Developing the characteristic spirit of publicly managed schools in a more secular and pluralist Ireland

‘That's how it works here’: The place of religion in publicly managed second‐level schools in Ireland

“…Hoggett (, p. 179) suggests that without a collective understanding of the values underpinning publicly managed schools, ‘it is often at the level of “operations” that unresolved value conflicts are most sharply enacted, with the result that public officials and local representatives find themselves “living out” rather than “acting upon” the contradictions of the complex and diverse society in which they live’. Due to the variety of approaches, the sector struggles to deliver a coherent and clear message regarding its characteristic spirit (O'Flaherty et al ., ). We have suggested elsewhere some possible approaches that individual ETBs and the ETBI can take in order to develop a coherent sector‐wide approach to characteristic spirit and, consequently, religion.…”

“…While the historical and cultural contexts can explain the reasoning for the largely normalised and unquestioned position of Catholic practices within the life of ETB schools, the religious and demographic contexts in Ireland are changing (O'Flaherty et al ., ; Liddy et al ., ; CSO, 2017b). Therefore, practices that were previously viewed as unproblematic now need to be questioned, challenged and changed.…”

“…This may have led the sector to embrace Catholic practices in a similar manner to the denominational sector. This led to a situation where Catholic practices were viewed as an acceptable and natural part of VEC/ETB schools and became part and parcel of what the sector stood for and how it saw itself (Liddy, O'Flaherty & McCormack, ; O'Flaherty et al .,; O'Flaherty, Liddy & McCormack, ; O'Reilly, ). It may also explain why little difference was found between the practices of many designated and non‐designated ETB schools.…”

“…We would question how the sector can juxtapose ‘inclusion’ as a core dimension of the characteristic spirit for non‐designated schools (O'Flaherty et al ., ), within a context where one religion is frequently given greater recognition than other (or no) religions. Being open to alternative suggestions beyond Catholic celebrations, when the only examples students see and experience in the school are Catholic events, is problematic.…”

Choosing to study music: student attitudes towards the subject of music in second-level education in the Republic of Ireland

“…Theories of the psychology of music education (Elliott & Silvermann, 2015;Reimer, 2003) are useful in understanding the way in which music primarily functions as a human activity, including research linking music education with social group membership and schooling (Welch et al, 2004). Furthermore, music can function as a tool for social cohesion (Eerola & Eerola, 2013), which is highly relevant in terms of the surge in multinationalism of 21 st century Ireland (O'Flaherty et al, 2018). Within the Irish context, there appears to be an understanding of the value of the arts (Drury, 2006) (a general term under which music can be considered) in creating an awareness of other cultures.…”