This article documents the process of collaboratively developing lesson hook e-resources for science teachers to establish a community of inquiry and to strengthen the pedagogy of science teaching. The authors aim to illustrate how the development and application of strategic hooks can bridge situational interest and personal interest so that…

Action research provides valuable opportunities for preservice teachers to improve their practice, their understanding of their practice, and the situation in which their practice takes place. Moreover, action research empowers preservice teachers to critically examine an experience that demonstrates their potential to be influential researchers…

This paper explores exclusion and equality through critical theory, in the context of adult literacy provision in Ireland, by investigating the sites of exclusion that exist for a group of five male adult literacy learners. A summary review of literacy theories, exclusion and equality is provided framing the reporting of data from this…

This paper describes a collaborative action research study in which peer assisted learning was deployed simultaneously across a range of disciplines in two institutes of technology in Ireland. The aim of the research was to determine if peer assisted learning enhances the learning experience of first year participants. An action research approach…

Parents of children waiting for a diagnostic assessment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience distress and anxiety while they wait. The present small-scale study took place in a multi-disciplinary therapeutic service in Ireland for children with ASD and was run between April and September 2011. The first author, an educational psychologist…

A significant challenge facing the IS discipline worldwide is the reversal of the low numbers of students currently enrolling in IS courses. While there is a growing body of literature which offers various insights into the IS enrollment crisis, almost all of this work is either from U.S. scholars or based on findings from U.S. universities. This…

This paper evaluates a participatory action research (PAR) approach to conducting family research in Ireland. Drawing on PAR methodology it describes how parents of people with intellectual disabilities were recruited and trained to facilitate focus groups of parents in Ireland, in order to create an evidence base to support improved dialogue…

Little research to date explores parental experiences of early intervention. This study uses action research over a six-month period to explore the expectations and experiences of parents whose children attended an early-intervention group for speech/language impairments. This intervention programme was facilitated by a speech and language…

This paper addresses the question: how can e-learning be embedded in traditional universities so that it contributes to the transformation of the university? The paper examines e-learning strategies in higher education, locating the institutional context within the broader framework of national and international policy drivers which link…