Notable within the rhetoric of recent global reform trends is the (re)positioning of teachers from peripheral to critical stakeholders in educational change processes. Responding to this imperative, programmes of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) are now frequently tasked with promoting teacher agency as a core dimension of teaching. Yet, much…

Effective continued professional development (CPD) is critical in preparing teachers for implementing curricular changes. Utilising the professional design framework [Loucks-Horsley, S., Stiles, K. E., Mundry, S. E., Love, N. B., & Hewson, P. W. (2009). "Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics."…

Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, was launched in Ireland in 2009. The framework is applicable in all settings where children in the 0-6-year range are present; this includes all early years settings and the first two years of primary schools, referred to as "infant classes" in the Irish context. This article shares the…

This case study focuses on the journey and progress to date within the Irish education system to redevelop the national primary school curriculum. While the redevelopment process focuses on all aspects of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, a particular focus is placed on elements relating to whole-child development. Central to this is an…

Changes in society demand constantly evolving education systems. Teachers' practice is crucial to the successful implementation of educational reforms. A major obstacle for practicing teachers in implementing reform mathematics is that they have not experienced it themselves as learners. Consequently, teachers require extended, practice-based…

Humour is discussed in this article in relation to drama education in Ireland. Humour is identified as a potentially important feature of children's engagement in drama, and this is explained by an exploration of humour theory. Examples of how humour positively affects the experience of drama participation are also considered. The discussion is in…

The purpose of this paper was to examine Irish Physical Education teachers' views on curriculum change at the beginning of its implementation stage, with a particular focus on revision to the Physical Education curriculum and the new Wellbeing programme. In the light of these revisions, teachers were asked to make considerable changes to their…

The curriculum development process is complex and developing a worthwhile process to support curriculum inception is a valuable endeavour. This paper explores the experiences of the curriculum development process through the lens of an expert advisory committee charged with developing a post-primary curriculum for publicly managed schools in line…

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…

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 this study, we aimed to analyze Irish educators' differentiation practices and their relationship to teachers' sense of efficacy. We examined teachers' (N = 470) reports of their curriculum modification practices and their provision of challenge or choice. When their students had mastered the required class work, more than half of teachers were…

Teacher educators act as a conduit to student teachers of policy and this has an impact on practice. Changes in policy affect how subjects are viewed in terms of their importance. This research seeks to explore the apparent increase in emphasis on wellbeing development in policy which influences the work of arts teacher educators, alongside a…

This article investigates the position of environmental education in the primary school curriculum over the past 150 years in the Republic of Ireland. The extent of how wider social, political, and cultural developments influence the way in which teachers and learners experience environmental education can be seen through the curricular changes.…

Across the world, countries have engaged in different iterations of curriculum change, and one of the common denominators of reform is the proposal of more agency for teachers around curriculum making. This is not an easy task for teachers. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about the effects that international ERASMUS+…

Despite the potential magnitude of the influence of teacher educators on school curriculum, Ball et al. (2011). Policy actors: Doing policy work in schools. "Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 32"(4), 625-639. https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1080/01596306.2011.601565) argue that teacher educators are frequently excluded from…