Chapter 13: Educating Young Adolescents in the Republic Of Ireland: Toward a “New Young Ireland”

The renowned Irish poet, William Butler Yeats, once claimed that “education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” Interestingly, the contrast that Yeats captures in his well-known quote describes the tension within the evolving educational system of the Republic of Ireland today, especially in terms of young adolescents. In the face of new economic developments, the Republic is demonstrating its ability to embrace current and widespread neoliberal social and economic imperatives while retaining a culture that is steeped in history and tradition. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the system for educating young adolescents.