Past research projects are listed below:

    REGIONAL  (Comparative analysis of Adult Learning (AL) policy formulation) Grundtvig Lifelong Learning Project​ (2014-2015)

    The REGIONAL project is undertaking a comparative analysis of Adult Learning (AL) policy formulation, implementation and financing in 16 regions in six countries across Europe during the period 2014-2015. The project consortium partner, Maynooth University were tasked with reviewing adult learning policy development in three regions and with undertaking a series of interviews to identify progress and gaps in how adult learning policy is devised. 
    The regions selected for the purposes of this project were:An urban region: City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB), A midland rural region: Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB), A border region: Cavan Monaghan Education and Training Board (CWETB).

    The term region, within this research project, is defined as an educational geographic area administered by an Education and Training Board (ETB). Education and Training Board (ETBs) were established in 2014 by the amalgamation of a number of existing Vocational Education Committees (VECs) into one area administrative structure. The research was informed by reviewing secondary publicly available data including census information and area annual reports. In each case the data was complemented by seeking further information from adult educators involved in the delivery of adult learning programmes in the region.

    Bridging the Gap - Translating Development Research into Practice. Michelle Kinsella and Michael Kenny of the REGIONAL Project presented a paper at the Development Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference in November 2014. The well received paper critiqued the assumption that in qualitative analysis a research team in one country can sensitively analyse  data collected in other countries without ‘colonising’ the data through their cultural situatedness perspective. The paper is available free online at http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/5779/

    Learning from Others We can learn a lot from other countries, the mistakes they make and the things they achieve, this is particularly true in our area of further education.  The REGIONAL Project has looked at how policy is formed in six countries across Europe (Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Serbia, Hungary and Ireland) to identify why there are such significant gaps in the provision of further and vocational education as noted by the Mind The Gap European Report (2012). Please visit the draft outcomes of our research. You will find it here. If you are interested in the outcomes of a specific country the profiles can be found at the following links; Ireland, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia and, Hungary. We have summarised these into a brief set of videos available on you tube at following links: Ireland, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia and, Hungary.

    If you would like us to send you a hard copy of the country profile and the upcoming comparative report including the research deliverables which identify specific areas in relation to policy making in the field of Adult Further Education and Training, please contact us at; Michael Kenny, Lecturer  email: michaelkenny@mu.ie and  Michelle Kinsella, Research Assistant REGIONAL  email: michelle.kinsella@mu.ie. REGIONAL - European Life Long learning - Comparative analysis of regional policies for adult learning - Project.

    Project Investigators: Michael Kenny is Lecturer at the Department of Adult & Community Education and  Principal Investigator: Grundtvig REGIONAL project - European Life Long learning - Comparative analysis of regional policies for adult learning - which runs from 1st January 2014 - 31 October 2015.: 
    Michelle Kinsella, Department of Adult & Community Education, is REGIONAL Project Research Assistant.​

    A previous European project, the Regional Project delivered a basic toolkit that informs the developments in the DIMA project. the toolkit is available at ​http://www.regionalproject.eu/pdf/TOOLKIT.pdf. The toolit was very well received at the 13th European Week of Regions and Cities (OPEN DAYS) hosted in the European Committee of the Regions' premises, known as the 'Meeting Place' in Brussels on 12-15 October 2015. The programme is available at this site.

    The project partners were ​the Agency of Adult and Further Education is run under the auspices of the Lower Saxony League for Liberal Adult Education (nbeb), ​The Hungarian Ministry for National Economy, SVIMEZ Italy, the Regional Economic Development Agency for Šumadija and Pomoravlje Ltd (REDASP) Serbia,  ​IDP European Consultants Brussles, ​Academia Istropolitana Nova (AINova) Slovakia, and the ​Department of Adult and Community Education Maynooth University.

