Thesis Title/ Topic area: Educating for Social Justice in programmes of Initial Teacher Education in Ireland
Supervisor(s): Dr. Joe Oyler, Dr. Suzanne O’Keeffe
Short Biography: Bríd Murphy is Head of Initial Teacher Education & Induction with the Teaching Council, where she oversees the professional accreditation of programmes of initial teacher education, the Council’s induction policy for newly qualified teachers, and the assessment of qualifications of teachers who qualify outside of the Republic of Ireland.
Bríd has a background in management and social sciences research. She holds a degree in Business Studies & Sociology, and a Masters in Applied Social Research, both from Trinity College Dublin. Bríd held managerial and research roles in private sector consulting and media production before joining the Teaching Council in 2016. Bríd has also previously acted as the Council’s Head of Teacher’s Learning & Research.
Bríd is particularly interested in the sociological and philosophical underpinnings of initial teacher education and the role of the teacher educator within ITE. Bríd is exploring what it means to educate for social justice in programmes of initial teacher education in Ireland.
Thesis Title/ Topic area: Enhancing Collaborative Professionalism in the Dyad of the Pre-Service teacher and Cooperating Teacher in the Mathematics classroom.
Supervisor(s): Dr Zerrin Doğança Küçük, Dr Celine Healy
Short Biography: Patricia Nunan is the Programme Director of the Professional Master of Education (PME) on the Post Primary programme in Hibernia College. Her background is as a Post Primary teacher of Mathematics and French. While on secondment to the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), she worked across many areas including Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA), Numeracy and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). During this time, she led the design of teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for the newly revised curriculum in Mathematical Applications. Patricia holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Higher Diploma in Education in Mathematics and French. She previously completed two postgraduate programmes in Maynooth University, namely the Higher Diploma in Educational Management and Administration (2003) and the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership (2009). She graduated from Waterford Institute of Technology in 2019 with a Master of Arts Management in Education (MAME).
Patricia’s research interests include initial teacher education and the role both mentoring and reflective practice play within. In her doctoral studies, Patricia is exploring the potential of the collaborative relationship between a Pre-Service teacher and Cooperating teacher in the Mathematics classroom. Using a design-based research methodology, she explores the dialogic opportunities for reciprocity in this relationship.
Thesis Title/ Topic area: ‘Learning to teach student teachers in school’: An exploratory case study of the learning associated with the role of cooperating primary teacher in the Irish context.
Supervisor(s): Dr. Rose Dolan (Education), Dr. Fiona Nic Fhionnlaoich (Froebel)
Short Biography: Mark O’Sullivan is a primary school teacher, currently seconded to the teacher support services as an Advisor. He has research interests in the areas of teacher education across the continuum, professional development and learning, and inclusive education. He holds a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and a Master of Education (M.Ed.) from Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership and Management (PGD ELM) from Maynooth University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs, specialising in Autism (PGD SEN) from the University of Galway. Mark has held a variety of roles in education, including in in-school management, as an Assistant Principal, in Initial Teacher Education, as a part-time Research Supervisor with Marino Institute of Education, and in Teacher Induction, as a part-time Associate with the National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT).
Mark is currently a doctoral student in Maynooth University’s Department of Education. His research is concerned with the professional development, preparation and learning experiences and needs of cooperating primary teachers who work with student teachers on school placement. In the current landscape of policy change and role reconceptualisation for cooperating teachers in Ireland, he is particularly interested in the learning experiences which inform cooperating teacher engagement with and enactment of the role, the spaces where this learning occurs, and the structures required to support this learning.
