A Policy Trajectory Analysis of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 in Ireland - an Institutes of Technology Perspective
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A Policy Trajectory Analysis of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 in Ireland - An Institutes of Technology Perspective Ciarán P. Ó hAnnracháin A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education School of Education University of Sheffield January 2018 Abstract The National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 was commissioned by the Higher Education Authority and was published in 2011 under the chair of Colin Hunt. The National Strategy, along with policy implementation and review documents, makes some radical proposals for the reconfiguration of the HE landscape in Ireland with much of the focus on the restructuring of the non- university sector, particularly the fourteen Institutes of Technology (IoTs), while maintaining a “binary divide”. The reform agenda has provided many challenges to the Institutes of Technology sector, and a policy trajectory approach to policy analysis is adopted to investigate the proposed changes to the Institutes of Technology sector. The tensions and shift in power dynamics are key elements to the process of reform in what is a contested space. These tensions are explored from the perspective of the Institutes of Technology sector through a process of critical discourse analysis conducted in the policy document and semi-structured interviews with key policy stakeholders. A historical policy review of the evolution of the non-university sector in Ireland, alternative models in the European Higher Education Area and alternative proposals to the Hunt Report are used as counterpoints to frame the analysis. The analysis revealed that while the Report was initially broadly welcomed, the proposals and their implementation are far more complex and contentious, and there is less cohesion, particularly in the Institutes of Technology, on how the sector can ensure parity of esteem with, and a distinctive mission from, the traditional university sector. i Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following people who supported me during this process:- My supervisors, Professor Gareth Parry and Dr Vassiliki Papatsiba, for the guidance and encouragement given throughout the process; The staff on the University of Sheffield EdD programme who contributed significantly to this wonderful and infuriating educational experience; The five interviewees who gave of their time, energy and expertise; My EdD cohort who started on this journey with me in Dublin and kept me going throughout; To my work colleagues who gave me the time and space needed to complete this mammoth task; Finally, to my family and friends without whose forbearance I would have found it impossible to complete this body of work over the past number of years. ii Dedication To the memory of Patrick Thomas Cain who was a constant support and guide, but who sadly passed away before the task was complete. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. ii Dedication .............................................................................................................. iii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................ 1 1. Rationale and Structure of the Research ............................................ 1 1.1. Introduction. .......................................................................................... 1 1.2. The Subject of the Study ...................................................................... 2 1.3. The HE Reform Agenda ....................................................................... 3 1.4. The Current Process HE Policy Formulation in Ireland .................. 5 1.5. HE Policy and Strategy ........................................................................ 6 1.6. Institute of Technology: A Sector under Pressure to Reform .......... 8 1.7. Research Question ................................................................................ 9 1.8. Structure of the Thesis ....................................................................... 11 1.9. Summary .............................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 2 .......................................................................................................... 13 2. Higher Education in Ireland .............................................................. 13 2.1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 13 2.2. The Development of Higher Education in Ireland. ......................... 13 iv 2.3. Technical / Vocational Education after the Transition to Independence ....................................................................................... 14 2.4. Key Policy Documents in Defining the Non-University Sector in Ireland in the 1960s ............................................................................. 16 2.4.1. OECD Report 1964 ............................................................................. 16 2.4.2. Training of Technicians in Ireland .................................................... 19 2.4.3. Investment in Education .................................................................... 21 2.4.4. Commission on Higher Education 1960 – 1967 ................................ 25 2.5. Regional Technical Colleges / Institutes of Technology – the Early Years .................................................................................................... 26 2.5.1. Certification of Programmes ............................................................. 28 2.5.2. Validation and Recognition of Qualifications .................................. 30 2.5.3. A Liberal Education in Technical Colleges ...................................... 31 2.6. A Time for Consolidation ................................................................... 33 2.7. The 1980s – Challenges and Opportunities ...................................... 36 2.7.1. The National Education Convention ................................................. 39 2.7.2. The Central Applications Office and the Non- University Sector .. 40 2.7.3. A New Millennium – Increased Autonomy for the IoTs ................. 42 2.8. The Move to Universal Education in Ireland ................................... 42 2.9. The Current Structure of Higher Education in Ireland ................. 43 2.9.1. The non-University Sector ................................................................. 44 2.9.2. The University Sector ......................................................................... 45 v 2.9.3. Colleges of Education ......................................................................... 46 2.9.4. Private Education Providers .............................................................. 47 2.9.5. QQI (Quality Assurance) ................................................................... 47 2.10. A Contested Landscape of Higher Education .................................. 49 2.11. Challenges Facing Higher Education in Ireland .............................. 51 2.12. Summary .............................................................................................. 54 CHAPTER 3 .......................................................................................................... 57 3. Literature Review – The Impact of Globalisation and the Knowledge Economy on Higher Education Systems ....................... 57 3.1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 57 3.2. Is the University the Default Paradigm of Higher Education? ...... 58 3.3. Globalisation and the Knowledge Economy ..................................... 59 3.4. Education and globalisation ............................................................... 62 3.5. The Bologna Process ........................................................................... 64 3.6. Alternative national structures of Higher Education ...................... 69 3.7. Diversity in Higher Education Provision – What is the purpose of The Binary Divide? ............................................................................. 73 3.8. Non-University Higher Education in Europe ................................... 79 3.9. The Entrepreneurial University ........................................................ 85 3.10. Collaborations, Alliances and Mergers in Higher Education ......... 91 3.11. The Field of Higher Education Research ......................................... 95 3.12. Summary .............................................................................................. 96 vi CHAPTER 4 .......................................................................................................... 98 4. Research Methodology ....................................................................... 98 4.1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 98 4.2. Education Policy ................................................................................. 98 4.3. Conceptual Framework and Research Methodology .................... 100 4.3.1. Policy trajectory analysis ................................................................