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Purpose: This study examines whether differences exist in the teaching of Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) across school types: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS), fee-paying and 'other' schools. The study also examines whether such differences are linked to students' cultural capital. Design Methodology: A survey of 222 Irish CSPE teachers was used to identify differences in their teaching of CPSE. Responses were analysed by statistical and thematic analysis. The findings are discussed in relation to Bourdieu and Passeron's work on cultural capital and Westheimer and Kahne's typology of three forms of citizenship. Findings: CSPE in DEIS schools was aligned with personally responsible citizenship, whereas CSPE in fee-paying schools tended to align with participatory citizenship. In other schools there were elements of both personally responsible and participatory citizenship. Research limitations: The results are not generalisable. Furthermore, the findings are based on the teachers' espoused practice rather than observation of their actual practice.

This research explores the perceptions of 125 primary school students (ages 8-12) in two Educate Together schools in Ireland. As a national network, established over 40 years, Educate Together schools are characterised as equality-based, child-centred, participative and democratic. This ethos is set out in the Educate Together Charter and clarified through the recent development of the Educate Together Ethos Quality Framework. This article explores the understanding of student participation in literature and what it means in practice for Educate Together schools. Using a survey to gather data, the key research questions are as follows: How do students perceive their participation in school: (1) in the classroom; (2) outside the classroom and (3) in decision-making at the whole school level. This research attempts to build on the small number of previous studies where student participation in school was explored from the student's perspective. The descriptive quantitative and qualitative findings indicate a relatively high level of participation across these key arenas of school life, and the findings differentiate between those participation activities that are experienced, more or less commonly among students. The study considers the enabling environment created by Educate Together to ensure that student participation is part of school culture.

Research has shown that childhood physical activity participation has a positive relationship with markers of wellbeing, such as self-esteem and quality of life, and physical activity participation may serve as protective mechanism against some mental illnesses including depression. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between gender, physical activity, screen time, body mass index and wellbeing in Irish school children (N = 705; mean age: 8.74 ± 0.52 years) from social disadvantage. In Northern Ireland, schools included in the 2010 Multiple Deprivation Measure (NIMDM) were invited to participate. Schools included for participation in the Republic of Ireland were from the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) index. Data gathered included accelerometry (physical activity), self-report (screen time and wellbeing), and anthropometric measurements. Physical activity was objectively measured during eight consecutive days using Actigraph GT1M and GT3X devices, using stringent accelerometer protocol. Screen time activities were derived using questions adapted from the Health Promotion Agencies National Children's Survey in Northern Ireland. The KIDSCREEN-27 is a health-related quality of life measurement, and this tool was used by participants to self-report their health and wellbeing. Results suggest that boys accumulated more minutes of daily screen time than girls, however, boys were more physically active when compared to girls. Wellbeing scores for gender showed inverse associations with daily screen time. Standard multiple regression revealed that gender, physical activity, screen time and body mass index (combined) explained little variance in the prediction of wellbeing. Results indicate the importance of gender-based considerations for physical activity and screen time with children from social disadvantage. The inverse relationship found between overall screen time and wellbeing will help guide future healthy lifestyle interventions for Irish children of low-income communities.

This study examines differences based on school gender in the teaching of Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE), a mandatory subject in the Irish post-primary curriculum. These differences are considered in relation to Westheimer and Kahne's three types of citizens -- personally responsible, participatory and justice-oriented. The article presents the findings of a survey conducted with 223 CSPE teachers in single-sex female, single-sex male and co-educational schools. The data were analysed using statistical and thematic analysis. The findings suggest that CSPE teachers in single-sex female schools place greater value on the subject and are more likely to promote social responsibility and student voice, suggesting a greater emphasis on participatory and justice-oriented citizenship. Teachers in single-sex male schools are more likely to focus on politics and action aligning with participatory citizenship. In co-educational schools, teachers seemed to focus on personally responsible and participatory citizenship.

This article focuses on the perspectives of primary school teachers on the current provision for students with dyslexia in the mainstream classroom. Five themes emerged from this research and these were (1) Diagnosis, (2) Inclusion, (3) Effective classroom practice, (4) Difficulties encountered in the classroom and (5) Teacher education. The focus of this article is on the theme of Inclusion. The data collected explores the perspectives of twelve primary teachers towards the in-class versus withdrawal models to support children with dyslexia in the mainstream classroom. As the concept of inclusive education has evolved in recent years, the objective of this research was to identify the most effective means of addressing the needs of the dyslexic student in the mainstream classroom. The insights provided by the teachers signify the need for in-class support, as much as possible, to support inclusion for students with dyslexia in the mainstream classroom.

Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) is a mandatory junior cycle subject in Irish second-level schools. Its concept-based syllabus accords teachers significant freedom in choosing instructional content for the subject. This study used a survey of 223 CSPE teachers to identify: (1) differences in the teaching of the subject based on teacher gender; and (2) the nature of these differences. Responses were analysed by statistical and thematic analysis. While very few differences emerged, there were indications of some distinctions in two areas. Female teachers were more likely to see the potential of CSPE to promote politics to encourage social responsibility and were more likely to promote greater student participation. Male teachers, on the other hand, focused on teaching a less defined citizenship and seemed to place less emphasis on areas that encourage student participation, such as mock elections, involvement in student council and other school-based activities. Limitations and recommendations are discussed.

