Despite existing empirical work that explores the multiple ways in which students develop a sense of belonging in higher education, there is a dearth of comparative research about the extent to which the concepts of community and belonging are central to what it means to be a student and how students in different national contexts (beyond…

The purpose of this study was to review academic papers on the experiences of binary and non-binary trans people in physical education (PE), published between January 2000 and August 2022. The selection process yielded 16 articles from Brazil, the UK, Spain, Canada, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the USA. The discussion focuses on five themes…

Students' choices in higher education occupy a wide spectrum in recent academic and policy discussions. However, there has been little research on how government discourses on the knowledge-based economy shape, transform or influence students' choices at a micro-level. This paper uses a governmentality framework to link the ways in which the…

This research explored the experiences of children (age 9-10) when five Irish generalist primary teachers positioned meaningfulness as the priority filter for their pedagogical decision-making in physical education (n = 37). Pedagogies that support meaningfulness include those that are democratic and reflective, and give attention to individual…

For mature learners, the challenges and successes in undertaking a formal learning programme can be particularly significant, as they bring with them a range of prior experiences of, and attitudes toward learning. Older mature learners (i.e., 40+ years), represent a notable proportion of learners in further education and training in Ireland. This…

The situation caused by coronavirus disease 2019 closures in the spring of 2020 resulted in various restrictions for universities and led to a reorganisation of their operations. This created unprecedented challenges for all academic work. This study aimed to analyse the pandemic-related work experiences of doctoral researchers from several…

Assessment and feedback remain one of the biggest challenges when designing work-integrated learning (WIL) programs. Motivated by the paucity of student-facing research, this study explores the student experiences of assessment and feedback on work-placement modules across a variety of programs within a single university. Two hundred and seventy…

This paper examines attitudes to classism in Irish education using a thematic analysis of social media conversations about social class between 2018 and 2022. Previous research indicates that Irish education systems are designed by and favour the dominant and ruling classes. However, few studies use the voice of the lived experience to explore the…

Placement as a form of work-integrated learning is a valued element of undergraduate education. Prior work explores how placement provides a site for developing professional values, skills and competences as well as identifying how students build awareness of professional requirements. Greater focus on how such processes of awareness are realised,…

This research study considers third-level student experiences of electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) implementation during their education that occurred during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the purpose of this study was to identify the main challenges students face and document their experiences at an Irish higher…

There is a dearth of research with LGBTQI+ youth in PE and school sport, with particularly deep silences in relation to trans youth. Drawing from a qualitative study with trans and gender diverse youth in second-level schools in Ireland, this paper explores how trans and gender diverse young people are negotiating PE and school sport. A total of…

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…

Preservice teachers' schooling during their "apprenticeship of observation" has long been a focus of attention in teacher education as it is seen as influential in the development of teacher beliefs and in limiting preservice teachers' openness to alternative conceptions of teaching. Looking through the lens of autobiographical memory,…

This study explores how a group of pre-service teachers in the second year of a pre-service teachers masters program - the Postgraduate Master of Education (PME) - understood and practised collaborative learning (CL). Conducted over a six-year period (2015-2021), the study used semi-structured interviews (n=14) and surveys (n=100) to shed light on…

Refugee Background Mature Students, with many having come from the global South to seek asylum, form a minority group in higher education. This qualitative study uses a Critical Race Theory framework to examine the lived experience of four Refugee Background Mature Students from Angola and Nigeria with a focus on microaggresions, the everyday…