Educational Inequalities Among School Leavers in Ireland 1979-1994



provided by Research Papers in Economics


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.

267



More intriguing information

1. SOME ISSUES IN LAND TENURE, OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL IN DISPERSED VS. CONCENTRATED AGRICULTURE
2. The name is absent
3. The economic doctrines in the wine trade and wine production sectors: the case of Bastiat and the Port wine sector: 1850-1908
4. The name is absent
5. What Contribution Can Residential Field Courses Make to the Education of 11-14 Year-olds?
6. 09-01 "Resources, Rules and International Political Economy: The Politics of Development in the WTO"
7. The name is absent
8. Optimal Taxation of Capital Income in Models with Endogenous Fertility
9. Gender and headship in the twenty-first century
10. Impacts of Tourism and Fiscal Expenditure on Remote Islands in Japan: A Panel Data Analysis
11. Competition In or For the Field: Which is Better
12. Top-Down Mass Analysis of Protein Tyrosine Nitration: Comparison of Electron Capture Dissociation with “Slow-Heating” Tandem Mass Spectrometry Methods
13. Death as a Fateful Moment? The Reflexive Individual and Scottish Funeral Practices
14. Computational Batik Motif Generation Innovation of Traditi onal Heritage by Fracta l Computation
15. The name is absent
16. How much do Educational Outcomes Matter in OECD Countries?
17. The name is absent
18. STIMULATING COOPERATION AMONG FARMERS IN A POST-SOCIALIST ECONOMY: LESSONS FROM A PUBLIC-PRIVATE MARKETING PARTNERSHIP IN POLAND
19. Strategic Effects and Incentives in Multi-issue Bargaining Games
20. I nnovative Surgical Technique in the Management of Vallecular Cyst