Young children born preterm may be more affected by environmental influences than their full-term peers. Few studies have investigated whether such effects exist for older children and young adolescents. With participants aged 9 and 13 years, we examine whether children born preterm could be differentially affected by the quality of their relationship with their mothers and fathers. We used the Growing Up in Ireland dataset: a longitudinal sample of 8,568 children in Ireland (51.4% female, 48.6% male) and their parents. We found that parent--child conflict was consistently associated with poorer verbal, numerical, and socioemotional outcomes; in some instances, parent--child closeness was associated with better outcomes. Being born very preterm was consistently associated with negative outcomes. We found support for a diathesis-stress model of preterm birth in just one instance: children born very preterm displayed a stronger relationship between maternal conflict and increased socioemotional difficulties.

School self-evaluation is a low-stakes policy recently mandated in Ireland and while schools are becoming more consistent in engaging in this internal mode of evaluation, their engagement has not been uniform. This paper provides new ways of thinking about, understanding, and explaining how school self-evaluation plays out in Irish schools. Subscribing to the view that policies are not simply implemented but enacted through the creative processes of interpretation and translation, this paper shows how school self-evaluation is performed in Irish schools in various ways by various people. We identify numerous policy actors in our qualitative data: narrators, entrepreneurs, outsiders, transactors, enthusiasts, translators, critics, and receivers. This assortment of actors helps to bring school self-evaluation to life but as it comprises heterogeneous entities with varying characteristics, levels of experience, and motivations it is simply not possible for this policy to be implemented in schools as policymakers envisage.

Background: The meaningful assessment of motor competence is well positioned for school-based curricular emphasis, through the integration of motor skills and movement patterns in both primary, and second level school physical education. Aligned with the growing interest in holistic motor competence assessment in physical education, the aim of this study was to assess the convergent validity between fundamental movement skills and functional movement assessments in a large cohort of adolescent youth. Method: A sample of 583 adolescents, aged between 12 and 16 years old participated in the study. Ten fundamental movement skills were assessed in line with the behavioural components from the Test of Gross Motor Development, and the Get Skilled Get Active resource. Seven specific functional movements were also assessed, using the existing protocol from the widely established Functional Movement Screen. All data were analysed using Bayesian procedures, in which the Bayes factors provided information about the probability of a hypothesis being true. Findings: The results indicate that it is very probable (BF10 > 10,000:1) that boys show higher actual motor competence levels in the object control subset of fundamental movement skills, when compared to girls. Moreover, a positive association between the total scores of the Functional Movement Screen and the locomotion subset of fundamental movement skills was found to be very probable (BF10 = 7.737). BF10 10 BF10 10 Discussion: This study provides evidence of convergent validity between functional movement and fundamental movement skill assessments in adolescence. This study presents an evidence-informed rationale for physical education pedagogues to move beyond traditional perceptions of movement as being exclusively pertaining to physical skills, to a more holistic concept of motor competence comprising of both movement skills and movement patterns. Conclusion: The current study broadens the assessment perspectives of motor competence within physical education, by specifically heightening physical education teachers' awareness towards the possible complementarity of both locomotion and movement patterns in the psychomotor domain of adolescent learning in physical education.

Undergraduate research initiatives such as mentoring programs, conferences, and journals typically focus on the later stages of undergraduate studies. It is not unusual for a student to reach the final year of their program without developing their awareness of research within their discipline or their institution. SUREbyts is a project that provides first- and second-year undergraduate students with access to research through video recordings of professional researchers and research students discussing their own research, with each video structured around a research question with a set of possible solutions. This article presents the successes and challenges faced by the project's initial implementation in six higher education institutions in Ireland and offers advice to institutions globally that are considering engaging their students with research in this way.

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has given rise to significant global challenges across education, and specifically in the physical education teacher education (PETE) community. Students attending teacher education programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic have experienced an abrupt and unprecedented pedagogical transition from a face-to-face capacity to remote teaching, learning, and assessment environments. Crucially, student teachers' school placement experiences faced increased challenges and practical implications from additional environmental and social changes. In the context of continued global and national challenges for initial teacher education (ITE) programmes, the present qualitative study, using a representative sample of 24 student physical education (PE) teachers from a PETE programme, investigates the perceived implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on student teachers' practice and wellbeing during their final 2020/2021 academic year. Results indicate that student teachers maintain that exercise, connections with the university and school placement communities, alongside personal and professional organisation skills serve as resilience resources protecting their wellbeing. Conversely, student teachers express that school placement isolation, restricted PE delivery, increased workload, low teacher efficacy, and the responsibility to implement COVID-19 behaviour regulations presented as challenges that negatively affect their wellbeing. The paper concludes with practices that may further support PETE and ITE programmes and their student teachers to maintain a stable level of wellbeing throughout their careers.

This article considers the perspectives of five college students who have all obtained the label of dyslexia. As the topic of student voice is important in educational research, the objective was to listen to what students had to say about issues that directly impacted them. A focus group was conducted and the findings pointed to overall satisfaction with the label, access to college supports and strategies which could be used to facilitate learning and well-being. The insights provided by the students signify the imperative of listening to young people whose 'expert' views should be included in discussions to improve practice.

