This paper explores poststructural tools as a particularly helpful ontological stance in advancing the concerns of marginalized groups in educational research. Although largely academic in nature, poststructuralism has had real and tangible effects as it interrogates everyday binaries, categories and hierarchies that oppress so many. This paper…

Spirituality is a phenomenon which continues to attract much interest in the Western culture. Throughout the years, it has changed in form and developed in understanding. It has become unprecedentedly broad and embraced by many people, even those who do not consider themselves to be religious. Indeed, spirituality is a subject of debate within…

This work involves researching normative family discourses which are mediated through post-primary settings. The traditional family, consisting of father, mother and children all living together in one house (nuclear) is no longer reflective of the home situation of many Irish students [Lunn, P., and T. Fahey. 2012. "Households and Family…

In positioning student voice within the Irish education policy discourse it is imperative that this emergent and complex concept is explored and theorized in the context of its definition and motivation. Student voice can then be positioned and critiqued as it emerged within Irish education policy primarily following Ireland's ratification of the…

This is a panoptic paper in five parts. In Part One, Immiseration Capitalism, I examine the current neoliberal cum neoconservative austerity capitalism and its "class war from above", in particular its resultant relative immiseration and its absolute immiseration, with particular reference to Greece, Ireland, Britain and the USA. In Part…

This paper examines the concept, pervasive policy and practice of learning outcomes, as increasingly adopted and officially supported in third-level educational institutions. It begins by outlining the context and development of learning outcomes from European and Irish educational policy perspectives. We go on to explore how learning outcomes…

In this article, the author talks about power, pleasure and community in a learning society. He argues that the resistance against the grand narratives or universal truths of this age is best achieved through the cultivation and development of local narratives and truths which are subject to continuous debate and critical reflection within a…

Examines significant influences that shape the identities of primary-school principals in Ireland to gain insight into the process of identity construction and its relationship to the educational change process. Includes theoretical perspectives, policy context, methodological considerations, and ethos and identity. Concludes that principal…

This paper analyses the problematic nature of citizenship as a modern achievement faced with the challenge of vindicating ancient ideals in what is increasingly considered to be a "postmodern" world. It offers a parallel analysis of childhood as a characteristically modern construct whose reality in children's life-worlds is threatened…

Explores the nature and possible consequences of benign and detrimental aspects of defamiliarization occurring in Northern Ireland's schools. Recent legislation, although apparently sharing power, centralizes power by providing for curricular form and content, promoting a certain management ethic, and relocating some key control mechanisms in the…