Current approaches to research in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), in particular in relation to methods designed to interrogate policy and practice developments, tend not to focus on gathering empirical data through collaborative networks. This article provides a critical reflection on a novel qualitative methodological…

This article offers a global overview of the burgeoning field of micro-credentials and their relationship to lifelong learning, employability and new models of digital education. Although there is no globally accepted definition of micro-credentials, the term indicates smaller units of study, which are usually shorter than traditional forms of…

This paper introduces the Teachers' Research Exchange (T-REX), an online community of practice that is currently being deployed on a pilot basis nationwide in Ireland as a response to the "research-practice gap". The system includes collaborative, educational, and technical components. The technical aspect is the social networking and…

A national qualifications framework (NQF) is an instrument used to classify a country's qualifications at different levels. Each level is defined by a set of learning outcomes expected at that level. NQFs can be useful tools in education and training reforms and are vital reference points for lifelong learning and comparing qualifications across…

Any consideration of recent and proposed developments in education and training at European Union (EU) level points, in a word, to "Lisbon". "Lisbon", as in the "Lisbon Agenda", is the destination, the compass and the journey driving developments in education and training systems in the EU member states. This paper…

University College Cork (UCC) and excluded/disadvantaged communities on Cork's Northside undertook a partnership project. The partnership process exposed real divisions and differences among the partners and stakeholders on the link between participation and partnership and on the continuum of issues ranging from the more traditionalist model of…