This paper posits that almost all inspectorates are now following, if to varying degrees, a similar overarching ideology and methodology for school accountability and improvement. The first part of the paper provides an analysis of recent changes to school inspection policies across Frontiers. Using Ireland as a case example, the next part of the paper provides an analysis of Irish school inspection policies and practices that appear to mirror other school inspection systems. To test these assumptions, the paper then provides an analysis of a key informant interview with the Chief Inspector of schools in Ireland. The evidence suggests that there is an increasingly convergent approach to school evaluation discernible across all inspection frontiers. Among the many aspects of this changing landscape is the rapid pace at which schools have accepted school inspection frameworks and the emergence of a genuinely co-professional as opposed to co-existent mode of evaluation between the inspectorate and schools.

The United Kingdom and Ireland have a well-established research base in motor competence (MC) research, ranging from reporting and monitoring levels of MC, developing assessment tools for MC, providing innovative curriculum and intervention design to support learning and development, as well as providing advocacy for particular groups, such as those with motor impairments. This expert statement, on behalf of the International Motor Development Research Consortium, draws together what is currently known about levels of MC in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as current approaches to intervention in both countries. Subsequently presented are recommendations for researchers and practitioners to advance the field of MC for the benefit of children and youth in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and worldwide.

School self-evaluation (SSE) or data-based decision making is now a common feature of mainstream education in an increasing number of jurisdictions. The participation of stakeholders including students, is promoted internationally as a key feature of effective SSE. Despite this, very little research has been carried out on how education systems might involve students in SSE and even less research has explored how student involvement can move beyond mere tokenism. Similar to many other jurisdictions, Irish schools are encouraged to include students in SSE. However, the research to date would indicate that while students are frequently consulted through the use of surveys they have little or no involvement in decisions that are made as part of the SSE process at a whole school level. This case study explores an atypical approach to student engagement in SSE which was tested in one Irish post-primary school where students participated as co-researchers along with their teachers in the SSE process. In doing so, student participation in SSE shifted from student as data sources to students as co-researchers. Students became members of the SSE Team, responsible for consulting with the wider staff team, student body and parents. They were actively involved in the completion of a whole school self-evaluation report on assessment and the development of a school improvement plan. The study outlines the key stages of the project and how student participation evolved through the process. Interviews conducted with both the teacher and student members of the SSE Team illuminates the experience of the students and staff on the SSE team. The findings indicate that this approach resulted in significant positive outcomes for the school and the individuals involved, but there were also a number of challenges. Student involvement resulted in greater awareness among, and participation of the wider staff team in the SSE process. However, it required more resources and time than is usually the case for an SSE process in Irish schools. The research suggests that this level of participation by students may require a more systematic and sustained engagement of students in decision making at a classroom level in order to build capacity of students to contribute to decision making at a whole school level on an ongoing basis. This study may have an application in jurisdictions aiming to include students in SSE, particularly at a higher level, and it also provides a glimpse into the deliberate planning and structures required if schools are to move beyond an instrumentalist, compliance model of 'student voice' towards a more authentic model of inclusive democracy.

In Ireland, physical education (PE) in the first three years of second level (12-15 years) is taught within the broader program area of Wellbeing, which necessarily influences the aims and objectives which need to be achieved. Within this context, Y-PATH PE4Me is proposed as an underpinning curriculum model to serve as an appropriate and valuable guide to aid delivery of second-level PE. Y-PATH PE4Me aims to enable every student to lead a sustained physically active life. This proposed curriculum model is facilitated by (i) utilising pedagogical strategies to foster an autonomous motivational climate, and (ii) maintaining a consistent focus on core learning outcomes, which emphasise the development of positive attitudes and motivation towards physical activity, health-related knowledge and awareness, and core movement skills. Y-PATH PE4Me offers a structured model to guide well-aligned pedagogical decisions towards the goals and philosophy of wellbeing-aligned PE.

Although often suffering from a lack of conceptual clarity and definition, the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as a pedagogical approach has become almost ubiquitous across many disciplines in higher education in recent years. As well as purported benefits for student learning, the empowerment of students through increased autonomy is frequently cited as a rationale for the adoption and promotion of PBL. However, while significant research has been conducted on the relationship between student learning and PBL approaches, there exists a dearth in research regarding the impact on power relationships within the higher education classroom. This paper attempts to help address this dearth through the use of a qualitative research study involving interviews with 13 graduates (5 male and 8 female) from a PBL master's degree programme. The results suggest that the adoption of PBL as a pedagogical strategy does not guarantee a significant shift in the power relationships evident within higher education. Participants perceived that the dominance of lecturer power was maintained in the classroom via the employment of both explicit and implicit techniques.

This paper shows how the commitment of senior leadership teams to student voice is not necessarily shared by teachers. As part of a wider study, this paper presents qualitative data generated through interviews with school staff in one Irish post-primary school with a strong culture of student voice to illustrate the discrepancy that can exist between senior leaders and teachers in terms of how they embrace, enact, and experience student voice. Student voice customs can be rhetorical, perhaps even exaggerated by some, and peripheral to others, and positions on student voice are often determined by positions in the school hierarchy. As student voice remains considerably underdeveloped in Irish post-primary schools despite Irish education and most Irish schools becoming replete with student-centred discourses, this paper provides one possible way of making sense of the current state of play. More broadly, it points to how different actors work on and with student voice in different ways.

