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Ireland

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The Palgrave Handbook of Race and Ethnic Inequalities in Education

Abstract

Schooling in Ireland is compulsory from the age of six until 16. Most primary schools are privately owned but state-funded and provide education for children from the ages of four to 11 or 12 years. Around 95% of primary schools are denominational in their intake and management. Alternative option to parents is provided by the new Community National (CN) and Educate Together (ET) schools. CN schools were set up in response to parental demand in areas with considerable numbers of immigrants, and where children were not able to secure places in local schools. Two such schools were established in September 2008 and a further three in September 2010. These schools provide an additional option for parents, and are designed to meet the demand for different approach in providing religious and moral education. These schools provide faith formation for different religious groups during the school, distinctly different from the approach adopted by the currently 58 ET schools that teach children about different world religions with an optional faith formation component after school, organised by the parents. There has been a growing demand for alternative schools, as the proportion of the population who do not belong to the Catholic faith has increased. There are also two state-funded Islamic primary schools in Ireland, both in Dublin, and one Jewish school. All state schools follow a centralized curriculum. Pupils are not generally permitted to repeat a school year (see Department of Education, 2003).

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Authors
  1. Daniel Faas
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  2. Rachael Fionda
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent University, Belgium

    Peter A. J. Stevens

  2. University of Houston, USA

    A. Gary Dworkin

Copyright information

© 2014 Daniel Faas and Rachael Fionda

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Faas, D., Fionda, R. (2014). Ireland. In: Stevens, P.A.J., Dworkin, A.G. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Race and Ethnic Inequalities in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137317803_14

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