in sustaining the goodwill of the cooperation and guidance from professionals who mediate the school placement setting, noting values of reciprocal caring in placement mentor-mentee roles…

This paper picks up and elaborates on the conception of policy translators in schools -- key actors in the enactment of policy. The qualitative data presented here highlight how it is often middle leaders doing high-profile policy work in schools, turning ideas into actions and bringing policy to life. As translators, they organise, manage, lead,…

This discussion paper focuses on the purpose of, and vision for, Irish primary science education prior to the redevelopment and publication of the primary science curriculum in 2024. Scientific literacy is broadly accepted as the goal of science education. Despite this, curricular analysis focusing on scientific literacy in Europe is scarce. There…

In this piece the author provides a critical response to the new 'Looking at Our School' quality framework in Ireland and illustrates how policy overlooks critical scholarship. The author questions the claim that the updated policy reflects recent thinking and developments, and critiques the policy's stance on notions of both distributed…

Objective: Policy development is the biggest gap for health-promoting sports clubs. The present study aims to identify Irish sports club's involvement in health promotion (HP) policy development. Design: Mixed methods concurrent survey design, with quantitative data providing insights into priorities, activities and documentation and qualitative…

This publication examines the influence of learning outcomes on teaching practices in vocational education and training (VET) through data from case studies across 10 countries: Bulgaria, Ireland, France, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland. The research reveals that, while national policies across the…

This research explores responsible investment practices at Canadian and international universities. We analyze universities' "Statement of Investment Policy and Procedures" and "Responsible Investing Policies" to understand how responsible investing is included and how this varies by region. Our results show that most…

The launch of Ireland's first official language education policy Languages Connect, Ireland's Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017--2026 (DES 2017) envisages wide-reaching changes for foreign language learning and teaching, both at primary and secondary sector. This study asks if the policy is equipped to address Ireland's main…