The disruption caused by the pandemic and the rapid transition to online teaching brings into sharp focus the role of academic development within the institution and creates an opportunity to pause and reflect on the impact of the academic developer (AD) role. This reflection on practice explores how the AD role has transitioned through the COVID-19 pandemic with a view to considering future implications for the field. Short auto-ethnographic reflections capture academic developers' experiences of their role at a time of crisis and their perception of the future of academic development. The data shows a lack of clarity and visibility of the role pre-COVID, with a variety of tasks being assigned without a central focus. This was amplified during the pandemic, with a broadened remit in response to an increased demand for support. While this initial support was reactionary, focusing on teaching online, a renewed and more holistic interest in teaching and learning emerged across institutions, with ADs playing a key role in this evolution.

This study explores the development and implementation of a professional development intervention for teachers in data-use as part of a whole school self-evaluation (SSE) process. A review of literature relating to professional development in general and data-use in particular informs the key features of the intervention which is tested in five Irish post-primary schools. The intervention involves a university-based expert in SSE, working directly with SSE teams in each of the five schools to develop a data-informed school improvement process over the course of an academic year. Participants in each school are facilitated to establish an SSE team, gather and analyse data, set targets, complete a self-evaluation report and a school improvement plan. A conceptual framework for the evaluation of the intervention is presented. As such, the evaluation focuses on the core and structural features of the intervention, and changes in teachers' knowledge, skills and attitudes with regard to data-use following the intervention. The findings highlight features of the intervention that supported teachers' professional development in data-use, limitations of this approach as well as the learning that occurred for the teachers involved.

This paper reflects on compulsory school self-evaluation in Ireland. It sets important historical and contemporary context by documenting the development of a culture of evaluation in Ireland throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium before charting the rise of school self-evaluation during the austere economic conditions of post-2008 Ireland. Three key reasons are proposed for the rise of school self-evaluation: the influence of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the perceived need for more accountability, and the drive towards self-managing schools. In debating the purpose of school self-evaluation in Ireland it is put forward that it is not underpinned by any single logic, but an assemblage of overlapping logics interwoven by complements and contradictions. It is concluded that while improvement is predominantly promoted in official discourse, it is accountability and economic logics that dominate.

Entrepreneurs need to develop a range of skills to be successful, including skills in decision making, risk management, problem solving, communication, and teamwork. Games and simulations are increasingly being used in both academia and business to encourage such skills development. This paper describes a business simulation module whereby postgraduate students use a game to simulate managing and operating a business. The game replicates real-world scenarios, thereby providing an innovative and contextualized learning environment. This paper presents extracts from students' reflective essays, which describe various learning outcomes. The paper concludes with some guidelines for teachers considering integrating game-based learning into their curricula to facilitate skills development, as well as recommendations for future research.

Research into the use of innovative information and communications technology (ICT) for academic purposes is growing quickly. Much of the current research explores the opportunities presented by ICT and social media as innovative tools for teaching and enhancing student learning (O'Brien & Glowatz, 2013; Duncan & Barczyk, 2013). This paper suggests that the role of the academic in navigating the use of ICT in their teaching in Higher Education (HE) has been overlooked in discussions. Koehler and Mishra (2009) propose the technological, pedagogic and content knowledge (TPACK) framework to explore the relationship of technology in teaching. O'Brien and Glowatz (2013) investigate the suitability of the TPACK framework in the context of academic engagement in order to investigate its relevance for academics teaching in HE. This paper suggests elements of the teaching dynamic are overlooked and evaluates the use of the TPACK framework in the exploration of technology in higher education by academics. Specifically, the authors address the key question, 'How do academics currently make use of technology to teach at higher education?'

The purpose of this paper, which is part of a three-year EU Erasmus+-funded study titled 'Distributed Evaluation and Planning in Schools' (DEAPS), is to provide an analysis of policies, structures, processes, supports and barriers that exist to enable or inhibit the involvement of students and parents in school evaluation in four European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Turkey). Document analysis was used for this study and some 348 peer-reviewed articles, and 28 national and transnational policy documents were included in the analysis. Based on this review it would be reasonable to suggest that the student/parent voice agenda around evaluation in schools remains, by and large, aspirational. It is extolled in policy but in practice is mainly tokenistic with very little evidence of impact on the work of schools. In light of this, it is argued that government and school-level policies and strategies need to be reconsidered to enhance students' and parents' engagement in school evaluation. As a first step, significant further empirical research on the limitations on and conditions necessary for stakeholder voice in education is required.

School self-evaluation (SSE) has emerged as a widely used approach to school evaluation in recent decades. This has occurred in the context of what is referred to as "New Public Management," an element of which seeks to empower public institutions to make decisions locally about improving their processes and standards. Inspection regimes in many countries have developed legislative, methodological, and support mechanisms for schools to carry out SSE. This paper, by using the evolution of the SSE process in Irish education, analyses the efficacy of SSE by exploring teachers and school principals' perceptions of both the challenges and supports concerning the integration of SSE in their schools. Results derived from this study suggest that respondents were, overall, fully aware of the support services available to them. However, support capacity challenges also emerged, in particular as it relates to data use and target setting. Importantly, it is argued that since there are striking resemblances between SSE as it has developed in Ireland and other systems, the challenges and solutions identified in this paper will have wide application in other contexts.

Teaching online poses challenges for teachers trained primarily to work face to face. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown of schools has forced teachers to move online to ensure students continue their studies. This is not an easy transition and success depends on educators having the skills, knowledge, and competencies for online teaching. As part of the Adaptive and Inclusive Learning Environment (AILE) project, this study surveyed 38 primary and post-primary teachers in Ireland on their use of technology and the impact of COVID-19 on their work. The findings present teachers' perceptions of their own skills and competencies and the challenges experienced in using technology. The research highlights the technological requirements for successful online teaching.

