Irish Education and the Catholic Church's Influence

Education is essential to all children's development, whether the education comes from a public institution or from home. When children are young they gather information like a sponge and it is amazing how versatile their learning abilities are at a young age. As you get older that happens less and less so the education being learned at a young age is truly key to a child's development and their belief system. In Ireland this has taken on a whole new meaning due to the Catholic Church having control of the school and curriculum for so long creating not only the standard learning systems but also knowledge on Catholicism.

The religious sectors took full control of the schools while the government stayed in the background, just occasionally reviewing the progress of the school. After the independence of Ireland the schools were expected to educate children on the Catholic religion and prepare them for communion, and it didn't matter if the school was Catholic ran or if layman ran. There were no separations of education; it was blended together for children. There were a few ideas on how education should be run in Ireland and how the children should be educated; they fall under the Functionalists and the Marxists.

Functionalists believe in how the education system affects a society as a whole. They not only think that studies should include the norms but also should include things such as society's beliefs and to socialize correctly, as well as sexuality, and justice. They believe that schools act as a screening device that educates and puts people into the jobs they deserve and belong in by showing which areas they excel in. In this theory they believe that people should be given rewards only by their own merit not because traditionally their family is wealthy. This in theory this does a great job of not being a class based type of education, however in this merit kind of world the schools then also don't take into account that someone from a higher class or from a lower class may have advantages or disadvantages that help their learning abilities or hinder it.

In the Marxist theory they don't believe that a Meritocratic society is created by educating the masses. Because they believe the poorer societies do not learn as easy because they were not given preschool or the same amount educational toys so they do not have the same advantages. They also believe that because they are educated in likely poorer schools then they receive less education because of larger populations in a class and poorer facilities and less extracurricular activities. In the Marxist belief a hidden curriculum is encouraged. With the Marxists they believe you need to educate in a case by case basis taking into consideration the wealth, background, and the person as well. This again in theory sounds great however children who may excel could be then held back due to their class, or apparent low income. When as a whole children have shown an amazing ability to learn no matter their background, a lot of times the poorer the background the more voracious the children are to learn and get themselves into a better position then their parents ever were.

However, looking at the Irish evidence, it will become obvious that Functionalists fail to address the problems associated with social deprivation that result from income inequality. They also fail to question the way family background and the organization of our educational system act as major impediments to open competition in our examination system. The Marxists have a more in touch approach with the poorer and more disadvantaged youth. When looking at the higher performing children it always falls back on the children who are born to families with more money. They have the advantages and it shows in their work. I believe perhaps that depending on the situation or the school the different theories could be applied, but completely across the board over the whole country does not appear to be a realistic way to educate children. You can't pick them all apart or lump them all together.

As the years have passed Ireland has built more schools that are not religion based however over 90% of the Irish children still go to a denominational school. There are now Muslim schools and non church based schools that have been built to cater to people who do not want the Church involved with their child's education. Although there was a need for such schools those are still not the most prominent. At least for now the Catholic Church has retained their firm handhold, and appears that this will continue.

Post primary schools were only for a small amount of individuals until the 1960's. The more money you had meant you went to a state school more like a college or university here, however if you made less money you could go to vocational schools only. The church influenced what was taught in the vocational systems which then created a huge difference between what women were taught and what men were taught. Until recently women were taught only womanly pursuits such as homemaking skills, cooking, sewing, and general arithmetic. Any other pursuits were deemed useless because women were forbidden to work. The male population could pursue what they desired however only if they were born to a high class or wealth family. If you were lower class family you had to go to vocational schools as well to learn manual labor positions. However the schools were free, with no financing or loans needed. In vocational schools the one thing that could not be earned was a diploma or a Leaving Certificate, this was specific to Universities and Colleges alone. The Church believed they needed to have a carrot to dangle to make sure children were attending the schools they wanted them to attend.

Unfortunately the education system in Ireland gives the grants and funding to all the children who are well off, because the assumption is that they will likely stay in school longer. So the state ends up perpetuating the lack of schooling for the lower classes. This keeps the lower class children from having preschool opportunities or place to help assist them as they struggle in class. If children were given the same advantages from the beginning regarding school no matter the class then children could attain the basis they need to excel as they get out of primary school and move on to older grades. Class should not be taken into affect when awarding funds for children, they should be treated equally. Right now what is being taught to the children is that if you are born to a poor family then you cannot have access to pre-school or assistance so that you can reach your full potential, only money and class can get you that. Terrible lessons to teach children whom you want to grow up and be a productive and well rounded adult.

The other problems they face with the school system is that there belief is that if a child excels in one arena, that is what they should focus on forever and what their career should be in. However how many children change their opinions on what makes them happy career wise as they get older? This is a constantly changing process as children learn new things and discover themselves; no one wants to be key holed at a young age. The "streamlining" process just puts children in a box with no chances of breaking free and learning to do new and exciting things.

These issues not only start in primary school but are carried out through college so that the once young children whose aptitude may have been amazing but they are poor, cannot go to college because there is nothing that funds for the more disadvantaged young adults that cannot afford to go. They also try to streamline students at the Universities not truly letting them break out and learn things they have not before because the state believes what they previously excelled in is all they are capable of.

I believe Ireland truly has a long way to go to successfully and without prejudice educate their children. Whether run by the Catholic Church or by the state the state truly needs to find a way to bring the lower class and less funded children into the education system and give them the tools to succeed. Right now the education is still so minute when is comes to lower class families, if these was increased they would have a whole population of people who could find better jobs, less labor intensive, and in the end increase the economy because they can participate even more in the technical and industrial side of Ireland.