In recent years, we have seen an increased politicisation and objectification of what teachers should know, what teachers should do and who teachers should be while they are doing it. While evident across the continua of teacher education, such politicised constructions are particularly acute at initial teacher education. Given such attention to…

The internationalisation of the population of Ireland in recent decades has created a more culturally diverse society. Hence teachers need to have the necessary skills to teach in ethno-culturally diverse classrooms. In addition, teachers need to have required tools and knowledge to teach in increasingly multicultural classrooms. This article…

In a climate of pandemic recovery and taking this opportunity to be reflective and reflexive in our practice we set out to examine how we can make a change to the playful experiences of children aged 4-6 years old in Irish infant primary classrooms. As teacher educators in play and play-based learning, in higher education, we are confronted by…

In many countries, statistics has become a core constituent of the primary mathematics curriculum. Consequently, statistics education has become a larger component of mathematics education programmes in Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Due to the established links between teacher attitudes and ensuing classroom practices, it is important to gain…

This paper presents the lived experience of a practitioner researcher working as a teacher educator engaging in action research with primary pre-service teachers (PSTs). Aligning with the work of Cook (2009) ['The Purpose of Mess in Action Research: Building Rigour Though a Messy Turn.' "Educational Action Research" 17 (2): 277-291] this…

Teachers today must not only be prepared to use technology but must also know how to use it (Butler, D., K. Marshall, and M. Leahy. 2015. "Shaping the Future: How Technology Can Lead to Educational Transformation, 1st ed." Dublin: Liffey Press). The purpose of this study was to explore two primary physical education initial teacher…

This article overviews the contemporary context for teaching Religious Education (RE) in Ireland and profiles changing religious demographics in an increasingly secular context. It presents the findings of a two-year mixed-methods study undertaken in two third-level Catholic colleges in Ireland, investigating four hundred third-level Initial…

Research has shown immersion to be effective, yet our understanding about the integration of language and content in Irish-medium immersion (IMI) pedagogy remains incomplete. This article reports on how the teaching of mathematics in the IMI elementary setting, supported pre-service teachers in bridging the language and content gap. The study…

As part of an international collaborative design-based research initiative, this study examines the applications and perceptions of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) among pre-service primary teachers within an Irish educational program. It focuses on how personal and academic uses of Gen AI influence their perceptions of using Gen AI…

Enquiry-based learning (EBL) in primary schools is a constructivist approach which has a strong focus on children asking questions, working together, selecting and interpreting sources, on collecting information, and on interpreting and analysing what is found. This paper reports the results of questionnaire surveys and focus group interviews…

Research examining the characteristics of both qualified and pre-service teachers focuses on traits including gender, socio-economic and socio-demographic background, knowledge and a variety of relevant affective constructs. Studies also investigate such traits among entrants to initial teacher education (ITE). The desire for more diversity within…

Supporting pre-service primary teachers to develop the required specialist knowledge for teaching mathematics is a complex task. The knowledge required for mathematics teaching at primary level is multi-faceted and the efficacy of mathematics teaching is inextricably intertwined with a teacher's own beliefs and attitudes about mathematics and…

Probability education has fast become a contested area, with curriculum authorities in some countries recently suspending its introduction until the post-primary years. In other countries, children as young as 7 years are introduced to informal probability concepts. These recent international shifts in practice have contributed to a paucity of…

In order to teach a language effectively, teachers need to be both proficient users of the target language, and have an explicit understanding of its linguistic structures. This study reports on the linguistic knowledge of Irish of a group of student primary teachers (SPTs) (N = 75) preparing to teach in primary schools in the Republic of Ireland.…

Professional learning (PL) for inclusion is a key policy focus internationally, arising from a growing commitment to the goal of a rights-based approach to education for all. Transformative teacher PL for inclusion is paramount to this goal but it is a complex endeavour, as evidenced in the persistent knowledge-practice gap relating to inclusive…