{"title":"Purpose, focus and voice? Lessons from a curriculum development advisory committee","authors":"Niall Mulpeter, Orla McCormack, Joanne O’Flaherty","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2253202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2253202","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The curriculum development process is complex and developing a worthwhile process to support curriculum inception is a valuable endeavour. This paper explores the experiences of the curriculum development process through the lens of an expert advisory committee charged with developing a post-primary curriculum for publicly managed schools in line with their ethos and the national lower post-primary curriculum. The research employed semi-structured interviews with a group of curriculum developers (n = 10) involved in this curriculum development process. Following thematic analysis, four primary themes were identified: Purpose of the Advisory Committee, Focus of the Curriculum Expression, Balance of Voice, and the Role of the Curriculum Lead. These themes offer insights into the complexities of the curriculum development process including the importance of focusing, not just on the teacher’s voice, but also on the conditions that support teachers to engage fully with such processes. The findings also highlight the importance of embracing strategic leadership and democratic practices throughout this process and how the perceived focus of curriculum needs to be explicitly considered so as to unearth hidden assumptions of the curriculum developers. This study contributes to the broader understanding of how curriculum development can be enhanced to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders.","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135885395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sitting their first-ever state exam at age 18: the impact of COVID-19 on the 2023 Leaving Certificate cohort in DEIS in Ireland","authors":"Amalia Fenwick","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2255996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2255996","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper examines the unique challenges faced by the 2023 Leaving Certificate cohort in Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) in Ireland due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on the significant impact of the pandemic on students who will be sitting their first-ever state examination at the age of 18. These students, often from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, have had to navigate unprecedented disruptions and adjustments to their education, presenting distinct obstacles to their academic success and overall well-being. Fourteen interviews were carried out, involving guidance counsellors, subject teachers and Principals. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted and the identified themes that emerged from the analysis include lack of motivation, naivety around the Leaving Certificate Examination, poor well-being and skewed expectations.","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136072033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Grace Cardiff, Déirdre Ní Chróinín, Richard Bowles, Tim Fletcher, Stephanie Beni
{"title":"‘Just let them have a say!’ Students’ perspective of student voice pedagogies in primary physical education","authors":"Grace Cardiff, Déirdre Ní Chróinín, Richard Bowles, Tim Fletcher, Stephanie Beni","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2255987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2255987","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT While student voice pedagogies have been cited as a powerful educational tool in engaging children in the learning process, the perspectives of primary-aged children on using these pedagogies as part of everyday practice need to be considered. Within this research, student voice pedagogies were implemented as part of one teacher’s regular primary physical education (PE) practice and children’s perspectives of these pedagogies were explored. Qualitative data were collected from two consecutive cohorts of children (n = 39) over a 6-month and 9-month period respectively. Data sources included the children’s written entries in their PE scrapbooks, along with transcripts from focus group interviews (n = 4, with 16 total participants) and a teacher-led classroom discussion (n = 1). Findings show that providing children with space to share their input, along with the appropriate information to inform their voices is important to the children. Offering choices and opportunities for the children to direct their learning experiences greatly mattered to how they experienced PE. These findings illustrate the value of student voice pedagogies as everyday practice to the quality of children’s experiences in physical education. The merits of listening to student perspectives on student voice to ensure these pedagogies add value is highlighted.","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42711434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why a focus on ‘what is educational?’ matters so much in reconstructing education?","authors":"Jack Whitehead, M. Huxtable","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2251451","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2251451","url":null,"abstract":"This paper o ff ers an argument as to why a focus on ‘ What is educational? ’ matters so much in reconstructing education. Living Educational Theory Research is presented as an approach that enables professional, educational-practitioners to contribute to reconstructing education locally and globally. The research is focused on the generation and testing the validity of living-educational-theories through researching questions of the kind, ‘ How do I improve my professional practice in education? ’ Living Educational Theory Research is a form of professional practitioner, self-study educational research. A living-educational-theory is an individual ’ s explanation of their educational in fl uence in their own learning, in the learning of others and in the learning of the social formation within which the practice is located. Research accounts are subjected to the mutual rational control of critical discussion with peers. This criticism strengthens the research, by enhancing the validity of the knowledge claims. It contributes to the reconstruction of education using an educational lens in determining what matters in reconstructing education. This extends the idea that education is focused on the transmission of knowledge. It extends it by including the knowledge-creating capacities of each individual. The conclusions concern the importance of an ‘ educational ’ lens in understanding what matters in reconstructing education.","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":"48 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41282695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael J. Hogan, Adam Barton, Alison Twiner, Cynthia James, Farah Ahmed, Imogen Casebourne, Ian Steed, Pamela Hamilton, Shengpeng Shi, Yi Zhao, Owen M. Harney, R. Wegerif
{"title":"Education for collective intelligence","authors":"Michael J. Hogan, Adam Barton, Alison Twiner, Cynthia James, Farah Ahmed, Imogen Casebourne, Ian Steed, Pamela Hamilton, Shengpeng Shi, Yi Zhao, Owen M. Harney, R. Wegerif","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2250309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2250309","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46581571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah Porcenaluk, Art O’Neachtain, Cornelia Connolly
{"title":"Reimagining a framework for teachers’ continuous professional development during curriculum reform","authors":"Sarah Porcenaluk, Art O’Neachtain, Cornelia Connolly","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2250765","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2250765","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Effective continued professional development (CPD) is critical in preparing teachers for implementing curricular changes. Utilising the professional design framework [Loucks-Horsley, S., Stiles, K. E., Mundry, S. E., Love, N. B., & Hewson, P. W. (2009). Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics. Corwin Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nuig/detail.action?docID=996256] and document analysis, this article presents a developed framework which identifies school culture, time, choice, and connection to practice as factors influencing CPD’s success during curriculum reform. The aptly named STiCC framework aims to help structure CPD to aid teachers in effectively delivering a new curriculum. Employing Kennedy’s spectrum of CPD models (2014) in parallel with the STiCC framework, we offer approaches to CPD which may be helpful during periods of change. The discussion points to the application of the STiCC framework worldwide as the necessity for reimagining CPD during curriculum reform exists globally.","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47029341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"English phonics instruction for native Chinese speakers: limiting factors and tailoring strategies","authors":"Ying Jiang, Xiaosong Gai, Xue Han, Ying Cui","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2253214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2253214","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Phonics instruction, originating in English-speaking countries, has gained considerable momentum in China, both within and beyond formal classroom settings. Despite its popularity, certain limiting factors arise when implementing phonics instruction for native Chinese speakers. These factors include the lack of prior exposure to lexical phonological-semantic relations and the underdeveloped perception of English phonetic categories. In response to these limitations, targeted instructional strategies are proposed. The analysis underscores the imperative of acknowledging these limiting factors when incorporating phonics instruction for native Chinese speakers, as well as the necessity of devising tailored instruction, rather than directly adopting instructional approaches and materials from English-speaking nations. Such efforts hold the potential to yield significant benefits in enhancing the effectiveness of English phonics education for English language learners.","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59424206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Disturbing the teacher’s role as assessor: the case of calculated grades 2020–2021 in Ireland","authors":"A. Doyle","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2236597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2236597","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46117913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tensions and dilemmas: a narrative inquiry account of a teacher-researcher","authors":"J. Meegan","doi":"10.1080/03323315.2023.2236592","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2236592","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46076,"journal":{"name":"Irish Educational Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44888200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}