The Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS) invites proposals for participation and working papers at the 8th 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 …
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Exploring Diversity in Teacher Education  Thursday 15 – Friday 16 October 2026  Slieve Russell Hotel, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan CALL FOR PAPERS The theme for the 2026 SCoTENS conference, Exploring Diversity in Teacher Education, invites educators, researchers, and policymakers to engage with how diverse identities, experiences, and perspectives shape teaching and learning. The conference will explore diversity …
Read More SCoTENS Conference 2026 – Expressions of Interest/Presentations

  This year’s SCoTENS Conference is taking place in the beautiful Slieve Russell Hotel, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan on 15 and 16 October 2026. The theme for the 2026 SCoTENS conference, Exploring Diversity in Teacher Education, invites educators, researchers, and policymakers to engage with how diverse identities, experiences, and perspectives shape teaching and learning. The conference will …
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Members of SCoTENS recently came together for an engaging event highlighting several successful projects funded through recent SCoTENS calls. The session offered valuable insights into innovative cross-border research and collaboration in education across the island of Ireland. Featured Project Presentations Dr Camelia Nadia Bran (University College Cork) and Dr Donna Hazzard (St Mary’s University College …
Read More SCoTENS Event Showcases Recent Funded Research Projects

We are delighted to invite you to this year’s SCoTENS Research Webinar — an inspiring evening where we shine a spotlight on collaborative research, innovative ideas, and the impact of new seed‑funded projects across the island of Ireland. This year’s programme will also feature the announcement of the 2026 John Coolahan Award winner, celebrating outstanding …
Read More The 2026 SCoTENS Research Webinar

    Each year, SCoTENS provides Seed Funding to support collaborative research projects and professional activities in teacher education across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To date, 159 research, conference, and exchange projects have benefited from this scheme.  As last year, SCoTENS is delighted that DE (NI) is committing funding for a small number of additional seed-funding …
Read More Seed Funding Scheme 2026

The 2025 SCoTENS Annual Conference took place in the stunning surroundings of the Lough Erne Resort, Enniskillen, on 16 & 17 October 2025. This year’s theme, “A New Era for Professionalism: Teacher Identity, Authenticity, and Agency,” brought together educators, researchers, and policymakers to reflect on the evolving nature of teacher professionalism in a rapidly changing …
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The aim of this project is to promote and develop strong home school links towards the speaking of Irish and in turn foster positive dispositions towards the language. An exploration and appreciation of our culture and our language through positive engagement, online forums and support .

Register HERE Title: A New Era for Professionalism: Teacher Identity, Authenticity and Agency Date  Thursday 16 – Friday 17 October 2025 Venue: Lough Erne Resort, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh This year’s SCoTENS annual conference will take place in the beautiful Lough Erne Resort, Enniskillen on 16 and 17 October 2025.  The theme for this year is …
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SCoTENS is pleased to announce that the Minister of Education, Paul Givan, has recently approved additional seed funding of up to £18,000 for the 2025/26 academic year. This funding supports the Minister’s commitment to support research-informed practice and  will specifically support research projects within the SCoTENS programme which are closely aligned with the key objectives of the new TransformED …
Read More SCoTENS Awarded Additional Seed Funding to Expand Cross-Border Teacher Education Initiatives

PERQ Report Against a background of research evidence that confirms the importance of high-quality early childhood experiences for later life success, this study set out to explore what Early Childhood (EC) educators in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) perceive as those key indicators of quality in early childhood education and care. …
Read More Perceptions of, and practices towards achieving quality: voices of early childhood teachers on the island of Ireland – PerQ

SCoTENS Research Webinar took place on 26 March 2025 online.  The event was organised for members of SCoTENS and featured presentations from several successful projects funded in recent SCoTENS calls. The presenters included Dr. Pamela Moffett from Stranmillis University College and Dr. Siún Nic Mhuirí from Dublin City University, who discussed their project “Outdoor Learning …
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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 …
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  2025 Research Event Programme As part of our ongoing series of online events SCoTENS are delighted to announce that they are running a short research-focused webinar on 26 March 2025 from 7.00-8.15pm.  This event is aimed at members of SCoTENS and will comprise the following: short presentations by a group of team members who …
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Each year, SCoTENS offers Seed Funding to support collaborative research projects and professional activities in teacher education across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. So far, a total of 151 research, conference, and exchange projects have received funding. Be sure to submit your application for this excellent opportunity! Seed Funding Scheme

INVITE Report This report explores the understanding and perceptions of pre-service teachers regarding their role in fostering a sense of belonging for newcomer children in schools. Conducted through a joint project between St. Mary’s University College Belfast and the Institute of Education, Dublin City University, the study investigates how preservice teachers, as ‘place-makers,’ can promote …
Read More INVITE: Inclusion of Newcomers – Video Diaries in Initial Teacher Education

ExISTeNS Report Given the instrumental role they play in influencing outcomes for young STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learners, primary teachers’ perceptions and practices in relation to integrated STEM are important to understand. Furthermore, school-based primary STEM leaders who are competent, confident and connected are essential if the ambitious aims proposed in STEM curriculum …
Read More ExISTeNS: Exploring Integration of STEM with Teachers North and South

EDUCATE Report This SCoTENS EDUCATE project explores Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students’ understandings of inclusion, education about difference and familiarity with methodologies and approaches for teaching controversial issues. It asks what are the skills, knowledge, resources and interventions that enable primary and post-primary Initial Teacher Education students and Equality-based, Multi-denominational and Integrated [EMI] teachers to …
Read More Educating about Difference Uniting Classrooms and Teacher Education – EDUCATE

OLM Report It is widely established that learning in the outdoor environment has a positive impact on children’s cognitive, affective, social, and physical skills (Dillon et al., 2005; Rickinson et al., 2004). There is a great deal of overlap between these areas with the benefits reinforcing each other (Marchant et al., 2019). Healthier, happier children …
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SCOTENS_Criteria-Shared_Island The Cultural Responsivity in Teacher Education Research in Action (CRiTERiA) project was funded by the Government of Ireland’s Shared Island SCoTENS scheme, with a total award of €24,942.02 (Appendix 1). The project commenced in March 2022 and involved a collaborative effort among four partner institutions (Dublin City University, Queen’s University Belfast, Stranmillis University College, …
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