This qualitative phenomenological study investigates international instructors' perspectives and experiences in designing a successful language-based massive open online course (L-MOOC). Detailed information was gathered during Summer 2018 about the instructor's challenges and strategies through semi-structured interviews with seven participants…

This paper analyses the language educator's experience of delivering an Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) in an Irish University. It uses a focus group to explore the experiences of six International Language Tutors who delivered modules on a pilot IWLP between 2021 and 2024. The findings indicate that designing and delivering the…

Background: Key Word Signing (KWS) is one system that can be used to support the communication needs of children with Down syndrome (DS) who attend mainstream school. The success of KWS in schools is mediated by staff experiences and perceptions of KWS. The current study is one of the first to explore KWS use in mainstream schools. Aims: To…

The importance of school self-evaluation (SSE) as a school improvement mechanism has been acknowledged by increases in the number of countries with legal requirements for schools to conduct self-evaluation. Despite the provision of a range of support to schools to encourage their engagement with SSE, many implementation challenges have been…

Trinity Access (TA) is a post-primary initiative, in the authors' university, that offers programmes for students, teachers and schools in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. The aims of the programme include helping students develop the knowledge, networks and skills needed to make informed decisions about future educational opportunities, and…

The Irish Teaching Council introduced a new model of school-based and National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT) called Droichead (meaning 'bridge' in Gaelic) in 2013/14. The Droichead process is an integrated professional induction framework for newly qualified teachers. It was designed to provide whole-school support for teacher induction…

Purpose: School-based programmes face a variety of personal, environmental and organisational challenges to implementation. Stakeholders can provide crucial contextual information to improve implementation. The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers' perspectives on implementation through a bottom-up participatory process.…

Mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones have entered education and started being used by teachers and learners for studying. This evidence-based case study focuses on the enhancement of a syllabus with BYOD classes and the role it played in boosting motivation and classroom engagement. It shows how to enhance a syllabus for Intermediate…

The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act in Ireland advocated the development of individual education plans (IEPs). However, this section of the Act has never been fully implemented and there is no obligation upon schools to develop IEPs. Research conducted across the country by Richard Rose and Yu Zhao of the University of…

The Transition Year (TY) programme is an optional, one-year, stand-alone, full-time programme offered in 75% of second-level schools in the Republic of Ireland. Aimed at those in the 15-16 age group, TY has a strong focus on personal and social development and on education for active citizenship. The implementation of TY in schools is seen as a…

Introducing an educational innovation into any school context involves some challenge to existing practices. Transition Year is an innovative, optional, one-year programme taken by approximately half the 15-16-year age cohort in schools in the Republic of Ireland. Based on data from an extensive study of TY operating in six different schools,…

Purpose: This paper seeks to report on the evaluation of Zippy's Friends, an international emotional wellbeing programme, for primary school children in disadvantaged schools in Ireland. The paper aims to present case studies of the profile and ethos of two specific schools participating in the programme, their links with the local community, the…

This study is concerned with the particular circumstances, personal rewards and costs, which Irish post-primary principals and physical education (PE) teachers identify as affecting the implementation of the revised junior cycle PE syllabus and in the future revised senior cycle physical education and new Leaving Certificate PE. The concepts of…