    Lifelong Learning in Palestine (2011 - 2013)​
    This project seeks to develop Lifelong Learning as a collaborative project in Palestine. It aims to develop Lifelong Learning provision in formal and informal networks across the West Bank and Gaza, linking the work of universities to centres outside of the university in civil society. Seminars and workshops will develop pedagogic partnerships in different settings, facilitating a wide arrangement of adult learning right across Palestinian society. Palestinian institutions will link innovative work in Lifelong Learning to different regions in Europe and the Arab world.

    In addition to Maynooth University, the project's European Partners are: University of Glasgow University of Malta, St Mary's University College London. Palestinian University Partners are: University of Birzeit, Islamic University of Gaza, University of Al Quds, University of Bethlehem. The non-university partners are:Centre for Applied Research in Education (CARE),Women Graduates of the Islamic University of Gaza.

    The Maynooth University project team are Josephine Finn (PI), Tony Walsh, Dr Bernie Grummell and Michael Kenny. Please visit the Project Website.​

    DIALOGUE (Opportunities for Dialogue between Researchers, Practitioners and Policy Makers0 (2010 - 2013)​
    Josephine Finn, Maeve O'Byrne and Fergal Finnegan are the Maynooth University representatives on the DIALOGUE Project (2010 - 2013). Adult Education and more globally Lifelong Learning are usually recognised as a field where research and practice are closely connected. While the importance of encouraging research which informs policy and practice in Lifelong Learning may be widely acknowledged by individuals and Governments, the ways in which knowledge might be most effectively exchanged and used to improve practices is not clearly understood. A key aim of the DIALOGUE project has been to examine how closer links might be improved through the promotion of a dialogue between researchers, practitioners and policy makers which encourages knowledge exchange and to promote new ways of working.

    The general objectives of DIALOGUE are to:Deepen in the understanding of the relation and influences of hindering factors in University Lifelong Learning (ULLL) research and practice and explore the barriers and constrains existing in different EU countries and in the Higher Education system.
    Develop recommendations on how the knowledge triangle between researchers, professionals and policy makers can be reinforced and strategically developed in the future The practical objectives of the project are to:Develop the dialogue between research and practice around 4 relevant thematic groups (Access and progression - Quality assurance and enhancement - Learning and guidance - New media)
    Review, develop and evaluate models of good practice in the transfer of research results to professional practice exploring ways of involving practitioners in research
    Identify and explore barriers at national and institutional level to transfer the knowledge, but also existing opportunities
    Encourage networking with partners inside and outside the university to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from and between ULLL and other partner organisations
    Development of final recommendations aiming at the promotion of a sustainable ULLL.This project has now finished and the AdultEducation_EUCEN_PolicyReportDoc ​is available to read [PDF format] here.​

    SIRUS Project (2009 - 2011)​
    Josephine Finn was the Maynooth University representative on  “Shaping Inclusive and Responsive University Strategies”, or SIRUS, was co-funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme (2009 - 2011). The project addressed various aspects of developing or reframing institutional lifelong learning strategies and their implementation in universities. Based on existing research, the underlying assumption in the SIRUS project was that many universities already contribute substantially to lifelong learning (LLL), but that these approaches are often not guided by institutional strategies and are constrained by national legal frameworks and financial provisions.
    Through the further development of institutional strategies for lifelong learning, the aim of the project was to look at the positioning of LLL in different types of higher education institutions in Europe and to demonstrate different ways of incorporating LLL activities into institutional portfolios. Thus the SIRUS project offered an opportunity for a diverse group of universities to develop and enhance their strategic LLL approaches through interactive discussions with colleagues from across Europe. Specifically, the goals of SIRUS were to:
    • Support universities in developing, embedding and enhancing lifelong learning strategies
    • Test the implementation of the ten commitments adopted in the European Universities’ Charter on Lifelong Learning
    • Ensure wide dissemination of existing best practices in the field to universities, governments and stakeholders
    • Contribute to the further development of policy recommendations.

