Academic freedom in Irish higher education

Academic freedom has been the subject of considerable debate, in terms of the academic practices of academics and students, and the role of democratic principles in higher education. It has been argued that academic freedom is being threatened in several European countries, including those within the EU. To explore how academic freedom is experienced by academics and postgraduate students in one European country, Ireland, that has witnessed significant changes in higher education, we interviewed 15 academics and 10 postgraduate students. Results indicate general satisfaction with the level of academic freedom in Ireland. However, participants also expressed concerns relating to university autonomy, which can also affect academic freedom. The findings also indicate that the transformation of universities into institutions operating under the control of external entities and structures can be problematic. As such, we argue that the use of these institutions as tools for market driven policies poses the risk of limiting academic freedom for both academics and students.