This study focused on students undertaking teacher training courses and aimed to examine preservice teachers’ knowledge and awareness of IL and the presence of these skills on their initial teacher education (ITE) courses. The views of the teacher educators were also explored. Data was collected using two online surveys which were distributed to students and …
Read More Pre-service Teachers’ Understanding of Information and Digital Literacy

In an attempt to resolve some of the lingering tensions involved in implementing play as learning in early years classrooms across the island of Ireland, a shared form of professional development known as ‘Playful Learning’ was delivered together to a group of student teachers in the final years of their degree programme both in Northern …
Read More Playful Learning Across Ireland: a student teacher intervention in Early Years Education

The aim of this project was to hold two seminars on teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL), one at Ulster University in Coleraine and the other at Marino Institute of Education in Dublin, and to produce a digital resource based on these events. The seminars were entitled Minority language pupils and the curriculum – …
Read More Minority language pupils and the curriculum – closing the achievement gap

This research will documented the approach and response of pre-service teachers regarding their training, and confidence and competence in supporting pupils who have experienced loss. In particular the study seeked to answer the following research questions: Is loss an issue that effects the academic attainment and/or physical and psychological well-being of their students? How confident …
Read More Bereavement, Seperation, and Divorce: The response of pre-service teachers to pupil wellbeing.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how mainstream teachers meet the needs of pupils with SEN in multi-grade classrooms. The aim of the research was to identify good practice and challenges with regard to the inclusion of pupils with SEN in mainstream, multi-grade classrooms in primary schools, as well as identifying how teachers …
Read More Meeting the Needs of Children with Special Educational Needs in Multi-grade Classrooms

The ‘SAFETTI’ research project represents Phase II of the WIT/TEQ longitudinal research project initiated in 2013. It extends the research focus across the island of Ireland building a clearer picture of the experience of AFE teacher professional development and the role of transformative learning in supporting their evolving ideal identity self-states. The purpose of the …
Read More Study in Adult and Further Education Training in Ireland

The purpose of this study was to examine the professional learning of individual teacher educators scaffolded within a developing PLC.  The learning focus was the pedagogical area of communication. The researchers were interested in how this professional learning might then influence our individual pedagogical practices with pre-service teachers. Insight into both the aspects of professional …
Read More Teacher educator professional learning: Shaping the conversation of teacher education?

The results of international large-scale assessments have revealed the emergence of gender disparities in attitudes to mathematics, with girls generally demonstrating lower levels of interest in and enjoyment of mathematics than boys. Given that attitudes to mathematics are key determinants of future STEM participation, collaborative cognitive-activation teaching strategies, which harmonise with the core tenets of …
Read More Pupil Interest and Enjoyment of Mathematics

The results of international large-scale assessments have revealed the emergence of gender disparities in attitudes to mathematics, with girls generally demonstrating lower levels of interest in and enjoyment of mathematics than boys. Given that attitudes to mathematics are key determinants of future STEM participation, collaborative cognitive-activation teaching strategies, which harmonise with the core tenets of …
Read More Pupil Interest and Enjoyment of Mathematics

This study, funded by SCOTENS, set out to explore the cultural orientations of primary school teachers in the Island of Ireland, and to examine how they affect their understandings and practices of children’s voice in schools. For example, in predominantly traditional cultures, children’s voice projects may be illusory, only allowing participation in marginal decisions and …
Read More Teachers’ Beliefs about Education and Children’s Voice Practices in the Island of Ireland