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It is a core Committee of the School of Education which is responsible for bringing forward strategy, policy and supports for staff and postgraduate research students.
The School is committed to the intrinsic value of research to further knowledge and improve educational practice and to the view that learning and teaching should be a central focus with due consideration of their cultural, social and political contexts. There is a close relationship in the School between research and teaching and much of the research conducted by staff could be described as ‘applied research’.
Research & Innovation Committee
It is a core Committee of the School of Education which is responsible for bringing forward strategy, policy and supports for staff and postgraduate research students. The Committee is responsible for advising on funding and applications, promoting collaborative research within the School and across the University, and affording professional development opportunities. It provides an important forum for debate and consultation on CACSSS and University related matters.
Committee membership as follows:
Dr MáireNíRíordáin [Chair]
Dr Dan O’Sullivan [Deputy Chair]
Dr ManolisAdamakis
Dr Alicia Curtin
Dr Alison Moore
Prof Kathy Hall
Dr Kevin Cahill
Dr Mark Prendergast
Dr Diarmuid Lester
Research Areas
The research of the School strongly reflects its academic origins in the disciplines of sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history of education, and these along with newer, inter-disciplinary areas (e.g. curriculum, teaching, childhood, and sports studies) serve to enrich theorising and ground the foci of research projects. Collectively, the research of the School can be captured under the following:
Pedagogy, Learning and Curriculum (encompassing elements such as learning cultures, literacies, numeracies, assessment, subject pedagogies, the Arts in Education, digital education, policy implementation and resistance)
Teacher Education and Professional Learning (encompassing elements such as teacher identity formation, policy, reflective practice, School-University mentoring/partnership)
Schooling, Inclusion and Changing Childhoods (encompassing elements such as globalised and digital childhoods, school and societal belonging and exclusion, diversity and identity; school cultures and whole school learning)
While these overarching themes represent the research conducted in the School, academics also work on topics of individual interest, and the work of several staff members locates in more than one of the specified areas.
We offer a wide range of specialised research degrees including ourM.Ed. (Modular) and Cohort PhD programmes. With almost 40 doctoral students, the impact of advanced postgraduate research in the School is felt at a national and international level.
The Cohort PhD in Education is a full-time cohort-based programme which runs for 48 months from the date of first registration for the programme. We currently have twenty students registered in Year 3 of the Cohort PhD. The programme involves undertaking four modules spread over three years (2 modules in year 1; 1 in year 2 and 1 in year 3) as well as substantial supervised thesis research for the duration of the degree. The seminar-based modules involve reading, writing, discussion and assignments. They are structured to enable participants develop a deep understanding of research methods linked to contemporary issues in education. Modules run on Saturdays each year over the course of the PhD (9 Saturdays in first year, 6 Saturdays in second year and 3 Saturdays in third year). There is also a one-week summer school at the end of years 1 and 3.
Prospective applicants can contact the School of Education to discuss programme details at either of the following e-mail address: Anita Cronin a.cronin@ucc.ie or Claire Dooley c.dooley@ucc.ie: Tel: 353 (0)21 - 490 2467.
If you are interested in undertaking a Structured PhD as part of the School of Education in UCC, the first step is to consult with the Head of School or potential supervisor to discuss your proposed area of research. The second step is to submit your application through UCC's application system. Your application should include a 1,000-word research proposal, ideally written in consultation with your proposed supervisor. If your first language is not English, you will be required to submit evidence of meeting the English language requirements.
Applications for Structured PhD courses are accepted throughout the year. Prospective students are advised to complete their applications at least two months in advance of their desired start date as all applications go through different stages of approval - Department, School and College. The four start dates during the year are January, April, July and October.
The Structured PhD at UCC normally lasts for three or four years with students taking a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 30 credits of taught postgraduate training modules during that time.
To be eligible to apply for a PhD, you must have an Honours degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade I in an approved primary degree. Applicants with a relevant Masters degree (of any grade) are also eligible to apply. For further details on the application procedure at UCC see the UCC Apply page.
The School of Education Research Ethics Committee functions as a subcommittee of the Research and Innovation Committee. Its intention is to guide and, where necessary, regulate the scholarly activities of students at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels within the School of Education, UCC. It also aims to promote a stronger appreciation of ethical considerations in research within our programmes and when supervising postgraduate students (Masters by Research and Ph.D.).
