Governance of primary schools in the Republic of Ireland is an area that is not well researched in the national educational research literature (cf. O'Sullivan and West-Burnham, 2012). According to a recent report from the former Department of Education Chief Inspector of schools, Dr Harold Hislop, “because of their voluntary nature, boards might not be adequately equipped for their significant responsibilities... The voluntary nature of school governance arrangements is not sustainable.” (Department of Education, 2022, p. 237). How individuals understand their roles on Boards of Management is, by extension, also not very well understood.

Therefore, this paper's aim is to explore primary school governance in the Irish context over the last ~20 years, mapping the research literature pertaining to it and distilling key contemporary issues through a comparative analysis with issues arising in other identified national contexts. For example, governance approaches in other OECD countries (e.g. England and Australia, given the substantial literatures on school governance in these other English-speaking contexts) will be explored and commented on regarding how the Republic of Ireland could learn from policy approaches taken in these countries. Additionally, preliminary data analysis from a sample of chairpersons, principals and teachers - three key actors on all primary school Boards of Management - exploring how they make sense of and enact their roles in the contemporary policy and practice context will be shared. 

This study first documents the evolution of school governance in the Republic of Ireland through a scoping literature review distilling key issues over the last 20 years since the establishment of the monumental Education Act 1998. It also advances an overview and analysis of international school governance trends against which to situate the Irish 'case'. It then moves to present and synthesise empirical data from actors drawing on a dual conceptualistion of both role theory and sensemaking theory (cf. James et al., 2012).

Since the establishment of boards of management in Ireland in 1975, there has been a gradual separation of the education system and the Catholic Church. These two major power brokers, the State and the Catholic Church, acted as gatekeepers and controllers for the implementation of education policy in Ireland during the twentieth century (O' Buachalla, 1988), including in relation to school governance. In contrast to many countries, the Church's engagement in the education system has given a new layer to an already complex institution, creating difficulties and tensions along the way. This study maps and reviews school governance in Ireland since the establishment of the Education Act of 1998. Since then, a number of other laws/ Acts and policies have followed and presented school leadership and Boards with a ceaseless flow of mandates and regulations that govern every aspect of their work (Simmie, 2012). Therefore, the issue of sustainability of school governance arrangements is key in this presentation.

Given this backdrop, the main research question for is:

1. How do primary school board members (namely, chairpersons, principals and teachers) make sense of and carry out their role (including which supports are offered to them) on contemporary Boards of Management? 

2. Which historical legacy issues (e.g. voluntary status of boards) need reform to ensure a more sustainable approach into the future?

This presentation's methodology involves: 1. A scoping review of the key policies and research literature pertaining to school governance and Boards of Management in the Republic of Ireland over a 20 year period 2. A narrative review of the international school governance literature, identifying key contemporary issues against which to situate the Irish case 3. Empirical data (semi-structured interviews) analysed deductively with a dual role theory/ sensemaking theory framework, as well as the issues identified in literature reviews (#1 and 2) to advance a case for future consideration of members' roles on primary school boards into the future. Two sub-samples (2 x n=3) from school Boards of Management from which a chairperson (n=1), a principal (n=1) and a teacher (n=1) will be drawn providing two cases allowing for a within case and between case analysis.

Key expected findings include: * A contemporary policy and research literature mapping of school governance in the Republic of Ireland. * The necessity to consider historical legacy issues from previous governance arrangements and their implications for contemporary practices and sustainable futures. * Issues pertaining to the ongoing separation of Church and State in school governance in Ireland, including equity, inclusion and diversity issues. * The necessity to promote mutual understanding of the various roles on the Board of Management (e.g. chairpersons regarding the principalship if chairpersons have not been a recently practising principal). * Implications for system leadership and the future of Boards of Management in Ireland. * Critical interpretation of dominant global policy norms pertaining to school governance and caution that they can be implemented uniformly across international contexts and local schools (Wilkins 2019) without paying attention to local cultural contexts. Key issue is to be internationally aware, locally relevant, and ensure expertise on Boards which fundamentally calls into question the volunteer model. * Potentially new roles for education stakeholders such as educational researchers and parents.

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