Arts partnerships involving teachers, artists and arts organizations continue to be popular as a means of delivering arts education. Acting as an intermediary between schools and artists, arts brokers can be crucial to the successful implementation of these partnerships. Characterized as individuals who can act as channels for innovative practice,…

With the inclusion of play as a right, schools are urged to consider whether "all" children can access play opportunities in schoolyards. Refocusing on play as occupation is identified as an important way in which occupational therapists can contribute within schools. Greater knowledges of children's play and teachers' practices, in…

In March 2023, the Department of Education published the "Primary Curriculum Framework" for primary and special schools in Ireland. Reflecting trends in international curriculum reform centred on the needs and priorities of twenty-first century learning and life, the Framework proposes a set of seven key competencies which are presented…

Forest School, an experiential, nature-based pedagogy is attracting considerable interest in Ireland presently. This paper presents findings from the first national survey of Forest School pedagogy in Ireland, conducted in 2019-2020 as part of a larger study. The aim of the survey was to find out how Forest School pedagogy is understood by adults…

There is limited research pertaining to primary teachers' practices in geography education in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). Geography is one of only primary curriculum subjects which has never been reviewed since its enactment in 1999. This study addresses this research gap, establishing clarity on current teaching practices by presenting a…

Injury and illness can occur in children. Since children spend a considerable amount of time in school, teachers must have the ability to assist when required. However, no research to date has examined Irish primary school teachers' experiences, training and knowledge in first aid. An online survey (n = 587) examined Irish male and female primary…

Purpose: Competence in fundamental movement skills (FMS) is purported to be linked with increased physical activity participation. Yet, recent research suggests a low level of FMS proficiency in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, impact on gender, and influence of teacher fidelity on the Moving Well-Being Well…

Background: Family-school connections during the transition from preschool to primary school are crucial, as they serve to bridge the gap between the home and school learning environments. In order to support children's learning and engagement throughout their school career, more needs to be understood about the factors that contribute to…

Based on a qualitative study of teachers, teacher educators and educational policy makers, this paper examines how political history is framed within national history curricula at primary level and practised within classrooms in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Within the ROI, educational policy and practice appears…

The COVID-19 pandemic is an event that will be written about in history, given its impact on life across the globe, on ways of working, on mortality rates and on day to day living. How schools undertook their work changed across the pandemic, as school buildings both in Ireland and across the world closed for long periods of time. In this…

"Musical Futures" is an approach to music education grounded in the principles of informal learning. Research has shown that "Musical Futures" has profoundly impacted teaching and learning in music, pupil engagement and educational strategies for music (Green, Lucy. 2002. "How Popular Musicians Learn: A Way Ahead for Music…

Movement integration (MI) has recently been highlighted as a means to contribute to children's physical activity (PA) and academic development. This study evaluates teacher and student perceptions of participating in the Moving to Learn Ireland MI programme and reports associated student PA levels. Three classroom teachers in one multi-grade…

In the Republic of Ireland, primary school teaching is a very attractive profession with pay being above the OECD average (Heinz and Keane 2018; Hennessey and Lynch 2017). This paper investigates how the Department of Education Inspectorate and the Teaching Council of Ireland position primary school teacher professionalism. The paper presents the…

The focus of this study is to investigate if a physical activity initiaitive (The Daily Mile) centred on running could be adapted to enhance primary school children's enjoyment of and engagement with physical activity. An intervention took place over a 4-week period consisting of two components: The Daily Mile and an adapted component, The Extra…

This is a small-scale qualitative participatory research study conducted in two large primary schools in Ireland with classes for autistic students. The paper reports how a menu of immersive technology learning experiences was thoughtfully designed and employed with autistic children who were communicating through their behavior an aversion to the…