History of infant schools in Ireland

Philanthropic infant schools were established in Dublin in the 1820s. They were integrated into the state education system after its establishment in 1831. A system of payment-by-results system was introduced following an inquiry at the end of the 1860s. The new "kindergarten" methods of teaching young children had some limited influence on the curriculum in the late 19th century. Infant teaching in Ireland initially switched to a child-centred approach. Following Irish independence, a return was initially made to rote learning with the aim of reviving the Irish language in the Irish Free State, though this was reversed from 1948.