Many studies have espoused the pedagogical benefits of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) across multiple disciplines. With the increasing use of PBL within higher education there exists a need to consider its position not just as a pedagogical approach but as a functional instrument in the development and promotion of social capital and status. Drawing on social identity theory (SIT), this study explored Business Masters graduates' justification for undertaking a PBL-based programme. The findings suggest that students discursively elevated the status of the PBL programme they had completed over other alternatives, in an attempt to gain professional mobility. Two primary strategies of "individual mobility" and "social competition" were employed by participants to elevate their position. This paper concludes by problematising the utilisation of pedagogical approaches as a mechanism for differentiating programmes and graduates within an increasing competitive higher educational landscape.

Teacher wellbeing is an important prerequisite for promoting student wellbeing, yet there is limited research exploring the potentiality of classroom management training for enhancing teacher psychological outcomes. This study used a pragmatic, pre-experimental design to evaluate a psychologist-led 6-month Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme with 368 Irish primary teachers using well-validated measures of self-efficacy ("Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale-Long Version"), wellbeing ("Everyday Feelings Questionnaire") and burnout ("Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey"). Mixed ANOVAs revealed significant improvements in wellbeing (p < 0.001, n[subscript p][superscript 2] = 0.08), emotional exhaustion (p = 0.01, n[subscript p][superscript 2] = 0.02), personal accomplishment (p < 0.001, n[subscript p][superscript 2] = 0.07), and self-efficacy (p < 0.001, n[subscript p][superscript 2] = 0.30) among participants. Whilst results must be interpreted cautiously, this study is positioned as being suggestive of psychological benefits for teachers accruing from evidence-based classroom management training.

Current approaches to the regulation of schools in most jurisdictions tend to combine elements of external inspection with systems of internal self-evaluation. An increasingly important aspect of the theory and practice of both, but particularly the latter, revolves around the role of other actors, primarily parents and students, in the process. Using literature review and documentary analysis as the research method, this article explores the research literature from many countries around the concerns of schools and teachers about giving a more powerful voice to parents and pupils. Then, focusing on Ireland, this article tries to clarify three things, official policy concerning stakeholder voice in school self-evaluation and decision making, the efforts by schools to implement this policy and the response to date of school leaders and teachers to this rather changed environment. Using Hart's ladder of genuine, as opposed to token, participation, it is argued that policy mandating parental and student involvement has evolved significantly, that schools have responded positively and that there is little evidence, as yet, of teacher concern or resistance. This response is explained by the low stakes and improvement-focused education environment; the controlled, structured and simplified nature of the self-evaluation process; and the limited extent of parental and student participation in decision making.

Purpose: This monograph reports on the strategic and operational roles of learning and development (L&D) professionals in Irish, UK European and US organisations including multinational corporations, small to medium enterprises, the public sector and not for profit organisations. This paper aims to investigate the contextual factors influencing L&D roles in organisations, the strategic and operational roles that L&D professionals play in organisations, the competencies and career trajectories of L&D professionals, the perceptions of multiple internal stakeholders of the effectiveness of L&D roles and the relationships between context, L&D roles, competencies/expertise and perceived organisational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: The study findings are based on the use of multiple methods. The authors gathered data from executives, senior managers, line managers, employee and L&D professionals using multiple methods: a survey (n = 440), Delphi study (n = 125) and semi-structured interviews (n = 30). Findings: The analysis revealed that L&D professionals increasingly respond to a multiplicity of external and internal contextual influences and internal stakeholders perceived the effectiveness of L&D professionals differently with significant gaps in perceptions of what L&D contributes to organisational effectiveness. L&D professionals perform both strategic and operational roles in organisations and they progress through four career levels. Each L&D role and career level requires a distinct and unique set of foundational competencies and L&D expertise. The authors found that different contextual predictors were important in explaining the perceived effectiveness of L&D roles and the importance attached to different foundational competencies and areas of L&D expertise. Originality/value: This is one of the few studies to have investigated the L&D professional role in organisations from the perspective of multiple stakeholders using multiple research methods.

The present study, using a sample of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) representatives from five Higher Education European institutions (England, Finland, Greece, Ireland, and Portugal) sought to investigate the proposed measures of change required for programme delivery during the academic year of 2020-21. Each team completed a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) examination through inductive cross-analysis, using a deductive structure, following the dimensions of: PETE Programme; PETE Staff; PETE Students. The findings presented at a case level show how each PETE programme is seeking to manage an important tension between the experiential nature of Physical Education (PE) as a subject, in light of the institutional and external constraints towards online and blended approaches. Having identified the thematic variables for PETE at an overall programme, staff and student level, the SWOT analysis heightened PETE pedagogue understanding of the subject beyond 'physical' contact spaces, for meaningful third-level teacher education delivery.

Major curriculum changes have recently occurred in Ireland, including redeveloping the primary curriculum and the enactment of the Junior Cycle Framework (DES, 2015). Positive and negative experiences affect the attitudes which contribute to determining the quality of curricular experiences. Framed in the work of Fullan, M. (1991. "The New Meaning of Educational Change." Toronto: Teachers College Press) and Dewey, J. (1997. "Experience and Education." New York, NY: Touchstone), this study aims to understand how young people's experiences of collective physical activity can inform physical education curriculum development and enactment. Focus group interviews were conducted in three primary and three post-primary schools. The young people's experiences reflected the features of meaningful physical education: fun opportunities, preferably outside; to socially interact with friends; provision of activities that are both competitive and non-competitive; activities focused on team sport and alternative forms of movement such as yoga; differentiated activities and teams and choice, beyond choosing between team sports only. We argue that the young person's voice has the potential to inform policy and practice, as well as enforce and advocate for policy and practice that positions young people at the centre of the learning experience.

