A Critical Appraisal of the Impact of International Agencies on Educational Reforms and Teachers' Lives and Work: the case of Ireland?

Against a general backdrop of an international discourse on educational reform that has focused on accountability, this article provides a detailed and critical analysis of the evolution of accountability policy and practice in Irish primary and post-primary education during the past 20 years. The analysis indicates clearly that national policy agendas have been influenced and shaped in significant ways by key international organisations, despite such influences being 'refracted' in different ways due to traditions of schooling in the country, and the current distribution of power among the major stakeholders. The article argues that the very recent publication of inspectors' reports for the very fist time marks a seismic shift in the Irish education system, and provides further evidence of an increase in the performativity and accountability demanded of teachers. Consequently, the article concludes, the system is at a very important crossroads where there needs to be a national debate on the kind of education system we desire for our children. The accountability path chosen will have enormous consequences for the quality of teaching and learning and the quality of our democracy. The stakes have never been higher.