This collection provides the first in-depth, interdisciplinary and over-arching review of higher education in Ireland, situating higher education within the socio-cultural, political and historical context of the country over the past 40 years and the development of European and national policies.

Major gap in the market - Irish HE is heavily under-theorized and this volume will bring a long overdue update

1. The Transformation of Higher Education in Ireland, 1945-80; John Walsh 2. A Contemporary History of Irish Higher Education, 1980-2011; John Walsh 3. From Seaweed and Peat to Pills and Very Small Things: Knowledge Production and Higher Education in the Irish Context; Andrew Loxley 4. Bildung and Life-Long Learning: Emancipation and Control; Aidan Seery 5. Ireland and the Field of Higher Education: A Bourdieusian Perspective; Michael Grenfell 6. Prospects for a Private, Indigenous and For-Profit University in Dublin; David Limond 7. Measures and Metrics and Academic Labour; Andrew Loxley 8. A Critical Journey Towards Lifelong Learning: Including Non-Traditional Students in University; Ted Fleming and Fergal Finnegan 9. Student Experience and Engagement in Higher Education in Ireland; Anne Murphy 10. Bologna: Consonance or Dissonance?; Frank McMahon 11. Changing Curriculum and Assessment Mindsets in Higher Education; Damien Murchan 12. E-Learning and Higher Education: Hyperbole and Reality; Tom Farrelly 13. Academic Professional Development in Ireland; Carmel O'Sullivan 14. Challenges and Opportunities for Teaching and Learning in Irish Higher Education; Ciara O'Farrell