The establishment of the National School system in Ireland can be traced back to British rule in the 19th century. To this day, the Stanley Letter of 1831 remains the legal basis for
the system, although some of its ideals have been eroded. The Stanley letter set forth that primary school education in Ireland should by free, and that children of all religions should be taught together in the same school. However, pressure from various churches to edu- cate children of different denominations separately has led to the current situation where religious patronage is widespread in Ireland. Nonetheless, despite the prominence of the Catholic Church as patron body to the majority of Irish National Schools, a ‘Catholic-first’ admission policy is prohibited under the provisions of the Stanley letter. It is against this backdrop that the integration of children from non-Christian backgrounds must be consid- ered. While the various patron bodies are responsible for religious education, the main curriculum is set by the state, and is common across all schools.
In recent years, there have been two major revisions of primary school curriculum in Ire- land. These can be found in: Curaclam Na Bunscoile (1971) and Primary School Curricu- lum (1999).
Curaclam Na Bunscoilewas launched in 1971. It aimed to “enable the child to live a full life as a child”, and “to equip the child to avail himself of further education so that he may go on to live a full and useful life as an adult in society” (DE, 1971a, p. 12). This curriculum indicated that all children are complex human beings with physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs and potentials; it also emphasised that each child is an individual, and that he or she should be provided with all kinds of opportunities towards fulfillment which will enable them to achieve their full potential. Therefore, educators should cater for the full development of each child and should aim to meet the needs of children of widely varying abilities and cultural backgrounds (DE, 1971b, p. 13).
In 1990, the review body of the Curaclam Na Bunscoile published the Quinlan Report. The report constituted a detailed appraisal of the 1971 curriculum and provided the basis for the redesign and restructuring of the new curriculum (NCCA, 1999b, p. 2). Later the new Primary School Curriculum was developed by National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (NCCA) and launched in 1999. It was built upon the previous curriculum. As the previous Minister for Education and Skills Micheal Martin TD said, “It encompasses the philosophical thrust of Curaclam Na Bunscoile (1971) and the Education Act, 1998. The curriculum incorporates current educational thinking and the most effective pedagogical practice. It represents a process of revision that is both evolutionary and developmental” (NCCA, 1999b, p. vi).
Like Curaclam Na Bunscoile, the Primary School Curriculum (1999) is child-centered. Since all children are different, it allows the curriculum to be delivered in a manner that meets individual needs and contributes to the fuller development of each individual. In other words, it seeks to celebrate the uniqueness of each child and to nurture the child in all dimensions—spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social and physical (NCCA, 1999b, p. 6).
The curriculum points out that the general aims of primary education is, “to enable the child to live a full life as a child and to realize his or her potential as a unique individual; to enable the child to develop as a social being through loving and co-operating with others and so contribute to the good of society; and to prepare the child for further education and lifelong learning” (NCCA, 1999b, p. 7). To achieve these three general primary education aims, the curriculum includes more specific aims and general objectives to specify the importance of the ability to learn independently, to think critically, to develop spiritual, moral and reli- gious values, to develop literacy and numeracy skills, and to develop a respect for cultural difference (NCCA, 1999b, p. 34).
In light of the increasingly multicultural nature of Irish society, this curriculum (1999) especially stressed that one of the responsibilities of the curriculum is to promote tolerance and respect for pluralism and ensure equality of opportunity for all children. Children coming from a diversity of cultural, religious, ethnic backgrounds should all be equally respected and recognised (ibid.: 28).
The curriculum is presented in seven curriculum areas comprising of twelve subjects. These are Language (English and Irish), Mathematics, Social Environmental and Scientific Ed- ucation (SESE) (History, Geography and Science), Arts Education (Visual Arts, Drama, Music), Physical Education, Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and Religious Education (NCCA, 1999b, p. 2).
It is interesting to note that under the current Irish Government, a greater emphasis has been placed on literacy and numeracy. In July 2011, the DES launched Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life – the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020. One of the targets which has been set and to be achieved by 2020 is:
At primary, increasing the number of children performing at Level 3 or above (the highest levels) in the national assessments of reading and mathe- matics by 5 percentage points; reducing the percentage performing at or below the lowest level (Level1) by 5 percentage points.
– DES (2011)
In 2011, DES introduced standardised tests of reading and mathematics for students in 2nd, 4th and 6th class in primary schools. The schools are required to report the findings to the parents and the Department of Education and Skills after the test and develop and implement their own improvement plan (DES, 2011).