Four researchers from University College Cork travelled to Copenhagen to present findings from the #IceheartsEurope project at MOVE Congress 2025, reaching 900 participants from 62 countries across the sport, education, policy and health sectors.

The group was led by Professor Fiona Chambers from UCC's School of Education, who delivered a keynote presentation on the project. Running for nearly three years and led by the International Sport and Culture Association, it provided long-term, sport-based mentoring support to more than 2,200 disadvantaged children across five European countries. The Icehearts model, originally developed in Finland in 1996, pairs children at risk of social exclusion with a dedicated mentor for up to twelve years. Icehearts Europe adapts and scales this Finnish model for new European contexts to improve the mental health and wellbeing of disadvantaged children and young people.

As part of our commitment to deepen community engagement under Barr na gCnoc — the partnership connecting our teaching and research efforts to local schools — the School of Education at University College Cork welcomed over 100 primary pupils to the Mardyke arena at the beginning of December 2025 to showcase their new use of Irish developed in tandem with fundamental movement skill development in physical education.

It was great to bring many of our School of Education Cohort and Structured PhD students together for a Coffee Morning on Saturday.

We followed this with a creative and enjoyable session led by Prof. Nicola Ingram, who explored the exciting possibilities of using visual research methods in education research.

A big thank you to all of the students who shared their experiences and engaged so fully throughout the day!

A prize-giving award ceremony for the Bachelor of Science Education programme took place in the Eureka Centre, Kane Building on Tuesday 11th November 2025.

This year’s recipient Ms. Martyna Byrdziak achieved the top marks on the Science Education programme.

The Declan Kennedy medal for Academic Excellence was presented to Ms. Byrdziak together with the annual Perpetual Trophy.

Well done to Martyna for this commendable achievement!

The School of Education B.Ed Gaeilge Awards ceremony took place on Wednesday 5th November 2025 at 2pm in SHTEPPS, The HUB. The recipients and the awards are as follows:

1) Stephanie Doyle - Gradam Bharr Feabhais Acadúil 2025

2) Ellen O' Connor - Gradam Ildánaí 2025

Stephanie and Ellen were presented with these awards for exemplifying the highest standards of academic achievement and all-round exemplary practice in the post-primary school classroom.

The students were joined by their families, the director of the B.Ed Gaeilge programme Dr. TJ Ó Ceallaigh, the B.Ed Gaeilge team, representatives from Roinn na Nua-Ghaeilge, The School of Languages, the School of Education Manager Dr. Tara Singleton and the Head of School Prof. Nicola Ingram.

A proud celebration for the programme’s second cohort of graduates!

To celebrate National Science Week, we are pleased to invite UCC staff and their children to the annual Chemistry Magic show in Kane G01 on 14/11/25 at 6pm until 7pm. We hope to stimulate an interest in science in our younger guests through the demonstrations in the Magic Show!

As part of UCC’s Barr na gCnoc initiative, a community partnership led by Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha that connects UCC’s research and teaching missions with local engagement, members of the School of Education are leading an innovative project on the teaching of Physical Education (PE) through Irish in DEIS primary schools.

The project, which involves 6th class learners in three schools local to UCC, builds on the success of the Gaeilge Stretch programme delivered to 5th class pupils last year. Working in collaboration with Aonad Lán-Ghaeilge in Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne and local primary partners, the team - Dr Craig Neville, Dr Conor Philpott, Dr Diarmuid Lester, and Tomás Dowling from the School of Education - are exploring how Irish can be used as a medium for learning as well as a subject in its own right.

At the heart of the project is Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), an educational approach in which subject content is taught through a second or additional language. CLIL helps learners use language authentically and purposefully—in this case, using Irish to talk, move, and learn through PE. Rather than treating Irish as an isolated subject, the approach embeds it in meaningful contexts, encouraging fluency, confidence, and motivation while promoting bilingual and pluriliterate development.

Prof. Nicola Ingram, Dr. Camelia Bran and Ms. Julia Collins recently participated in the annual SCoTENS conference. The theme this year explored 'A New Era for Professionalism: Teacher Identity, Authenticity, and Agency'

Prof. Nicola Ingram said 'It was a great pleasure to attend SCoTENS in my first year as a committee member as it provided an opportunity to gain insight into research and collaborations on this shared island. The highlight of the conference for me was chairing one of the doctoral workshops and engaging with emerging work on teacher education in both jurisdictions. It was particularly gratifying that out of the 12 doctoral students who gained places on the doctoral workshop three were from the School of Education at UCC (Julia Collins, Genevieve Collins and Marc Barry). For me this was testimony to the high quality research culture in the school'

At the 2025 ScoTENS Conference, Dr Camelia Nadia Bran and partners from St. Mary’s Unviersty College BELFAST presented the outcomes of the Exploring Knowledge and Awareness of Reasonable Accommodations (EKARA) project — a collaborative initiative financed by ScoTENS (2023–2025).

Using a mixed-methods approach that included a literature review, survey, focus groups, and workshops for student teachers, the research mapped participants’ knowledge, understanding, and lived experiences of reasonable accommodations.

A key output of the project, the EKARA Toolkit, provides an open-access collection of practical and reflective resources—such as guidance materials, case studies, and interactive vignettes—that model best practices for inclusive placement support. Designed as a catalyst for dialogue and professional reflection, the Toolkit encourages collaboration and shared responsibility among stakeholders involved in supporting student teachers with diverse needs.

Please feel free to access it here:

First module of landmark Postgraduate Diploma concludes with exceptional student feedback.

October 22nd marked an exciting milestone for the School of Education/ACE Postgraduate Diploma in Coaching in Education at University College Cork, Ireland's first university accredited Coaching in Education programme, as students completed the inaugural module of this pioneering new programme.

Participants reported exceptionally high levels of satisfaction, reflecting the programme’s powerful blend of theory, reflection, and practice. This marks an incredible start for a historic initiative designed to open the doors of education, at all levels from early years to higher education, to the transformational potential of coaching in education.

‘We’re thrilled with the energy, insight, and professionalism of our first cohort’ said Programme and Academic Director Dr Joe Moynihan. ‘Their engagement shows how deeply coaching can enrich teaching, leadership, and learning across Ireland’s education system.’