Professor
Judith is Professor of Education and Deputy Head of UCD School of Education. Her research area is history of education with a particular focus on gender and social class in an Irish context. Over the course of her career she has leveraged her scholarship and funded research to expose inequalities in relation to gender and social class, raise awareness of these issues at a national level, and work with policy makers to achieve greater equity in and through education.
She writes regularly in the national press on issues relating to education and access—bringing her expertise to a wider audience and shaping the discourse at a national level. The impact of her research has seen her serve on several committees and working groups of the Department of Education and the Teaching Council of Ireland. Her most impactful public projects include a study into the under-representation of women in senior positions in higher education, which led to a symposium on gender equality in higher education held in the Royal Irish Academy.
Identify people in your field to whom you can go for advice and support. Having even one good mentor’ can be a game changer. I think this is even more important for women.
This work includes Power2Progress, a dedicated programme for more than 600 senior cycle students in 21 designated disadvantaged schools nationally, funded by the Zurich Foundation. The focus of the programme is to break the cycle of inter-generational disadvantage, de-mystify higher education and build educational resilience. Power2Progress was the centerpiece of a recent symposium, Rethinking Educational Disadvantage.
She also led Girls rock STEM, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, which looked at how to make STEM subjects more meaningful and accessible for girls in disadvantaged schools. Her study into the participation of girls in STEM subjects in DEIS Schools in less advantaged areas led to her being nominated for a Teaching Council ‘Teachers Inspire’ award in 2019 and a runner-up award in the 2021 UCD Research Impact Competition.
Judith recently received the Irish Research Council's Researcher of the Year: Impact Award for making a highly significant impact outside of academia. She is a member of the Royal Irish Academy Social Sciences Committee and the Public Interest Representative on the Law Society of Ireland Board of Examiners. She will take up the position of Visiting Scholar at Harvard University in 2024.
Judith gives this advice: "Identify people in your field to whom you can go for advice and support. Having even 'one good mentor’ can be a game changer. I think this is even more important for women. Believe in your self and in the value of the work that you do. But it’s important to also accept that there will be bumps in the road. Surround yourself by positive people who share your values. I am fortunate to be surrounded by feminists!"