Dr Suzanne O’Keeffe
Biography
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4344-2488
Suzanne O’Keeffe is Assistant Professor of Education in the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Maynooth University, Ireland.
Suzanne's body of work explores the concept of power: who has it, who uses it and how. It makes a coherent contribution towards capturing the realities of teacher’s professional lives, providing new ways of understanding lived experiences and raising important questions about everyday working arrangements, job strain, and policy production. A highlight of Suzanne's work is that it examines the concept of power in relation to teacher’s lives under the categories of (a) gender and (b) knowledge production.
Research Interests
Research Projects
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | O'Keeffe (2023) 'New Modes of Marginalisation: Teachers' In: Routledge Research in Education. Oxon and New York : Routledge. | |
| 2021 | O'Keeffe, S. (2021) 'Artificial boundaries? Shaping policy through empowering research' In: Recruiting and Educating the Best Teachers: Policy, Professionalism and Pedagogy. Netherlands : Brill Publishers. [Full-Text] | |
| 2020 | O'Keeffe, S. (2020) 'Quality Teachers and Quality Teacher Education Exploring Wellbeing, Gender and Job Satisfaction' In: Studies on Quality Teachers and Quality In-service Teacher Education. Warsaw : Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE) Publications. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | O’Keeffe, S. (2022) 'Identities at Work: The Staffroom, Playground, and School Environment' In: Palgrave Studies In Gender And Education. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | O’Keeffe, S. (2022) 'Introduction' In: Palgrave Studies In Gender And Education. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | O’Keeffe, S. (2022) 'Masculinities and Non-human Bodies' In: Palgrave Studies In Gender And Education. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | O’Keeffe, S. (2022) 'Connecting Power, Emotions, and Materiality Through Data Analysis' In: Palgrave Studies In Gender And Education. [Link] [DOI] |
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | O’Toole L.; McClelland D.; Forde D.; O'Keeffe S.; Purdy N.; Säfström C.A.; Walsh T. (2021) 'Contested childhoods across borders and boundaries: Insights from curriculum provisions in Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in the 1920s'. British Educational Research Journal, 47 (4):1021-1038. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3708 [Full-Text] | |
| 2021 | Biesta G.; Heugh K.; Cervinkova H.; Rasiński L.; Osborne S.; Forde D.; Wrench A.; Carter J.; Säfström C.A.; Soong H.; O’Keeffe S.; Paige K.; Rigney L.I.; O’Toole L.; Hattam R.; Peters M.A.; Tesar M. (2021) 'Philosophy of education in a new key: publicness, social justice, and education; a South-North conversation'. Educational Philosophy and Theory, . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2021 | O' Keeffe, S (2021) 'Artificial boundaries? Shaping policy through empowering research'. Irish Educational Studies, . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2020 | O' Keeffe, S; Skerritt, C (2020) 'Exploring teacher identity using poststructural tools'. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2019 | Ring, E.; O'Sullivan, L.; O'Keeffe, S.; Ferris, F. and Wall, E. (2019) 'Transforming the Lives of Early Childhood Teachers, Autistic Children and their Families: Findings and Recommendations from an Evaluation of a Programme of Continuing Professional Development'. The Adult Learner, . [Full-Text] | |
| 2018 | O'Keeffe, S (2018) 'Experiences of care labour, gender and work for men who teach young children'. Palgrave Communications, 4 . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2018 | O'Keeffe S.; Deegan J. (2018) 'Gendered positionality among Irish male primary teachers: the staff room as a site of performative masculinity'. Irish Educational Studies, 37 (3):373-389. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2017 | (2017) 'EQUALITY, INCLUSION AND OPPORTUNITY: CONTEMPORARY IRISH SCHOOLS AND MODERN MASCULINITIES'. European Journal Of Education Studies, . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | (2017) 'Doing Feminist Research: The Interview as Method'. Sage Research Methods Cases, . http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526403889 | |
| 2016 | O'Keeffe S. (2016) 'What are male teachers’ understandings of masculinities?—An exploration of sex, gender and bodies in Irish primary schools'. Palgrave Communications, 2 . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2016 | (2016) 'What are male teachers' understandings of masculinities?- An exploration of sex, bodies, and gender in Irish primary schools'. Palgrave Communications, . [DOI] | |
| 2022 | O’Keeffe S. (2022) 'Conclusion'. Palgrave Studies In Gender And Education, :81-90. [DOI] | |
| 2022 | O’Keeffe S. (2022) 'Emotions and Reshaping Masculinities'. Palgrave Studies In Gender And Education, :39-56. [DOI] | |
| 2017 | (2017) 'How do you teach like a man?'. Intouch Magazine, . |
Other Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | O'Keeffe, S. (2017) 'How do you teach like a man?' Irish National Teachers Organisation Magazine, (168) :52-53. [Full-Text] | |
| 2014 | O'Keeffe, S. (2014) 'Why the decline in male primary school teachers?' Irish National Teachers Organisation Magazine, (148) :43-44. [Full-Text] |
Conference Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | O'Keeffe, S. (2017) Academic International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies and Education . In: Dr. Ramandeep Kaur Chhina eds. HOW DO YOU TEACH LIK E A MAN? POLITICS AN D PERCEPTIONS OF MEN WORKING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN London, [Link] |
Conference Contribution
Educational Article
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | O'Keeffe, S. (2020) How to teach children about feminism. Online at: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/1123/1179902-how-to-teach-children-about-feminism/: [Educational Article] [Link] |
Case
