Towards a Better Future

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Chapter Seven: The School System: Equality, Inclusion and Rights as discipline. Parents should be welcomed, involved on Boards of Management and good feedback from minority ethnic parents on the progress of their children should be encouraged (ibid.). These findings point to two requirements: additional support for marginalised children whose first language is not English or who are from the Traveller community, and to the need for professional development for teachers in best practice relating to diversity. However, it should be pointed out that the authors of the present Towards a Better Future report are aware of some outstanding examples of good practice in this area in primary and post-primary schools. RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY While Catholic and other Christian denominations still form the majority of the population, the 2011 Census showed that the non-Catholic population has increased significantly (Faas et al., 2016). The share of the Catholic Church in the population had declined to 84% in 2011. By far the two largest proportionate changes between 2006 and 2011 were in the ‘Other’ category (which would have included the increase in the Muslim population) and in the ‘No religion’ category. With a proportionate share of 84% of the population, a total of 91% of primary schools are Catholic (ibid.). Three other Christian denominations, “ The multi-denominational sector has grown from the early 1990s when they had just 11 primary schools to 77 primary and four post-primary schools in 2016… still a modest share of the total number of schools. ” with 4% of the population together have 6% of the schools. Muslims, now the third largest denomination, have just two schools, while Jews have one school. The multi-denominational sector has grown from the early 1990s when they had just 11 primary schools to 77 primary and four postprimary schools in 2016 (www.educatetogether.ie), still a modest share of the total number of schools. The fact that 96% of Irish primary schools have religious patrons, with 91% of these under the patronage of the Catholic Church is unique in the developed world (Report of the Advisory Group on Patronage and Pluralism, 2012). This has been raised four times with state representatives before the UN Human Rights Committee as part of the periodic reporting mechanism. This Committee has recommended that Irish schooling should be re-structured in order to protect freedom of religion and non-discrimination and that more non-denominational schools should exist throughout the country (Mawhinney, 2015). The Report of the Advisory Group on the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector was published in 2012 and updates indicate that little progress has been made to date, particularly in the area of divestment (www.education.ie). — 127 —
Towards a Better Future: A Review of the Irish School System The issue of religious freedom and the ‘right to discriminate’ in the matter of school admissions has become a matter of public concern as well as legal analysis (Daly and Hickey, 2011; Ó Foghlú, 2016). The Education (Admissions to Schools) Bill, published in 2015 did not proceed under the last government, but the 2016 version of this Bill is, at time of writing, before the Dáil (www.education.ie). However, it continues to permit discrimination in admissions on religious grounds: ‘where, in the case of a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values, where the school refuses to admit as a student a person who is not of that denomination and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school’ (S62, (c) (iv)). This is currently a matter of intense debate. In January 2017, the Minister for Education formally opened a consultation process to explore four possible approaches to the admission of children of different denominations and none to primary schools in advance of legislation (DES, 2017b). Barriers to ‘reasonable accommodation’ in educational provision for Islam (and other denominations and non-denominational groups) have been identified as three-fold: the established organization of education; population density; the integrated curriculum (Hogan, 2011). While many (especially faith groups) defend the present system, others have suggested educating all children in the state in non-denominational secular settings, leaving faith formation to the private domain of parents and communities (O’Toole, 2015). This is a debate that is certain to continue (Rougier and Honahan, 2015). Ireland is experiencing unprecedented change in relation to religious and other forms of diversity so there is a need for schools to value and support pupils from culturally and religiously diverse backgrounds. The need for leadership in order that schools and teachers can be supported to move away from any perception that they are only, or predominantly, ‘Catholic, White and Gaelic’ has also emerged from research (Parker-Jenkins and Masterson, 2013; Bryan, 2010). As well as being the predominant form of organization at primary level, denominational education is also strong at second level. There is evidence that many denominationally-owned and controlled schools, however, admit pupils from other denominations and those with no religious affiliation (Smyth & Darmody, 2011). Given the extent of denominational control of the education system, and the likelihood that the churches will continue to be major players in the system, they have an enormously important role to play in the future of Irish society. Decisions that will be made by them in education will affect the shape of society for the future and will require fresh thinking and considerable generosity – not least in terms of how faith formation takes place. Schools are the one institution in which all citizens of the state and all immigrant children participate. Therefore, their potential for good or ill is enormous. Given their predominance in the ownership and management of schools, the churches must play a very significant role in promoting equality, inclusion and anti- — 128 —
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Towards a Better Future

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