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Exploring the impact of mentorship on student teachers in the teaching practice schools in Malai- the case of selected teaching practice schools under Chiradzulu teacher training college
No full textThis study explored the impact of mentorship on student teachers in the teaching practice schools in the selected primary schools under the jurisdiction of Chiradzulu Teacher Training College. Certainly, working collaboratively with head teachers, teacher mentors, and class teachers to support student teachers in Malawian primary schools remains crucial. Student teachers in the teaching practice schools are not adequately supported by head teachers, mentor teachers and class teachers as expected. Reflection of lessons, provision of feedback, development of teaching, learning and assessment resources are the major areas. This research used qualitative case study design for which the main purpose was to create more interaction with the outside world. The sample included head teachers, teacher mentors, class teachers and student teachers. Data for the study was generated by means of in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and documentary analysis. Raw data was analysed thematically using research questions. Research findings of the study have revealed that student teachers are supported in the teaching practice schools but the support varies from school to school and from one student teacher to another. In some cases, student teachers are not receiving adequate support in many areas. The study concludes that the challenges student teachers face need to be addressed immediately if we would want quality primary school teachers. The recommendation from the study findings is that Teacher Training colleges should develop mentorship program and implement it as expected.N
Networks of necessity: the Clunes, Clare, and Connecticut connections
No full textThis thesis will discuss the network connections that existed between a family from Tyredagh
Upper townland in Tulla, County Clare, Ireland and Norwalk, Connecticut. Chapter 1 will
discuss the conditions that existed in pre-famine Tulla, County Clare, Ireland, and the extent
to which these conditions contributed to the re-settlement of several members of the Clune
family from their clachan settlement in Tyredagh Upper to Norwalk Connecticut. Chapter 2
will discuss the creation of the reconstituted family settlement in Norwalk Connecticut by
two family members and how this reconstituted and reconfigured settlement supported
further family emigration for subsequent generations. This re-creation and re-imagination of
this family settlement in Norwalk, CT was of key importance to this family in Norwalk as
will be discussed throughout this thesis. Chapters 3 and 4 will discuss two members of this
family, namely Dr. Thomas F. Clune and Mary E. Clune, both Irish American native
Norwalkers who played important roles within their own families as well as within the local
community as community leaders and business owners.
Finally, the thesis will conclude with an analysis and summary of the important roles played
by family members within the family and the wider community during the time period
researched. The thesis will conclude with a short discussion of the unique aspects of Norwalk
in relation to the Irish community that existed there and the need to further delve into specific
families into specific locations in order to gain further insights into these Irish communities at
home and abroad.N
The lived experience of Hospital school stakeholders in Ireland
Full text linkBackground: Literature indicates that increasingly more children are living with serious medical conditions whilst continuing their education. Hospital schools (HSs) allow hospitalised children to continue their schooling while providing them with a sense of normalcy and support. There is, however, limited research conducted on HSs globally. As such it is unknown whether these schools are meeting the needs of their students, staff and the families attached to them.
Aims: The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of the HS through individuals who attend, work in, or have a child attending a HS. To do this, the study included HS students, their caregivers, and HS teachers.
Sample: The study utilised purposive sampling to recruit participants from one Irish HS. Participants (N = 7) included two HS students, aged 8 and 14 years old, two parents, and three HS teachers.
Method: This exploratory qualitative research was situated in the interpretivist paradigm and underpinned by a Multiperspectival Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) design. Data were collected from all participants through semi-structured interviews (SSIs) in order to gain in-depth insight into participant experiences. Kinetic School Drawings (KSDs) were also completed with student participants in order to elicit their individual voices.
Results: KSDs indicated overall positive HS experiences, with elements such as mode of hospital education delivery impacting on relationship with peers and teachers, and feelings associated with the physical HS environment. Analysis of SSI data revealed two overarching themes: the role of the HS is to promote student wellbeing; and the systemic landscape of paediatric education in Ireland.
Conclusion: The findings extend the limited empirical literature on HS stakeholder experiences, particularly within the Irish context. Results are discussed in relation to implications for school practice, educational psychology practice, future research and policy development.N
The impact of a human rights education continuous professional development intervention on teachers’ planning for and practice of human rights education in an Irish primary school
No full textThis dissertation explores the impact of a teacher continuous professional
development intervention on participants’ planning for and practice of Human Rights
Education in Irish primary schools. A human rights framework is discussed under the key
competency of ‘Being an Active Citizen’ in the 2023 framework for the forthcoming updated
Primary School Curriculum (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment 2023). This is
the first mention of human rights in Irish primary curriculum documents, acting as a
microcosm for the current rise in awareness of human rights education across the globe.
However, a lack of teacher training and experience with human rights education means that
many teachers do not feel well- equipped to engage with this area of education (Mallon &
MarAnez- Sainz 2021). This intervention hopes to support teachers in engaging with human
rights education, particularly in lower primary school classrooms.
