This chapter provides an analysis of the institutionalization of SoTL at University College Cork in Ireland, offers some guiding questions to help individuals or groups reflect critically on their own SoTL institutionalization journeys, and suggests implications for further research on how institutionalization processes inform academic identity…

This paper is about social class and the teaching profession. While class has long been a core focus in the Sociology of Education, little attention has been paid to how it is conceived and enacted in the context of the professions, including teaching. While research in the area is increasing, we know relatively little about "the daily class…

While research abounds on musicians' precarity, emerging student musicians remain understudied, especially amidst migration for opportunity. This timely study addresses critical gaps by qualitatively exploring the experiences of popular music students who migrate to London for education and prospective careers. Set during the UK's recent…

In March 2023, the Department of Education published the "Primary Curriculum Framework" for primary and special schools in Ireland. Reflecting trends in international curriculum reform centred on the needs and priorities of twenty-first century learning and life, the Framework proposes a set of seven key competencies which are presented…

It is well established that female participation in STEM diminishes at all stages of the education pipeline. National policy in Ireland is focussed on initiatives to address the STEM gender gap from early years to the end of secondary school (age 18/19) education. However, strategy in higher education is limited, with gender equality policy…

In recent years, we have seen an increased politicisation and objectification of what teachers should know, what teachers should do and who teachers should be while they are doing it. While evident across the continua of teacher education, such politicised constructions are particularly acute at initial teacher education. Given such attention to…

The Irish higher education sector is undergoing transformation as many Institutes of Technology (IoTs) become Technology Universities (TUs). This paper aims to explore lecturer identity in higher education in the context of recent contract structure recommendations by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for lecturers…

Knowledge of symbols, which can be influenced by school ethos, informs identity construction in primary school children. This study aimed to explore Gaelscoil (Irish-medium) and English-medium primary school children's familiarity with Irish and European symbols. Thirty 9-12-year-old children in Ireland participated in this study; 15 from two…

For mature learners, the challenges and successes in undertaking a formal learning programme can be particularly significant, as they bring with them a range of prior experiences of, and attitudes toward learning. Older mature learners (i.e., 40+ years), represent a notable proportion of learners in further education and training in Ireland. This…

This article answers the call for more research on Millennials' experience of the graduate transition to work (GTW). Using an identity perspective, it investigates how Millennials explored and developed their career identities after the GTW, with a particular focus on traits often associated with younger generations such as boundaryless, protean…

Ireland's schooling population has significantly diversified in the last 15 years. Despite the growing body of research on migrant and minority ethnic students' experiences, we still know relatively little about their relationships with peers and teachers. This paper draws on data collected as part of a wider study, informed by critical race…

Based on research completed between 2018 and 2022 in the Republic of Ireland, this article examines how the distinctive ethos and relational pedagogy of adult literacy education have been impacted by broader changes in the field and wider society, with significant impact on its capacity to support learners. The learner-centred ethos, ways of…

Placement as a form of work-integrated learning is a valued element of undergraduate education. Prior work explores how placement provides a site for developing professional values, skills and competences as well as identifying how students build awareness of professional requirements. Greater focus on how such processes of awareness are realised,…

Aspirations to combat educational inequality and disadvantage in Ireland feature strongly in policy documents of recent decades. Teachers and their concerns are not always to the forefront in such publications or, indeed, in associated research. For this study, 20 teachers and school principals who work in schools located in communities with…

This is a pilot study on the relationship between speaking Irish and belonging, with a focus on Irish-speakers of diverse ethnicities and/or nationalities in Ireland. The research includes twelve respondents with diverse backgrounds in terms of nationality and/or ethnicity. We examine whether the language gives them a sense of belonging to…