Despite the clear and obvious need for adults to be proficient in numeracy, international studies suggest that many continue to struggle in this area. In Ireland, one of the main challenges continues to be the availability of effective adult numeracy education. This is a diverse sector, and little is known about the varied provision of adult…

Background: Research on post-secondary training for individuals with intellectual disabilities has generally focused on programs, with little consideration of the structures and mechanisms that give rise to them. This article adopts a critical realist perspective to comparatively analyse and theorise about the contextual structures contributing to…

Despite calls for injury prevention exercise programmes (IPEPs) to move to school settings for the general adolescent population, current research has had mixed outcomes regarding their efficacy in schools as many of the traditional barriers to IPEP implementation still exist, for example, lack of engagement with the programme. A games-based…

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study of foster carers' and multidisciplinary practitioners' perceptions of foster carers' needs and existing practices in foster care in Ireland. This study explored participants' perceptions of the development of a trauma-informed care (TIC) psychoeducational intervention for foster carers.…

Environmental Education (EE) remains marginalised in Irish primary schools despite its formal inclusion in the curriculum. This study investigates the barriers to EE integration and explores how Universal Design for Learning (UDL)-based Science Festival events can support teachers and students in overcoming these challenges. Survey and interview…

Tutors play an important role in effective Mathematics Learning Support, and ensuring good initial training and development is key. Typically, in the UK and Ireland, tutors do not gain any formal recognition for the training they receive. This paper details a four competences model of training for tutors and presents the analysis of feedback from…

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, school students suffered from a reduction in opportunities to connect with higher education institutions, meet scientific role models in person, discuss scientific career options, and carry out hands-on practical laboratory activities. Current Chemistry Investigators (CCI) is a successful…

Purpose: To systematically develop a farm safety intervention for farmer peer learning groups, to support safe working practice adoption. Design/Methodology/Approach: An iterative, multi-actor process was used, guided by the Intervention Mapping framework and the Socio-Ecological Model. The target peer learning groups were Irish dairy farmer…

This paper revisits and reanalyses data from a study carried out in the further education and training sector in the Republic of Ireland to investigate (1) how adults access and participate in numeracy courses and (2) how adult numeracy provision might support active citizenship. We analysed 45 interviews with adult education providers, adult…

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…

Despite the academic, practical and social benefits, the assessment of group work brings challenges . S In response to feedback from students and staff, a framework and set of guidelines around assessed group work were developed by Dundalk Institute of Technology's Learning and Teaching sub-committee of Academic Council. This article describes the…

Despite the emerging discussions about the growing role of engineers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a lack of agreement on which competences should be prioritised to prepare engineering students to resolve future sustainability challenges. This study examined and compared the views of key stakeholders of…

A synergetic partnership of the Maynooth University Department of Adult and Community Education and the Further Education Support Services identified an educational need among Further Education and Training (FET) staff. The outcome was a jointly developed and delivered Level 9 blended learning Postgraduate Certificate in Programme Design and…

Enhancing the well-being of primary and post-primary students is one of the priorities of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Whilst interventions are being implemented across the board, little is known about the current levels of adolescents' well-being. Drawing from research on positive education, in the current study well-being…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative model of teacher professional learning that has evolved over a decade (2006 to 2016). Design/methodology/approach: Working in a range of different school contexts, in conjunction with an ongoing engagement with the research literature, has enabled the development over three phases of…