The constructivist paradigm underpins this research, which utilises a qualitative
approach. Three lower primary school teachers engaged with the practical intervention. The
research took the form of a pre- intervention survey, along with a briefing to support
teachers’ engagement with the lessons to follow. Participants then taught three human
rights education lessons over three weeks and were fully supported in their planning of
lesson one, while support decreased over weeks two and three, with teachers planning
lesson three almost independently. Teachers were interviewed once a week after each
lesson. Qualitative data was collected via these interviews and a focus group which
concluded the intervention, and participants also kept a reflective diary in order to inform
their interviews. Data was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six stage process of
thematic analysis, leading to the development of six main findings.
Findings indicated that participants and their students saw an increase in their
confidence and knowledge with regard to human rights education after the three weeks,
with certain methodologies and resources supporting this development more than others.
Findings also highlighted a change in participants’ perceptions of human rights education
from beginning to end of the intervention.
Recommendations highlighted the need for an increase in Human Rights Education
provision both within primary schools as well as in pre- service teacher education and in the
area of continuous professional development for teachers.N
The supernatural in the Irish revolution 1916-1923
Full text linkThis project's goal is to investigate the supernatural beliefs, practices, and anomalous
experiences of Irish revolutionaries and their opponents during the period of 1916-1923. More
specifically, along with providing a broad overview of their phenomenological characteristics,
this project aims to determine the impact that supernatural beliefs, practices, and anomalies had
on the way the revolution was fought and how it was remembered in the decades afterwards.
Through a systematic identification and close reading of 15,000 pages of primary source
documents from military and folklore archives, a database of supernatural memorates has been
built comprising 4,416 entries tabulated and categorized on a wide range of demographic,
phenomenological, parapsychological, and historiographical metrics. The following chapters
provide a summative analysis of this data through a combination of quantitative and qualitative
methods. This wealth of data suggests that the supernatural side of the Irish Revolution was
far more diverse, impactful, and historically rich than has previously been supposed, and that
it merits further concentrated research. Of the varieties of supernatural phenomena identified,
this thesis will analyse in greatest detail extra-sensory perception, hauntings, apparitions,
prophecies, and omens. This study contends that the supernatural shaped how the Irish
Revolution was remembered and experienced, and furthermore, that these supernatural
remembrances and experiences were often catalysed by trauma and had a significant and
formative presence in the ideology of Irish revolutionaries.N
Do you want to survive in the jungle or exist in the zoo? What role (if any) do positive psychology interventions play in educational leadership?
No full textAs principals engage in daily cycles of perpetual motion with a willingness and desire to do all that is humanly possible and as they manage and lead in circumstances where they place children first in the universal order of importance over everything else imaginable, what of the principals themselves? (Stynes & McNamara, 2019, p.16). This quotation is valid; however, this research project looks at how school leaders can take control and lead their own wellbeing with the assistance of positive psychology and positive psychology interventions (PPI’s). The unsustainability of the role will always be there, how do we manage it in order to sustain ourselves and those we lead is the question. This research was positive with all five participants gaining valuable insights into their own wellbeing and ultimately reporting that consciously adopting the three PPI’s over a six-week period was beneficial for them all in their challenging roles.N
“Dear mathematics – I’m not a therapist, solve your own problems!” – a mixed methods examination of the effect of a pilot cognitive behavioural therapy intervention on the mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs of pre-service primary school teachers in Ireland
Full text linkBackground and Aims: Mathematics anxiety can have a debilitating effect on mathematics performance and is particularly high amongst pre-service teachers in comparison to other university students. Teachers’ mathematics anxiety has been established as a critical predictor of poor student mathematics performance and can be passed on from teachers to students, thereby perpetuating a cycle of mathematics anxiety and poor performance. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot cognitive behavioural therapy intervention targeting mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs of pre-service primary school teachers in Ireland. Cognitive behavioural therapy has previously been established as an effective intervention for mathematics anxiety amongst adolescents. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study will have far reaching positive effects and that it may benefit both the participants and the students that they teach.
Sample: The sample comprised of four pre-service primary school teachers in a large teacher education college in Ireland.
Methods: A within-subjects differential, convergent mixed-methods design was adopted, with qualitative and quantitative data collected both pre and post intervention. Quantitative data was analysed using dependent samples t-tests. Qualitative data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was used to assess intervention implementation.
Results: Quantitative results yielded a positive, yet insignificant difference in pre and post intervention mathematics anxiety. Qualitatively, three overarching key themes were identified, one pre intervention “How did we get here?”, and two post intervention “Adaptive Solutions” and “Room for Improvement”.
