‘It's No Big Deal’: The perspectives and practices of primary school principals catering for children opted-out of religious instruction in Irish Catholic primary schools.

Abstract

This study explores the perspectives and practices of principals catering for children who have been opted-out of religious instruction in Irish Catholic primary schools. The new Education (Admission to Schools) Act was signed into law in July 2018. Section 62.7 of the Act requires all primary schools to publish an admission policy which includes details of their arrangements for children opted-out of religious instruction. This study investigates whether the schools have updated their admission policies to include these arrangements. Today, religious instruction and sacramental preparation are part of every-day school life for most pupils, with 88.9 per cent of primary schools under Catholic patronage (Central Statistics Office, 2019). However, Ireland has experienced a significant growth of inward migration over the past 20 years which is reflected in the increasing levels of ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in schools. A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with nine principals of Catholic schools was adopted for the thesis. This qualitative study also details the number of children opted-out of religious instruction and sacramental preparation in the schools. This study shows that none of the schools included in this research have updated their school admission policies in line with the new Education Act. This study reveals that significant numbers of children are opted-out of religious instruction and sacramental preparation in the schools. Findings highlight that many of the children opted-out are remaining in the class or participating in the lessons. Findings indicate that most parents are not raising concerns with school principals about what happens to their children despite opting them out of religious instruction and sacramental preparation. The thesis concludes by considering the implications emerging from this research and offers recommendations for reflection by the various stakeholders of Irish Catholic schools.