Just beyond the midway mark in life and learning is a nice time to pause and ponder. At the age of fifty and the dawn of the ‘now or never’, I decided to submit my Cohort PhD application. I had my doubts at the start. Perhaps I was too old, too rusty, too inexperienced, an imposter posing as an academic! However, once started, I observed these doubts disperse amidst the connection, the craic, the support and the shared wisdom of the Cohort. New and lasting friendships were forged amongst a group as diverse in experience and context as we were in our respective research themes, hailing from the educational corners of Primary, Post Primary, Further Education, Third level, Inpsectorate and more.
An ethos of support, regard, patience (no doubt!) and genuine curiosity has underpinned the gentle fair guidance of our Faculty team. A sound scaffolding of modest wisdom and experience has endorsed and empowered our evolving agency and identity. I truly appreciate their democratic, dialogical, and exploratory approach. I have felt self-directed and supported in equal measure by my supervisors, encouraged to be authentic, creative, and daring within clear parameters. That which I have required has always just so happened to appear on the agenda of our college days, as if by accident!
The journey so far has allowed me to become critically engrossed in the reading and the writing, while a deeper understanding of my stance in the field of education has unfolded. In addition, it has been personally significant and strangely comforting for me to note the reemergence of writers long forgotten bobbing in the mix alongside new encounters. Becoming a PhD strudent has set in thrum the dusty strings of my unconscious steadfastness and unchanging core beliefs and values. This is self-affirming and validating. It is a witnessing of encounter between a wiser, experienced school leader and her younger idealistic counterpart three decades later. It is like an old flame reignited, an integration of a continuum of selves, an honour and a homecoming.
As a happy perchance, I had missed medicine by a fraction, all those years ago in 1987. And while it is clear that education has been my undoubted and true calling, I did always want to be a doctor. It may take the 33 years to complete the circle, but nevertheless it’s a nice figure all the same in which to activate my legacy and commence the ‘now or never’ process of closure.
Dr Diarmuid Lester
My Structured PhD Journey in the School of Education – Diarmuid Lester
In June 2015, I completed my undergraduate studies in the School of Education in UCC with a Bachelor of Education degree in Sports Studies and Physical Education. That September I began teaching full-time in Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, Glanmire, and a month later I began my PhD in the School of Education under the supervision of Dr. Wesley O’Brien and Dr. Fiona Chambers. Initially, this was a PhD track, which is essentially a probation period for a few years (the length of which will depend on a number of factors, for example, your status as a part-time or full-time student), before you have the option of finishing your research with a Masters degree or progressing your research further as a doctoral student. I was very fortunate in that I had the full support of my school management (i.e., my employer) from the outset and equally so, my supervisory team understood the demands of my teaching timetable and were fully supportive and accommodating in this regard. The overall aim of my PhD research was to design, develop, implement and evaluate the efficacy of Project FLAME (Fundamental and Functional Literacy for Activity and Movement Efficiency), a multi-component, school-based, motor competence intervention for adolescent youth in Ireland. This project sought to strengthen links between research and professional practice and I was in the advantageous position of interacting on a daily basis with the post-primary school population while undertaking my PhD research, in many respects fulfilling a dual role as both a practitioner as well as an academic. I submitted my PhD thesis when the country was in lockdown in April 2020 and completed my viva voce (examination) virtually in June 2020. While it was undoubtedly the most challenging and demanding period of my life to date, it was an amazing journey from start to finish and I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend and present at several national and international conferences along the way. My advice to anyone considering undertaking a PhD would be to ensure that you have the full support of those around you, especially your family and loved-ones, as well as your employer, as you will need to be selfish with your time, and finally to ensure that you are compatible and have a positive working relationship with your supervisor(s) as they will help guide you on your journey.
Staff Research
Our academic staff are involved in a wide range of research activities across a variety of areas, for example:
Development and Global Citizenship Education
• Hoy, S. and O’Brien, S. (2022). ‘Introducing Development and Global Citizenship Education: A Guide for Teachers’. Video production in conjunction with Chroma Films, Dec 1, 2022.
• Donnelly, V., Hoy, S. and O’Brien, S. (2023). ‘Student teachers’ experiences of doing Development and Global Citizenship Education in the post-primary classroom’. Video production in conjunction with Chroma Films, June 1, 2023.
