A policy analysis of key employability interventions for the educationally disadvantaged in further education: Comparative insights for Irish education

The aim of this study is to garner comparative insights so as to aid the development of the discourse on further education (FE) conceptualisation and the relationship of FE with educational disadvantage and employability. This aim is particularly relevant in Irish education parlance amidst the historical ambiguity surrounding the functioning of FE. The study sets out to critically engage with the education/employability/economy link (eee link). This involves a critique of issues relevant to participation (which extends beyond student activity alone to social relations generally and the dialogic participation of the disadvantaged), accountability (which extends beyond performance measures alone to encompass equality of condition towards a socially just end) and human capital (which extends to both collective and individual aspects within an educational culture). As a comparative study, there is a strong focus on providing a way of conceptualising and comparatively analysing FE policy internationally. The study strikes a balance between conceptual and practical concerns. A critical comparative policy analysis is the methodology that structures the study which is informed and progressed by a genealogical method to establish the context of each of the jurisdictions of England, the United States and the European Union. Genealogy allows the use of history to diagnose the present rather than explaining how the past has caused the present. The discussion accentuates the power struggles within education policy practice using what Fairclough calls a strategic critique as well as an ideological critique. The comparative nature of the study means that there is a need to be cognizant of the diverse cultural influences on policy deliberation. The study uses the theoretical concept of paradigmatic change to critically analyse the jurisdictions. To aid with the critical analysis, a conceptual framework for legislative functions is developed so as to provide a metalanguage for educational legislation. The specific contribution of the study, while providing a manner for understanding and progressing FE policy development in a globalized Ireland, is to clear the ground for a more well-defined and critically reflexive FE sector to operate and suggests a number of issues for further deliberation.

Prehistoric burnt mound archaeology in Ireland

It is apparent from the widespread distribution of burnt mounds that Ireland was the most prolific user of pyrolithic technology in Bronze Age Europe. Even though burnt mounds are the most common prehistoric site type in Ireland, they have not received the same level of research as other prehistoric sites. This is primarily due to the paucity of artefact finds and the unspectacular nature of the archaeological remains, compounded by the absence of an appropriate research framework. Due to the widespread use of the technology and the various applications of hot water, narratives related to these sites have revolved around discussions of age and function. This has resulted in a generalised classification, where the term ‘fulacht fia’ covers several site types that have similar features but differing functions and age. The study presents a re-evaluation of fulachtaí fia in light of some 1000 sites excavated in Ireland. This is the most comprehensive study undertaken on the use of pyrolithic technology in prehistoric Ireland, dealing with different aspects of site function, chronology, social role and cultural context. A number of key areas have been identified in relation to our understanding of these sites. Previous investigations of burnt mounds have provided little information on the temporality of individual sites. It has been established that appropriate sampling strategies can provide important information about the formation of individual sites, their relationships to each other and to other monuments in the same cultural landscape. The evidence suggests that considerable caution should be exercised with regard to certain single radiometric dates from burnt stone deposits, based on the degree of certainty of the dated sample and its association with pyrolithic activity. Previously regarded as Bronze Age in date, there are now numerous examples of pyrolithic-type processes in earlier contexts, with the origins of the water-boiling phenomenon now considered to be Early Neolithic. A review of recent excavation evidence provides new insights into the use of pyrolithic technology for cooking. This is based on the discovery of faunal remains at several sites, combined with insights gained through experimental studies. The model proposed here is of open-air communal feasting and food sharing hosted by small family groups, as a medium for social bonding and the construction of community. It is also argued that if cooking was the primary activity taken place at these sites, this should not be viewed as a mundane functional activity, but rather one that actively contributed to the constitution of social relations. The formality of the technology is also supported by the presence of possible specialised structures, some of which were used for cooking/feasting while others were for ritualised sweat-bathing. The duration and frequency of activities associated with burnt mounds and the opportunities they provided for social interaction suggest that these sites contributed some familiar frames of reference to contemporary discourse.

The early years in Irish multigrade classes: trajectories of practice and identity

This study investigates how the experiences of Junior Infants are shaped in multigrade classes. Multigrade classes are composed of two or more grades within the same classroom with one teacher having responsibility for the instruction of all grades in this classroom within a time-tabled period (Little, 2001, Mason and Doepner, 1998). The overall aim of the research is to problematize the issues of early childhood pedagogy in multigrade classes in the context of children negotiating identities, positioning and power relations. A Case Study approach was employed to explore the perspectives of the teachers, children and their parents in eight multigrade schools. Concurrent with this, a nation-wide Questionnaire Survey was also conducted which gave a broader context to the case study findings. Findings from the research study suggest that institutional context is vitally important and finding the space to implement pedagogic practices is a highly complex matter for teachers. While a majority of teachers reported the benefits for younger children being in mixed-age settings alongside older children, only a minority of case study school teachers demonstrated how it is possible to promote classroom climates which were provided multiple opportunities for younger children to engage fully in classrooms. The findings reveal constraints on pedagogical practice which included: time pressures within the job, an increase in diversity in pupil population, meeting special needs, large class sizes, high pupil/teacher ratios, and planning/organisation of tasks which intensified the complexities of addressing the needs of children who differ significantly in age, cognitive, social and emotional levels. An emergent and recurrent theme of this study is the representation of Junior Infants as apprentices in their ‘communities of practice’ who contributed in peripheral ways to the practices of their groups (Lave and Wenger, 1991, Wenger, 1998). Through a continuous process of negotiation of meaning, these pupils learned the knowledge and skills within their communities of practice that empowered some to participate more fully than others. The children in their ‘figured worlds’ (Holland, Lachiotte, Skinner and Caine 1998) occupy identities which are influenced by established arrangements of resources and practices within that community as well as by their own agentive actions. Finally, the findings of the study also demonstrate how the dimension of power is central to the exercise of social relations and pedagogical practices in multigrade classes.

Sensemaking, safety, and situated communities in (con)temporary networks

This paper discusses the difficulties involved in managing knowledge-intensive, multinational, multiorganisational, and multifunctional project networks. The study is based on a 2-year quasi-ethnography of one such network engaged in the design and development of a complex new process control system for an existing pharmaceutical plant in Ireland. The case describes how, drawing upon the organisational heritage of the corporations involved and the logic implicit within their global partnership arrangements, the project was initially structured in an aspatial manner that underestimated the complexity of the development process and the social relations required to support it. Following dissatisfaction with initial progress, a number of critical management interventions were made, which appeared to contribute to a recasting of the network ontology that facilitated the cultivation and protection of more appropriate communicative spaces. The case emphasises the need to move away from rationalistic assumptions about communication processes within projects of this nature, towards a richer conceptualisation of such enterprises as involving collective sensemaking activities within and between situated ‘communities’ of actors. Contrary to much contemporary writing, the paper argues that space and location are of crucial importance to our understanding of network forms of organising.