     Enhancing Knowledge Workers Adult Learning Solutions (EKWALS) Project (2009 - 2011)​
    Michael Kenny was the Maynooth University representative on the Enhancing Adult Learners Workers Solutions (EKWALS) EU funded project (2009 - 2011). The current economic crisis is generating a paradigm shift in the European job market. The assumption that Knowledge Workers, irrespective of their education, are immune from unemployment is no longer valid. In such a context, adult learning needs to adjust to better cope with the double challenge of Ageing Knowledge Workers (AKW) who tend to have lower education and engage in less training than younger workers. Adults vary tremendously in how they acquire knowledge and one single adult learning solution cannot adequately address the diversity of adult learners. Please visit the project website. ​​

    Using Digital Arts-based Methods to Develop Postgraduate Research Project (2009 - 2010)​
    Dr Bernie Grummell was the Maynooth University representative along with Angela Rickard (Centre for Teaching and Learning/Education Department) and Siobhan Clancy (National Learning Digital Repository) for the Using Digital Arts-based Methods to Develop Postgraduate Research Project. This project developed and used the creative capacity of digital arts-based research processes to identify research opportunities with postgraduate students. It developed an arts-based research process that created spaces, resources and emotional supports to express understandings and experiences of educational issues. It involved students co-creating digital arts-based representations of issues relevant for educational research. This approach acknowledged that 'in contact with art, people could see and feel more that they could say' (Ellis and Bochner, 2003:507-8). Please visit the Project Website.​​

    Making Climate Change Real (2008 - 2009)
    Making Climate Change Real: Developing digital learning resources to enhance local understanding of climate change was an interdisciplinary collaboration between departments in Maynooth University, namely: the Centre for Teaching and Learning (Claire McAvinia), the Departments of Education (Angela Rickard), Geography (Nuala Murphy, Conor Murphy), Adult and Community Education (Bernie Grummell, Michael Kenny, Kellyann Reid). This project created a number of digital learning resources that explored a range of climatic events, linking these with the science of global climate change, in order to promote understanding of the science. The materials were presented on a website to encourage student participation in discussion on the causes of climate change, to address adaptivity to local climate change challenges (including community-based monitoring of climate and adaptation in Ireland). In 2009 we worked with a local secondary school and community council. We developed these activities further by producing a set of enhanced learning objects that introduce key concepts and data about climate change in Ireland and explore their potential significance for local communities.
    Please visit the Project Website.

    Non-Traditional Student Experiences: Research (2008 - 2010)
    Dr Ted Fleming and Dr Fergal Finnegan were the Maynooth University representatives on the RANLHE and the Combat Poverty Agency Projects.Want to know about experiences of non-traditional students in European Higher Education? Read this RANLHE report: Merrill, B., Armstrong, P., Alheit, P., Schoemer, F., Rheinlander, K., Bron, A., Thunborg, C., Nizinska, A., Kurantowicz, E., Field, J., Morgan-Klein, N., West, L., Monteaguedo, J.G., Ballesteros, M.A., Finnegan, F. & Fleming, T. (2010). Experiences of Non-Traditional Students in European Higher Education: Student Experiences. Poland: University of Lower Silesia. http://www.ranlhe.dsw.edu.pl
    Want to know about cultural and institutional experiences of non-traditional students in European Higher Education? Read this RANLHE report: Merrill, B., Armstrong, P., Alheit, P., Schoemer, F., Rheinlander, K., Bron, A., Thunborg, C., Nizinska, A., Kurantowicz, E., Field, J., Morgan-Klein, N., West, L., Monteaguedo, J.G., Ballesteros, M.A., Finnegan, F. & Fleming, T. (2010). Experiences of Non-Traditional Students in European Higher Education: Cultural and Institutional Perspectives.  http://www.ranlhe.dsw.edu.pl
    What happens to mature students of NU Maynooth after they graduate? Read the report funded by and written for Combat Poverty Agency:Fleming, T., Loxley, A., Finnegan, F. & Kenny, A. (2009). Where Next?: Mapping and understanding the Post-First Degree Destinations of Mature Disadvantaged Students in three Irish Higher Education Institutions. Dublin: Combat Poverty Agency.