Leading Teaching Learning funded projects

• Implementation study of a school-based social and emotional learning intervention. Under funding from Enterprise Ireland, Associate Professor Corcoran serves as PI and knowledge provider lending expertise in developing a theory of change for specifying how, when and why a school-based social and emotional learning intervention is expected to have an impact. Please contact Professor Corcoran (roisin.corcoran@ucd.ie).
  
• Emotional competencies, development education and teacher preparation. Under Ubuntu Network funding, Associate Professor Corcoran serves as PI for a study designed to promote an awareness of emotional competencies, development education and developmental issues within teacher preparation. Please contact Professor Corcoran (roisin.corcoran@ucd.ie).
• Understanding the development of school leaders’ and teachers’ well-being and emotional competencies; Under OBRSS funding, Associate Professor Corcoran serves as PI for a longitudinal study designed to examine the development of school leaders’ and teachers’ well-being and emotional competencies (Contact Professor Corcoran roisin.corcoran@ucd.ie).

• So How Was School Today? – Funded by Dept of Children and Youth Affairs 2017. This study is the first national level study of the perspectives of young people of of teaching and learning in secondary schools.  The survey accessed young people through Comhairle Na NOg with a sample of over 3,000 respondents.  Please contact Professor Dympna Devine (dympna.devine@ucd.ie) for further details.

• Formation and Competence building of University Academic Developers; Funded by the Norwegian Research Council. While teaching and learning is a core activity in universities, there is little knowledge available on those who teach the university teachers and guide educational leadership – the academic developers. The project aim at study current practices of academic development in five universities in Norway, Sweden and the US as a basis for initiating a competence building project of academic developers in two Norwegian universities. The project is led by Professor Tone Dyrdal Solbrekke, University of Oslo, while  its co-director is Professor Ciaran Sugrue (contact ciaran.sugrue@ucd.ie) 

• International Successful School Principals’ Project (ISSPP). As active members of this network, case studies are currently being completed in the Irish context with an emphasis on leadership in primary and post–primary schools and what this entails in detail. Fieldwork has already been completed for two cases with more cases planned for the  current academic  year. This work is being undertaken collaboratively between Professor Gerry Macruairc (NUIG) and Professor Ciaran Sugrue, UCD, while doctoral student Gavin Murphy is involved as a research assistant. (contact ciaran.sugrue@ucd.ie)

• PROMQUE (Promoting  Equity and Equality in schools); 2014–2017; Funded by the EU Commission. This is a three-year study examining the impact of positive interventions in working with teachers and school leaders in DEIS schools. A key focus is examining school cultures for change, supporting school teams  through the process of reflection and change and evaluating overall impact in terms of both quality of teaching and learning outcomes.  (contact: Professor Dympna Devine: dympna.devine@ucd.ie; Dr Declan Fahie: declan.fahie@ucd.ie; Dr Catherine Merrigan: catherine.merrigan@ucd.ie) 

• The Impact of (Hetero)Normative Organisational Cultures & Systems on the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Teachers in Irish Primary Schools, 2012-2014; Funded by The Irish Research Council (IRC). This research explores how the overwhelmingly denominational systems and structures which operate in Irish education impact upon the experiences of LGB teachers as they negotiate their personal, professional and sexual identities. (contact Dr Declan Fahie: declan.fahie@ucd.ie)

• International Study of Teacher Observation and Feedback (ISTOF); Funded by the Department of Education and Skills. This was part of a larger international study piloting the inter-rater reliability of an observation schedule of teaching practices in the classroom. The Irish study also included interviews with 78 teachers across 12 primary and secondary schools about why they teach the way they do in addition to a questionnaire to staff in these schools on their constructs of what constitutes ‘good teaching’.  Current work arising from this baseline research explores the concept of teacher habitus, teaching for social justice and children’s rights, in addition to teacher resilience and self-efficacy.  Research team included Professor Dympna Devine, Professor Gerry MacRuairc, Dr Declan Fahie, Dr Deirdre McGillicuddy and Associate Professor Judith Harford. (contact: dympna.devine@ucd.ie; declan.fahie@ucd.ie)

• Teaching and leadership in newly multi-ethnic schools; Funded by the Department of Education and Skills and Immigrant Council of Ireland. This was a rolling research project into the impact of immigration on policy and practices in schools.  Drawing on qualitative methodologies and case studies of practice in primary and secondary schools, the research explored the challenges and opportunities that arise in teaching and leading for diversity in newly multi-ethnic schools.  (contact Professor Dympna Devine: dympna.devine@ucd.ie)

• Gender and New Managerialism in Education; Funded by Department of Education and Skills. This research, co-investigated with Professor Kathleen Lynch and Dr Bernie Grummell,  involved a qualitative exploration of the recruitment and experience of senior management in all sectors of education (Primary, Secondary and Higher Education) in an era of new managerial reform.  A core focus was on the impact of such reform on organizational culture, the intensification of leadership roles and the implications for gendered patterns of representation in leadership positions in schools and higher education institutions.   Central to the analysis is the relationship between care and education and the negative impact of neo-liberal reform on the caring ethos of public service institutions such as education. (contact: Professor Dympna Devine: dympna.devine@ucd.ie; Professor Kathleen Lynch kathleen.lynch@ucd.ie)

• Quavers to Quadratics 2015 -; Funded through Science Foundation Ireland's Discover Programme. This transdisciplinary project sees undergraduate physics, education and music students deliver workshops to primary school children at the National Concert Hall. The content reflects the significant overlaps between music and science. Undergraduate students work the primary teachers through co-teaching. This work is co-investigated with Prof Marita Kerin at TCD School of Education. Our research interests focus on the undergraduate’s identity as a result of participation. (contact Dr Shane Bergin shane.bergin@ucd.ie)

• Bratislava Declaration for Young Researchers 2016. This pan-European project involves early-career researchers from a range of academic disciplines. Lead by the European Commission and the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Bratislava Declaration sets out the aspirations the authors have for European research. The text (available at http://www.eu2016.sk/data/documents/bratislava-declaration-of-young-researchers-final.pdf) focuses on empowering young researchers, establishing clear career trajectories, work-life balance, and the research environment. At an Irish level, Dr Bergin is working the Dept of Jobs Enterprise & Innovation and a cohort of young Irish researchers to contextualise the Bratislava Declaration for Irish research. (contact Dr Shane Bergin shane.bergin@ucd.ie)

• Researching the Role of Co-Operating Teachers in the Professional Formation of Student Teachers; Funded by the Irish Research Council. Co-operating teachers play a significant role in their professional formation, yet this role is typically on a voluntary basis and often without formal training. Since 2014, in line with national policy, individuals training to become teachers must under-take a two-year Master’s qualification which places added responsibility on the shoulders of co-operating teachers, yet without any additional training or remuneration. This research examines the key role co-operating teachers play in the professional formation of student teachers, identifying how schools, universities and policy makers working in partnership can best support this role. (contact Associate Professor Judith Harford, judith.harford@ucd.ie)

• The Professional Identity and Emerging Pedagogical Practices of Student Teachers: A Gendered Reading. Teacher professional identity has been extensively researched and generated a tapestry of complex definitions and interpretations. It is contextual, multiple relational/emotional, storied and central to teachers’ in-class practices and beliefs. This research examines the perspectives of student teachers on their professional formation, interrogating the influence, if any, of gender on student teachers’ formation and on their emerging pedagogical practice. (contact Associate Professor Judith Harford, judith.harford@ucd.ie Dr Declan Fahie, declan.fahie@ucd.ie)