As with school self-evaluation in most European countries, the Irish education system now promotes the involvement and inclusion of stakeholders such as parents and students in the evaluation process. Yet, in the Irish context, there is limited research exploring the role of these stakeholders in this internal mode of school evaluation. To address this lacuna, this research draws on a national survey of post-primary school principals and interviews conducted with 109 stakeholders now placed at the centre of the evaluation process: school staff, parents and students. While there are some optimistic indications in the data, this research highlights that only slight progress has been made in terms of including parents and students in school self-evaluation in Ireland. The data presented in this paper corroborate that many age-old obstacles in the Irish context still exist and continue to dominate. Ultimately, this research concludes that changes in policy do not necessarily produce changes in practice.

The concept of physical literacy (PL) has been suggested as one that can offer a catalyst for a new emphasis in physical education (PE). In the broadest sense, a physically literate child is confident, active, and can maintain health enhancing physical activity (PA) for life. PL includes engagement in PA, physical competence, and PA motivation, confidence, knowledge and understanding. The purpose of this study is to investigate the levels of PL in Irish adolescents. As part of a larger study data were collected from 535 (12.78 ± .42 years) adolescents across 20 schools, to measure physical activity, physical competence, and psychological correlates of physical activity. Less than half of participants are accumulating the minimum of 60 minutes of PA daily required for health (49% males, 26% females). Data highlight that Irish youth are performing 'below par' across the domains of PL, with cardiovascular fitness (45% of males and 67% of females reaching 'optimal' target) and self-efficacy (53% of males and 46% of females reaching 'optimal' target) of greatest concern. Findings are discussed in the context of the need for a targeted direction in post-primary PE in Irish schools to increase levels of PL in Irish adolescents.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between fundamental movement skills (FMS) and markers of health among a cohort of Irish primary school children. Methods: Participants (N = 296, mean age: 7.99 ± 2.02 years) were senior infant (n = 149, mean age: 6.02 ± 0.39 years) and 4th class (n = 147, mean age: 9.97 ± 0.40 years) students from three primary schools in Cork, Ireland. FMS proficiency (TGMD-2) and markers of health (BMI percentile, waist circumference percentile, blood pressure percentiles, resting heart rate, cardiorespiratory fitness, objectively measured physical activity; PA) measurements were recorded. Correlation and hierarchical stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between FMS and markers of health. Results: A small, positive relationship was found between FMS (Gross Motor Quotient; GMQ) and cardiorespiratory fitness with small negative correlations between GMQ and 550 m time SDS among 6-year-olds (r(129) = -0.286, p < 0.05) and 10-year-olds (r(132) = -0.340, p < 0.05). A moderate, positive correlation was found between GMQ and light PA (r(71) = 0.400, p < 0.05). Small positive correlations were revealed between GMQ and moderate PA (r(71) = 0.259, p < 0.05) and between GMQ and total PA (r(71) = 0.355, p < 0.05). After adjusting for age, sex, the interaction effect of age and sex, and school attended, FMS explained 15.9% and 24.8% of the variance in 550 m time SDS among 6- and 10-year-olds, respectively, and 6% and 6.5% of the variance in light PA and moderate PA, respectively. After adjusting for age and sex, FMS explained 11.6% of the variance in total PA. Conclusion: A wide range of FMS is important for children's cardiorespiratory fitness and PA.

Purpose: Understand the emergence of new potential career trajectories in the liberalised Irish dairy farming sector through analysis of the narratives of students of a Professional Diploma in Dairy Farm Management. Design/methodology/approach: A review of the literature highlights that entry to a working life in agriculture has been characterised by protracted farm succession processes; a strong association between being a farmer and owning land in the family name; lingering male identities esteeming manual labour; and a pragmatic need at farm level for manual work. The abolition of milk quota in 2015 was predicted to catalyse expansion of production on dairy farms with an increase in milk production; accompanied by a demand for qualified personnel. The BNIM method was employed. Findings: Results confirm that agricultural education is perceived and experienced as offering new pathways for young farmers to enter the occupational category of 'farmer', helping to manoeuvre around the constraints of non-inheritance. The students' narratives evidenced managerial identities, being strongly influenced by encountering management approaches through their agricultural education. All students desired to eventually own a farm someday and to be to employed as a professional dairy farm manager was a perceived as an intermediary goal. Practical implication: Discontinuation of the traditional family farming model based on family farm/land ownership is not imminent even among a cohort qualified to become employed dairy farm managers. Theoretical implication: This paper contributes to theoretical framework which highlights the shift in farmer masculine identity and the career trajectory of graduates of specialised agricultural education programmes.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how in Irish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), problem-based learning (PBL) could possibly provide a paradigm which addresses two key research objectives: What are the learning needs and challenges faced by Irish SMEs? and How could PBL satisfy these needs through integrating formal and informal learning? Design/Methodology/Approach: An action research methodology was adopted using Lewin's (1994) action research cycle. In the reconnaissance stage, surveys and focus groups were conducted with a purposive research sample of Irish SMEs regarding their learning needs and challenges. Based on these results, a plan was formulated to adapt the traditional PBL model into a workplace PBL model (wPBL). Lastly, the wPBL model was implemented and evaluated in 42 SMEs. Findings: The research identified several specific learning needs for SMEs, namely, learning that is cost-effective, tailored to the company and its challenges, immediately applied, demonstrates a tangible outcome (is measurable), organically fostering a learning culture, addresses knowledge gaps, continuous, develops communication, team work, problem-solving and technical skills. The traditional PBL model was adapted into a wPBL model to meet the above learning needs of SMEs. It was found that the wPBL model had the potential to address long-standing company problems (making it cost-effective), facilitate continuous learning and develop horizontal and transversal skills such as problem-solving and communication. Originality/Value: Much of the learning that takes place in SMEs is incidental or informal, and often does not contribute to the long-term sustainability of the organisation. This paper aims to propose a practical framework using wPBL to structure incidental and informal learning in SMEs so that it provides an immediate benefit to the company. To date, there has been little research into the application of PBL outside higher education, and the paper proposes a framework to assist the transition of PBL to a workplace environment.

