Research Themes - Health, Wellbeing and Human Flourishing

Health, Wellbeing and Human Flourishing

This research theme explores what it means to live a good life and age well across diverse social, cultural and economic contexts. It examines the factors that shape health, wellbeing and human flourishing over the life course, including social relationships, inequality, policy and place. The research advances understanding of how individuals, communities and institutions can support wellbeing, resilience and dignity at all stages of life.

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Children’s School Lives (CSL)

This landmark longitudinal study, conducted by the UCD School of Education examines the experiences of children in Irish primary schools over six years. Led by Prof Dympna Devine, with Assoc Prof Seaneen Sloan and Assoc Prof Deirdre McGillicuddy, the study follows more than 4,000 children across over 200 schools to inform curriculum development, policy and practice in primary education.

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REDEFPARENT: Redefining Legal Parenthood as a Legal Interdependency between Parent and Child

Led by Associate Professor Maebh Harding of the UCD Sutherland School of Law, REDEFPARENT explores legal parenthood as a relationship of interdependency between parent and child. The project examines how law shapes family life across different European contexts and highlights gaps between legal definitions and lived experience.

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Farming Minds: Developing evidence-based interventions to enhance farmer mental health

This a collaborative research project involving Prof Louise McHugh of the UCD School of Psychology and Co-Director, focuses on promoting farmer wellbeing. Working across psychology and agricultural science, the project develops and tests practical, scalable interventions to support farmers’ mental health, stress management and resilience, with an emphasis on prevention and early support.

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PINNACLE: empowering women in India and Pakistan to become education leaders

The PINNACLE project, involving Professor Marie Clarke and Professor Deirdre Raftery of the UCD School of Education, focuses on developing leadership and mentoring skills among women teachers in India and Pakistan. The research informed the creation of fully funded MA programmes at UCD, enabling participants to lead, mentor others and build communities of practice that strengthen schools and benefit wider educational communities.