As part of our ongoing series of online events SCoTENS hosted a very successful research focused webinar on 14 March 2023.

This event was aimed at members of SCoTENS and comprised of the following: short presentations by a small group of team members who have been successful in recent SCoTENS funded projects; the launch of our Annual Report by Mr Andy Pollak, and the presentation of this year’s John Coolahan award by Prof Kathy Hall,Professor of Education, University College Cork to the authors of the Seed Funding Reports recognised to be the most in line with the values and ideals of SCoTENS.  This year the SCoTENS sub-committee decided to present two very worthwhile projects with the award, the first ITRB project by Dr Catherine Stapleton and Dr James Nelson and secondly, VOTE PE project by Associate Prof Tony Sweeney, Dr David McKee and Dr Maura Coulter, Suzie Macken PhD and Ciaran Walsh.  From 3.00pm to 3.30pm Dr Conor Galvin facilitated a short Q&A session to support potential applicants to this year’s seed funding programme. 

If you missed out on the webinar, or indeed would like to watch it again please catch up at the link below!

Dr Conor Galvin’s very helpful document on the Seed Funding Briefing can be found below:

SCoTENS Seedfunding Briefing

As part of our ongoing series of online events SCoTENS are delighted to announce that they are running a short research-focused webinar on 14 March 2023 from 2.00-3.00 pm with a follow-on session for 30 minutes for anyone considering applying for seed funding this year (3.00-3.30pm).  

This event is aimed at members of SCoTENS and will comprise the following: short presentations by a small group of team members who have been successful in recent SCoTENS funded projects; the launch of our Annual Report by Mr Andy Pollak, and the presentation of this year’s John Coolahan award by Prof Kathy Hall, Professor of Education, University College Cork to the authors of the Seed Funding Report which is recognised to be the most in line with the values and ideals of SCoTENS; and, finally, from 3.00 to 3.30pm, a short Q&A session to support potential applicants to this year’s seed funding programme. 

When: 14 March 2023 at 2.00pm

At the SCoTENS Conference 2022, the committee decided to video various participants on their perception of SCoTENS.  The outcome is a fantastic piece which you catch up on below:

The Shared Island-SCoTENS Research Partnership are delighted to announce that the first two projects awarded funding under the the theme of “Enhancing educational attainment: sharing experience and learning on a shared island”  will be launched at the SCoTENS Annual Conference 2022 taking place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk on 20 and 21 October 2022.

• “BUDDIES” – led by Dr Glenda Walsh, Stranmillis University College, Belfast, in collaboration with Dr Seaneen Sloan, University College Dublin and Clíodhna Martin, Marino Institute of Education, Dublin. Building on discussions of the role of Home-School Community Liaison at the Shared Island Dialogue on education, this study will seek to gain a clearer understanding of the valuable but under-researched work of HSCLs across the island.
• “SHARED” – led by Dr Melanie Ní Dhuinn and Dr. Julie Uí Choistealbha from Marino Institute of Education, Dublin, in collaboration with Julie Hamilton, from St. Mary’s University College, Belfast. This project explores how teacher educators can prepare and support student teachers to negotiate and engage with the challenges of educational underachievement while on their school placement.

You can read the successful reports below:

SHARED  Report

BUDDIES Report

The Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS) invites proposals for participation and working papers at the 5th SCoTENS Doctoral Studies Roundtable.  The Roundtable will provide a mix of short presentations by participants on their work in progress and will also feature participation by SCoTENS colleagues who are leaders in the field of Teacher Education and related research in Ireland and beyond.

The Doctoral Studies Roundtable will be held in conjunction with the 20th Annual SCoTENS Conference, which runs on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 October 2022 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk. The conference theme this year is Reflecting, Reconnecting and Re-Engaging with the Core Purpose of Education. The Roundtable will take place on the Thursday morning at 11am.

This Roundtable will bring together doctoral researchers working on topics relating to education and educators in its broadest sense on this island.  In Ireland, north and south, diversity and inclusion remain significant challenges and the conference will explore the links between education, schooling and societal wellbeing and inclusion. It will debate the purposes of education and consider what pedagogies are needed to challenge oppression and marginalisation.

A limited number of accepted contributions will address issues in the general field of educators and education – ideally in light of the concerns of the conference theme as noted here. We, therefore, invite doctoral students interested in these and related issues to apply for a place at the Roundtable. The Roundtable will provide a space for doctoral researchers to meet and discuss their interests, to showcase their work, and to participate in the SCoTENS Conference more broadly.

Accommodation and meals will be provided, and participants will also have full access to the main conference. Please submit your proposal on the attached form to tricia.kelly@qub.ac.uk before the deadline of 4pm 19 August 2022.

Doctoral Workshop Application Form

The Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS) is pleased to announce a call for expressions of interest/presentations from those wishing to contribute to its forthcoming conference in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Dundalk on 20 and 21 October 2022

We welcome expressions of interest on topics that are relevant to teacher education. Because the slots for presentations are limited we propose to give preference to presentations that link most directly to the conference theme and the work of SCoTENS. We welcome presentations that will invite exploratory conversations perhaps about aspects of the conference theme that are challenging and contested and that therefore will involve audience interaction and the productive exchange of ideas. In this context work-in-progress is very acceptable, and indeed, encouraged.

Among the questions to be examined are:

• What lessons have we learned as educators from the events of the past two years?
• What is the ‘new normal’ we want to co-create in our education and teacher education systems?
• How can we ensure that the ‘new normal’ is one that reflects the type of society we want to be, and is faithful to the core purpose(s) of education.
• How can educators recognise the shaping influence(s) of local communities and society?
• How can education and schooling be structured to better impact societal wellbeing?
• What pedagogies are needed to challenge oppression and marginalisation?

Please note: Your organisation should hold current membership of SCoTENS.  If you have any queries about this, please contact Tricia at tricia.kelly@qub.ac.uk

We look forward to receiving your expression of interest and thank you for considering the conference as a forum to share your work.   

 Expressions of Interest Form

We hope to see you at SCoTENS in 2022.

Please complete and return to Tricia Kelly at tricia.kelly@qub.ac.uk by 4pm Friday 9 September 2022

Further information on the conference can be found HERE

In recognition of John’s contribution to the foundation of SCoTENS, the John Coolahan award is made to the authors of the Seed Funding Report which is recognised to be most in line with the values and ideals of SCoTENS.  This award is awarded annually at the SCoTENS Annual Conference.

Through his pioneering work on SCoTENS since 2003 John immeasurably enhanced cross-border cooperation in teacher education, such that the SCoTENS mission is synonymous with his name.  Thanks to John’s vision, teacher educators, student teachers, serving teachers and doctoral students have learned to work across boundaries, to build bridges and to recognise common interests and challenges facing contemporary education on both sides of the border. The opportunities provided for cross-border working through SCoTENS have yielded new knowledge and understandings that shape daily practices and attitudes.

This year,  there was a joint award for two exceptional projects which took place as part of the Research Webinar held in March 2022.  Dr Gabrielle Nig Uidhir, St Mary’s University College Belfast awarded the two successful seed funded projects:

Contested Childhoods Across Borders and Boundaries (CCaBB) whose authors are Diane McClelland, Leah O’Toole, Thomas Walsh, Deirdre Forde, Suzanne O’Keefe, Carl Anders Safstrom & Noel Purdy

Knowing Your Neighbour: Educating in Multi-belief contexts in Northern and Southern Ireland (KYN) whose authors are Aideen Hunter & Jones Irwin.