There is an increasing trend towards the use of external providers in primary schools. The added value of external providers in enhancing aspects of children's learning is supported in the physical education literature. Less is known, however, about the experiences of classroom teachers working with these external providers. To address this gap and guided by the question 'What are primary school teachers experiences of external providers?' we conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with primary school classroom teachers who had used external physical education providers (n = 10). A thematic analysis of the data involved systematic coding from which themes were constructed. Findings alert to the limited partnership between classroom teachers and external providers currently. Teachers' perceptions of external providers as having greater expertise resulted in classroom teachers engaging minimally in communicating with external providers and taking little part in lessons taught by the external provider. Overall findings indicate communication and involvement in pedagogical decision making as areas to address in reconceptualising the relationship between classroom teachers and external providers.

The historical legacy and the changing landscape of adoption in Ireland are currently garnering much attention. However, to date, the specifics of the changes have not yet been presented. This article provides a detailed numerical overview of who is being adopted and who is adopting in Ireland. The compilation of the available administrative data provides the basis for analysis of Irish trends in adoption between 1999 and 2016. The changing landscape of adoption practices captured in this data is discussed against a general backdrop of changing family structures. This analysis provides an overview of key trends, which will be useful for policy makers, practitioners and researchers alike. It is anticipated that the analysis and the identification of future trends will enhance professional practice development and will also identify areas of future service that require examination and further research.

Heroin users are a stigmatized group of learners on the edge of society, whose struggle for recognition remains largely ignored. Drug treatment in the form of methadone and prescription drugs has only served to further stigmatize and disrespect their rights. Adult education aspires to be a discourse of resistance and a social movement for the creation of a diverse and just society. The work of Axel Honneth and his "Theory of Recognition" can help to advance those aspirations and radically shift our understanding of the drug user and the recovery process.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences and responses of ten adult literacy organisers (ALOs) from Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare to the growing influence of neoliberalism and the commodification of adult literacy as a skill and function of the economy. The research argues for a greater focus on literacy as a social practice concerned with equality and social justice, rooted in emancipatory and transformative adult education. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research methodology using in-depth unstructured interviews, underpinned by critical realism. Findings: While the ALOs sampled have developed strategies to resist the impact of neoliberalism, they are also struggling to sustain their resistance and nurture access to emancipatory and transformative adult literacy practices. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited in size, being a small sample study of ten ALOs. Practical implications: The research will inform policy discussions in advance of the new further education and training strategy, where adult literacy policy is situated. Originality/value: The paper gives unique and independent access to the voices of ALOs in Ireland and provides a small example of empirical evidence of the commodification and marketisation of adult literacy under neoliberalism.

The purpose of this paper is to quantify, review, and analyze published research output of academic librarians from 21 higher education Institutions in Ireland. A mixed approach using an online survey questionnaire, supplemented by content analysis and extensive literature scoping were used for data collection. Factors inhibiting and predicting the likelihood of research publication are identified. Motivations, barriers, and collaboration are examined. Qualitative perspectives from survey respondents are offered. The survey response was 30%. The main findings are presented and contextualized. There is evidence of moderate research growth and publication rates among the Irish LIS community; Open Access pathways are increasingly accepted. The paper has original value with both exploratory and analytical perspectives. This is the first comprehensive national study of this cohort; it adds value and a new perspective to the existing literature on academic librarians' participation in scholarly endeavours and communication.

This paper explores approaches to support the consistent implementation of school self-evaluation. The first part of the paper outlines the changing nature of self-evaluation in Irish post-primary schools and how a new approach introduced by the Department of Education and Skills in 2012 demonstrates real intentionality in terms of implementation. This recent attempt to engage schools in self-evaluation is compared to a previous self-evaluation initiative introduced in 2003. Despite significant improvements to the self-evaluation process, a number of concerns remain particularly in relation to the capacity of schools to engage in the process and the limited level of support that is provided to schools. The question of how best to support the implementation of self-evaluation is a concern in many jurisdictions. This question was explored in research carried out on the implementation of self-evaluation in Centres for Education in Ireland, and the findings are outlined in the second part of the paper. The research highlights a relatively high level of implementation of self-evaluation in Centres for Education nationally as well as generally positive feedback on the self-evaluation experience from participants. Some of the factors that influenced successful implementation are outlined. Key among these is the facilitator-led approach, addressing the practicalities of implementation and the national monitoring system. While this research did not involve post-primary schools, the findings may have relevance for the provision of supports in post-primary schools in Ireland, and it may also have a wider application for self-evaluation policy and practice in other jurisdictions.

