In Ireland educational disadvantage has been the subject of major policy initiatives for at least two decades. National policy at a wider level also advocated the development of Integrated Service Provision (ISP). A group of schools in a disadvantaged area of North Dublin formed part of a RegionalEducationNetwork organised by the local Area-basedPartnership. Such partnerships were established in disadvantaged areas in the nineties to combat long-term unemployment. The Northside Partnership approached the Education Department of NUI Maynooth with a proposal to develop a locally-based, dedicated MEd programme focusing on educational disadvantage. The programme content focused on parental involvement, understanding of context, creation of social capital, systems leadership and, most importantly, the creation of a critical mass of action research capacity among the teachers. Nineteen teachers have completed action research theses on topics including the involvement of parents in the teaching of reading and mathematics, improving student attendance from early years onwards, peer learning, and positive behaviour strategies. This paper is a meta-study of these pieces of research and attempts to evaluate the extent to which the schools involved have become “extended” and have embraced a role which involves awareness of and collaboration with other agencies and direct engagement with the local communities.
