Abstract
The rapidity of change in Irish early childhood policy over the last 20 years is clear to observers (OECD Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Ireland. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, 2004). What may be debated is how significant the changes are. In this paper, we analyse changes in early childhood education and care policy in Ireland since 1995, using Hall’s (Comp Politics 25(3):275–296, 1993) typology of policy change to help understand how policies and institutions could change so much in appearance without changing their fundamental features or underlying philosophy. We demonstrate that, despite extensive change, a traditional policy paradigm has held constant, where the State’s role in direct service delivery remains limited, the State continues to be reluctant to intervene in “family matters” and education is prioritised over care.
Résumé
Il est évident aux yeux des observateurs que la politique irlandaise de l’éducation et l’accueil de la petite enfance a rapidement changé au cours des vingt dernières années (OCDE, 2004). Reste à savoir à quel point ces changements sont significatifs. Dans cet article, nous analysons l’évolution de la politique d’éducation et d’accueil de la petite enfance en Irlande depuis 1995, au moyen de la typologie du changement de politique de Hall (1993) pour aider à comprendre comment les politiques et les institutions peuvent tant changer en apparence sans que changent leurs caractéristiques fondamentales ni leur philosophie sous-jacente. Nous démontrons qu’en dépit de changements importants, un paradigme de politique traditionnelle est resté constant, alors que le rôle de l’État demeure limité dans les services offerts. L’État reste réticent à intervenir dans «les affaires familiales» et la priorité est donnée à l’éducation plutôt qu’à l’accueil.
Resumen
En los últimos veinte años Irlanda ha experimentado una rápida transformación en la política sobre el cuidado y educación infantil; esto es algo evidente para los observadores del tema (OECD 2004). Lo que podría debatirse es la importancia de estos cambios. En este ensayo analizamos los cambios en el sistema educativo infantil y en la política de cuidado infantil en Irlanda desde 1995, utilizando la clasificación de Hall (1993) para evaluar el grado de cambio en la política para ayudar a entender cómo las políticas y las instituciones pueden haber cambiado tanto en apariencia, pero sin haber experimentado grandes cambios ni en sus características fundamentales ni en su filosofía de base. Este ensayo demuestra que, a pesar del gran cambio experimentado, un paradigma de política tradicional, en el que el papel del Estado en la provisión de servicios continúa siendo limitado, se ha mantenido constante; el Estado continúa estando poco dispuesto a inmiscuirse en “asuntos familiares”, y que a la educación se le da mayor importancia que al cuidado infantil.
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Notes
The Community Employment Scheme is an Active Labour Market Programme where the long-term unemployed can participate in part-time and temporary community based job placements.
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Wolfe, T., O’Donoghue-Hynes, B. & Hayes, N. Rapid Change Without Transformation: The Dominance of a National Policy Paradigm over International Influences on ECEC Development in Ireland 1995–2012. IJEC 45, 191–205 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-013-0090-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-013-0090-5