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | O'Keeffe, S. (2019) Using a Voice-Centred Relational Method of Data Analysis to Study Male Teachers’ Daily Experiences. London: [Case] [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2017 | O'Keeffe, S. (2017) The Interview As Method: Doing Feminist Research. London: [Case] [Link] | |
| 2018 | O'Keeffe, S. (2018) The Interview and Social Relations: Exploring How Gender Shapes the Research Process. London: [Case] http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526430748 |
Blog
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | O'Keeffe, S. (2024) 3 reasons children can benefit from yoga and a 5-step practice for them. Online: [Blog] [Link] | |
| 2025 | O'Keeffe, S. (2025) Do you need lessons in love?. Online: [Blog] [Link] | |
| 2024 | O'Keeffe, S. (2024) Are you being driven to distraction by technology?. Online: [Blog] [Link] |
Professional Associations
Honors and Awards
Committees
Education
Other Activities
Outreach Activities
Teaching Interests
- Master of Education (Research in Practice) programme co-ordinator.
This programme aims to provide opportunities for educators to explore and examine aspects of their own practice with a view to improving the educational experiences of the students in their care. Central to the programme is the development of a reflective disposition which is a core principle underpinning action research. Recent Teaching Council policies such as Induction (Droichead) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) (Cosán) promote teaching as a lifelong learning continuum along with the concept of teacher as researcher.
- Sociology of Education
Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education
Education Department
EDF 126: An important objective of this module is strengthening student teachers’ reflexivity on their own professional learning and that of their pupils, and to prepare student teachers to support their pupils in achieving their full potential. This is achieved through engagement with the following topics covered in this module: types of schooling; society, culture and identity; norms, values and roles; the hidden curriculum and inequality in education.
EDF 237: Through engagement with sociology of education, student teachers are supported to examine how structures and systems in place, both locally and globally, explain how people interact with each other, the impact on educational outcomes and the undeniable interconnectedness of modern life.
EDF 328: This module fosters student teachers’ reflexivity on their own professional learning and that of their pupils by highlighting the relationship between schools and the wider society. Acknowledging that this association is critical and complex, the module explores structural forces at play and contextualises them against a theoretical framework of social justice and equality. Sociology of Education provides an opportunity to engage with topics such as race, ethnicity, identity, types of schooling, which will support newly qualified teachers to facilitate quality teaching and learning for all pupils. The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and individual experiences affects education and its outcome. The topics covered in this module seek to explain how people relate with one another, how hidden structures play an important role in everyday life, how individuals behave and how all these combined impacts on education and its outcome. In total, the topics addressed in sociology of education foster student teachers’ abilities to support their pupils in achieving their full potential.
EDF602(A): This module examines the social context of learning, locating the school as a key institution and learning site in contemporary society. A range of theories and research are introduced to provide insights to the web of social, cultural, economic and political factors that underpin learning in contemporary society.
EDM615: This module seeks to help students examine the social contexts of teaching, learning and schooling utilising foundational principles and theories from the disciplines of Sociology and Sociology of Education. Research and theory from the field will help enhance student’s critical awareness and practical understanding related to the web of social, cultural and political factors that underpin learning in contemporary society. A range of theories and research are introduced to provide insights to the web of social, cultural, economic and political factors that underpin learning in contemporary society. Module lectures, activities and materials will highlight the embedded and interdependent nature of learning; critically assesses its role at a personal level (as a learner, teacher, family member, etc), institutional level (the schooling system) and the broader social, cultural, economic & political level.
EDF 128: Student teachers will explore the dynamic processes by which curriculum is designed and facilitated for all pupils, with a particular focus on the junior primary classes. The recognition of the central role of play, as outlined in Aistear (NCCA, 2009), and pupils as active agents in their own learning will guide experiential learning activities across SPHE. The organisation and attributes of a Froebelian learning environment with concrete materials will be introduced so the student teachers become aware of the interdependence of teachers’ learning and pupil learning and the importance of teacher-pupil relationships in the teaching/learning process through guided discovery and inquiry-based learning. A range of methodologies to achieve planned outcomes will be experienced including opportunities to experiment with and explore new and emerging technologies for teaching and learning.
EDF 229: In relation to the middle primary classes, students will continue to explore the dynamic processes by which curriculum is designed and facilitated for all pupils. These are underpinned by a broad range of theoretical lenses, including literature pertaining to Integration and Problem-based Learning, Assessment and Universal Design for Learning and digital learning methodologies.