ABSTRACT
This chapter examines developments in the role of parents in education policy in the Republic of Ireland over a 40-year period and thus three key points are made. First, while the idea of parental involvement has always been strongly linked to the concept of social inequality, the development of parental involvement has also been viewed as a remedy by the State, resulting in an early, deficit framing of working-class and unemployed parents. Secondly, as parental demand for voice in education has expanded and the individual and collective rights of parents have also expanded to some degree, Irish education policy has been slow to reflect the interests of an increasingly diverse population of parents. Finally, increasingly, there is an accountability rhetoric regarding parental involvement in education policy as parents are positioned as accountable for the learning experience and the success of their children in the education system. The chapter also provides new research findings using longitudinal data obtained from the Growing up in Ireland study. The findings orientate us towards the diverse ways in which parents support the education of their children, and raise important questions about the normative policy construction of disadvantaged parents in the Irish context.
