Welcome by co-Chair of SCoTENS, Mr Tomás Ó Ruairc

Official opening by the Northern Ireland Minister of Education, Minister John O’Dowd, MLA

Keynote address: Professor Kathleen Lynch, Professor of Equality Studies, School of Social Justice, UCD – There is no view from Nowhere, Ideology, Social Justice and Teacher Education

Q&A Session with Professor Kathleen Lynch

Drinks Reception on Level 6 Foyer to launch two SCoTENS reports:
1. 2014 SCoTENS Annual Report launched by Professor Emeritus John Coolahan, National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Drinks Reception on Level 6 Foyer to launch two SCoTENS reports:
2. Creative Classrooms: Imaginative and Innovative Teaching in Ireland, launched by Professor Emeritus Harry McMahon, University of Ulster

SCoTENS Seed Funding Workshop: Led by Dr Geraldine Magennis, Senior Lecturer, St Mary’s University College, Professor Kathy Hall, Head of School of Education, University College Cork and Dr Conor Galvin, Lecturer & Researcher, University College Dublin (optional workshop open to SCoTENS members interested in seed funding)

Panel Discussion Teachers need to be able to do more than talk about social justice Chaired by Professor Kathy Hall
Panel comprising:
• Dr Brian Cummins, Head of Widening Participation, Stranmillis University College
• Dr Una O’Connor Bones, Lecturer, Ulster University
• Dr Kevin Cahill, Lecturer, University College Cork
• Ms Rena O’Shea, Principal, Thomond Primary School, Limerick
Professor Kathleen Lynch to conclude session

Professor Kathleen Lynch concludes the panel discussion

Workshop 1 – The Write to Right
Shannon Suite 2 & 3
Mr Séan Love, Executive Director, Fighting Words, Dublin
Ms Geraldine Wilkins, Development Officer, Fighting Words, Belfast

Fighting Words host daily free creative writing workshops for primary and secondary schoolchildren. These workshops will demonstrate both models. They will be adaptations of our regular primary & secondary school workshop models in which the participants will create together the beginnings of a couple of stories. The workshop models have been adopted in similar creative writing centres in eight other EU countries and in several other countries around the world. The workshops are creative, productive, educational and good fun – for all ages.

Workshop 2 – Rural Schools in Multi-cultural Settings
O’Brien Suite
Dr Geraldine Magennis, Senior Lecturer, St Mary’s University College
Dr Maria Campbell, Lecturer, St. Angela’s College, Sligo
Mr Kenneth Dennedy, Principal Scoil Iosa, Ballyhaunis
Mr Kevin Devlin, Principal, St Patrick’s Primary School, Dungannon
Mr David Thompson, Principal, Dungannon Primary School

This workshop will be presented by two primary/national school principals via Skype Video Conferencing. Both schools contain a high percentage of newcomer pupils which presents many challenging as well as enriching and celebratory dimensions to educational provision within each context.

The speakers will outline their individual situations in terms of location, staff numbers, pupil enrolment and school environment as a means of providing the audience with a contextual backdrop. They will then discuss the strategies and share good practice that they and their staff have put in place to support newcomer children and their families in educational, social and emotional terms. They will also address the various difficulties they have experienced over the years in meeting the needs of such changing populations. Finally, with a look to the future, the principals will offer their thoughts on what is maybe next in the continued development of this aspect of educational life in modern day Ireland.

Workshop 3 – Teaching English as an additional
language: perspectives from North and South
Henihan Suite
Dr Barbara Skinner, Senior Lecturer, Ulster University
Dr Barbara O’Toole, Senior Lecturer, Marino Institute of Education

This workshop will present the current linguistic landscape in Ireland, North and South, and will examine some of the challenges and  opportunities involved in teaching English to students from minority languages. Theoretical perspectives such as social interaction theory will be explored. The importance of a sociocultural / socio-political perspective on minority languages and cultures will be emphasised. Within these theoretical frameworks, specific teaching approaches will be presented, and the potential of these approaches in classroom settings will be discussed.

Workshop 4 – Collaborating for social justice in the primary school: lessons from a literacy initiative
Wogan Suite
Ms Suzanne McCanney, Learning Support Manager, Middletown Centre for Autism
Dr Áine Cregan, Senior Lecturer, Mary Immaculate College
Dr Carmel O’Doherty, Senior Inspector, Department of Education and Science
Ms Tracie Tobin, Principal, St Michael’s Infant School, Limerick
Mr Tiernan O’Neill, Principal, Corpus Christi Primary School, Moyross

The workshop presentation will focus on the Limerick DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) primary schools’ literacy initiative: its origins, implementation, and impact in schools. The workshop will focus on contemporary research on models of teacher education. Vignettes of practice from an Infant School will highlight the learning from and importance of implementing a balanced literacy framework. Lessons from a vertical co-educational school will emphasise the importance of teacher networks, collaboration and reflective practice.

Keynote address: Professor Ken Zeichner, Professor of Teacher Education, University of Washington, Seattle – How Teacher Education can Contribute to Social Transformation and Greater Justice

Official Closing by the Republic of Ireland Minister for Education and Skills Minister, Jan O’Sullivan T.D.

Closing remarks by co-Chair of SCoTENS, Professor Linda Clarke