This paper explores affective dimensions to the positioning of teachers within persistent educational inequalities. Drawing on Sara Ahmed's concept of "affective economies", we argue that inequalities are not maintained through how teachers and student teachers "feel about" "different" students per se. Rather, the very possibility of becoming a particular subject and object of feeling is itself already part of the production of learner differences and inequalities. We examine how affects circulate to shape particular objects (e.g. a teacher's physical body) and collective attachments to particular signs (e.g. "the national teaching body"). We argue that contemporary changes to Irish and European teacher education policy reinforce rather than question educational inequalities. They produce and align "shock" at student underachievement with teachers' physical and collective bodies, while "sympathetically" responsibilising teachers to professionalise in order to cope with or compensate for persistently "different" and/or underachieving students. To explain how this process is lived and resisted, an analysis of interviews with our own student teachers explores how the affective economy which constitutes teacher education may become contingently directed in socially just or unjust ways.

In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), treatments are assigned randomly and treatments are withheld from participants. Is it ethically permissible to conduct an RCT in a social setting? This paper addresses two conditions for justifying RCTs: that there should be a state of equipoise and that the trial should be scientifically promising. Illustrated with a discussion of the RCT evaluation of the Wizards of Words reading programme, this paper argues that, first, the two conditions can give rise to genuine moral conflicts, and second, efforts can be made to ensure RCTs in social settings are scientifically promising. The argument of this paper therefore is a departure from the current debate on RCTs, where it is assumed these two justifying conditions should not come into conflict, either because research ethics is derived from the professional's duty of care, or because there is a strong distinction between the ethics of research and the duty of care. This paper also addresses critics who argue that in social settings RCTs cannot be scientifically promising and for that reason they are ethically impermissible.

Although teacher education has undergone radical reforms in many jurisdictions, who teacher educators are, their lives, and their work, continue to be a somewhat underexplored area internationally, while remaining a "secret garden" in the Irish context. In order to address this lacuna in Irish research, this paper adopts a life history, phenomenological approach to the exploration of teacher educator identities. It considers the articulation of identity relative to prior teacher identity and current roles and institutional context. From nine in-depth interviews with teacher educators in a college of education in Ireland, we examine continuities and discontinuities between past and present roles and responsibilities, and identities. We tentatively explore the diverse pathways, values and experiences that construct them as teacher educators in the present, and gain insight in to the strength of former teacher identities: the old overshadowing the "new". We conclude that privileged primary school teacher identities continue to shape teacher educator practices and values despite global and diverse influences at play. The implications of these findings for initial teacher education are considered.

Background: Internationally, people with intellectual disability are socially marginalized, and their rights under the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are often ignored. Aims: This paper aims to define the key concerns of adults with an intellectual disability in relation to their participation in society using an inclusive research strategy for both data gathering and data analysis. Methods: A national study involving 23 focus groups and 168 persons was conducted on the island of Ireland with people with intellectual disability as co-facilitators. Findings: A thematic content analysis was undertaken of the verbatim transcripts initially by university co-researchers, and 19 themes were identified. Co-researchers with intellectual disability joined in identifying the eight core themes. These were as follows: living options, employment, relationships, citizenship, leisure time, money management, self-advocacy, and communication. Discussion: The concerns are discussed within the framework of the CRPD, and implications for transforming service policy are drawn.

Background: Inclusive research with people with intellectual disabilities is growing internationally but with few studies examining its feasibility. Methods: In undertaking a national study exploring what life was like in Ireland for people with intellectual disabilities, a community of practice was developed involving a core group of co-researchers: five people with intellectual disabilities, four university researchers and three service support staff. An additional cadre of 15 co-researchers with intellectual disabilities was recruited to undertake data gathering and analysis with 23 focus groups involving 168 participants. The research experience was documented through oral feedback, progress reports, minutes and a project review. Results and Conclusions: The key learning is documented arising from the setting up of an inclusive advisory group and implementation of each of six research steps. The study demonstrates feasibility and the added value of university co-researchers recruiting and developing skills together with co-researchers with intellectual disabilities. Topics for further research and development are identified.

Background: Families in Ireland remain the main providers of support for people with Intellectual disabilities, and the aim of this study was to map their life experiences whilst involving their family members as co-researchers. Materials and Method: This qualitative, participatory study involved 10 focus groups attended by 70 parents and siblings of people with intellectual disabilities. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Caring for a family member with intellectual disabilities was found to be a dynamic and adaptive process. The well-being of the family and the challenges they face throughout their lives was the central theme identified. This was affected by: the availability of appropriate supports for families and having to advocate for them, communication and relationships with services and professionals, the availability of information and attitudes towards disability and governmental support. Conclusions: Strategies are suggested as to how services can better support family carers in Ireland in their role. These include families being provided with flexible and timely support for families at critical times; being offered services, support, entitlements and information without having to fight for them; knowing that their family member with intellectual disabilities is well cared for, listened to and provided with opportunities to develop and be part of the community; and carers being shown respect, listened to and involved in decisions. (Contains 1 footnote and 2 tables.)