Conclusions: Although no quantitatively significant differences were found, the qualitative aspect of this research provides rich detail on the experiences of mathematics anxiety amongst participants. This research contributes to ongoing dialogue on effective interventions, with the potential to positively influence the experiences of pre-service teachers and, ultimately, enhance mathematics education for future generations.N
An exploration of the implementation of a mathematics dynamic assessment with pupils experiencing mathematics difficulties in the Irish education system using Yin's case study methodology
Full text linkAims: The current research project aims to explore the implementation of a dynamic
assessment of curriculum-based mathematics tasks in the Irish primary school context
and address the question of how this process can support a student with maths
difficulties. The study embraces a broad conceptualisation of dynamic assessment
considering how this process may reveal psychological constructs in the zone of
proximal development (Vygotsky & Cole, 1978), and how this process may improve
propensity to learn by targeting deficient cognitive learning functions in accordance
with the theory of structural cognitive modifiability (Feuerstein et al., 1991).
Methods: A multiple case study design (a pilot and 2 cases) using Yin’s (2009)
methodology was employed. Each case comprised of a triad of a child exhibiting
maths difficulties, the class teacher and the special education teacher. Case
propositions that structured the design and analysis are based on Vygotsky’s zone of
proximal development and Feuerstein’s theory of structural cognitive modifiability.
Analysis: Qualitative data was obtained in the form of initial assessment and error pattern
analysis, transcribed video recordings of dynamic assessment sessions, and semistructured
interviews with the pupil and teachers. Thematic analysis was used to
identify relevant domain general and specific learning functions. Pattern matching
analysis was used to identify patterns within the data consistent with those predicted
by the theories of the ZoPD and SCM.
Results and Implications: Results suggest that the implementation of a mathematics
dynamic assessment procedure can identify domain general and specific constructs
that are in development. Moreover, patterns of empirical data align with the theory of
SCM and suggest that by targeting deficient learning functions through the
implementation of mediated learning experiences, mathematics attainment can be
improved. These findings have implications for schools consistent with national
guidelines for assessment (NCCA, 2008). The implications of these findings for EPs
are dependent on the extent to which this process meets a need for schools and the
number of sessions required to produce significant and lasting improvements.N
Perspectives on enhancing a culture of learner voices in a 21st century post-primary school
Full text linkThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations 1989) gave children the right to be heard on matters that concern them. Ireland, like much of Europe since the mid 1990’s has had an explicit focus on the learner at the heart of the education system (Ravenhall 2007; Lamb 2011). While the rights of the young person are recognised in policy, these rights have yet to be fully realised in the lived experiences in classrooms in post-primary education settings (Skerritt et al. 2023). This research explored the perspectives of post-primary school stakeholders regarding enhancing a culture of eliciting the voices of learners in one setting. This constructivist, insider, case study accumulated knowledge by engaging with learners, teachers, senior leaders, parents, and the Board of Management. Through action research, teachers focused on one method of eliciting voices in their classes and listened to the voices of learners regarding their views on teaching, learning, assessment and engagement. Perspectives were gathered through anonymous questionnaires, interviews, observations, learner focus groups, a teacher round table discussion and teacher reflection journals. Lundy’s (2007) model of child participation framed the review of the literature, the research design and the findings to investigate a lived experience of interaction with this model of participation in one school setting.
The study found that while space is important to give a place for voices to be elicited, there must be a variety of mechanisms in place to elicit diverse voices. Positive relationships are integral to the process. When eliciting voices, choice and anonymity were factors that increased the likelihood of gathering an authentic response. The audience has an integral role in supporting the elicitation of voices, but also in opening a dialogic process to aid and empower young people to participate. Finally, while the learners influenced changes, shared decision making is not an easy commodity to achieve. Influence is dependent on the altruistic adult to encourage habitual voice elicitations so the culture can survive and thrive.
While eliciting voices in this case study was a largely positive experience, there were many complex tension revealed including a distaste for the term ‘student voice’ as it does not honour the dialogic process of listening and responding to voices. The study also revealed an anxiety among teacher when listening to young people about teaching and learning. Finally, there are many conscious and unconscious biases that exist which have an adverse effect on the purity of authentic responses.N
An exploration of educational psychologists' experiences of working with children and young people from refugee backgrounds in Ireland
Full text linkChildren and Young People (CYP) from refugee backgrounds are likely to have been exposed to traumatic events, have been required to adjust to a new environment, while also learning an additional language, and adjusting to a new culture. Since February 2022, there has been a rapid increase in CYP from refugee backgrounds enrolled in Irish schools. Educational Psychologists (EPs) play a crucial role in supporting CYP who are vulnerable within the school context.
The objective of this research was to identify and explore EPs’ experiences of supporting the needs of CYP from refugee backgrounds in Ireland, highlighting what has worked well, the challenges faced by EPs, and whether this work has changed for EPs over the last two years. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was the methodology used for this study. Four participants engaged in individual, in-depth semi-structured interviews. Participants were recruited through criterion-based, purposeful methods, consisting of EPs working in the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) who had experience working with CYP from refugee backgrounds. Four key themes were identified: adapting current approaches to support CYP from refugee backgrounds, supports for EPs working with CYP from refugee backgrounds, supporting the school environment, and acknowledging the impact of culture, policies and accessing support.
This research also highlights and explores areas that need to be addressed in professional training programmes for psychologists as well as implications for educational psychology practice and policy.N