Educational Inequalities Among School Leavers in Ireland 1979-1994

The Economic and Social Review, Vol. 30, No. 3, July, 1999, pp. 267-284

Educational Inequalities Among School
Leavers in Ireland 1979-1994

EMER SMYTH*

The Economic and Social Research Institute

Abstract: The extent to which inequalities in educational outcomes persist in modern Ireland has
been the subject of much debate. This paper investigates whether the rapid expansion in educational
participation rates over the 1980s and early 1990s has led to a reduction in social class and gender
inequalities. Using data from the annual surveys of school leavers conducted by the Economic and
Social Research Institute, analyses highlight marked changes in female educational participation,
particularly in the third-level sector, but a remarkable persistence in class inequalities in educational
attainment. Contrary to findings based on other sources (Clancy, 1995), no reduction in socio-economic
inequalities is apparent in access to third-level education.

I INTRODUCTION

The extent to which inequalities in educational outcomes persist in modern

Ireland has been the subject of much debate. Analyses of educational
attainment among the adult population have indicated the persistence of social
class inequalities, contrary to the predictions of liberal theory (Breen and Whelan,
1996; Breen and Whelan, 1998; Whelan and Hannan, in this volume). In contrast,
there have been changes across cohorts in the educational attainment of Irish
women with higher levels of Leaving Certificate completion evident among
younger cohorts of adults (Whelan and Hannan, in this volume). It could be

*I am grateful to Hilary Tovey, two anonymous referees and colleagues at the Economic and
Social Research Institute for comments on an earlier draft.

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