Arts partnerships involving teachers, artists and arts organizations continue to be popular as a means of delivering arts education. Acting as an intermediary between schools and artists, arts brokers can be crucial to the successful implementation of these partnerships. Characterized as individuals who can act as channels for innovative practice,…

All schools possess a duty of care towards their students. However, this duty of care falls unevenly across schools, with those serving low-income communities often responding to the material and psychological effects of poverty as a priority. This duty of care for such schools was placed into stark relief during the period of COVID-19 school…

Forest School, an experiential, nature-based pedagogy is attracting considerable interest in Ireland presently. This paper presents findings from the first national survey of Forest School pedagogy in Ireland, conducted in 2019-2020 as part of a larger study. The aim of the survey was to find out how Forest School pedagogy is understood by adults…

The COVID-19 pandemic is an event that will be written about in history, given its impact on life across the globe, on ways of working, on mortality rates and on day to day living. How schools undertook their work changed across the pandemic, as school buildings both in Ireland and across the world closed for long periods of time. In this…

This study describes the initial implementation of the writing component of the "Write to Read" ("W2R") literacy intervention in eight low-SES (socio-economically disadvantaged) elementary-level urban schools. Through customised onsite professional development provided by coaches, the writing component sought to build teachers'…

Background: Schools located in indigenous Irish-speaking areas collectively known as the "Gaeltacht" are unique in terms of their sociocultural and linguistic identity and important in the key role they play in the preservation of the language. Those situated in Category A Gaeltacht districts are Irish-medium schools in communities with…

Background: Socioeconomic characteristics are persistently and systematically related to academic outcomes, despite long-standing efforts to reduce educational inequality. Ireland has a strong policy focus on alleviating educational disadvantage and has seen significant improvements in mathematics and science performance in recent years. This…

The transition from primary to secondary school is regarded as one of the most difficult crossings in students' educational careers. The move, which typically occurs between the ages of twelve and fourteen, can be particularly pronounced for mathematics. This article describes the results of a questionnaire distributed in the Republic of Ireland…

In Ireland, as with many international jurisdictions, digital technology is firmly positioned at the core of educational discourses. However, despite a rise in 'techno-positivity' among professionals in schools, these positive attitudes do not seem to permeate through to practice nor in effective learning outcomes. As a result, given the…

Neoliberalism is a pervasive phenomenon. A fundamental neoliberal concept allows for the selection of the best and most suitable option available for a specific course of action in any aspect of society. Not unexpectedly, the educational field, including physical education (PE), has been influenced by neoliberal ideas. A key element of…

Underpinning all literacy skills in English is a clear, and explicit, Knowledge about Language (KAL), including grammar and genre. This paper promotes a language-focused perspective of teaching, looking at one, distinct area of KAL within Irish schooling. This paper details an explicit English language intervention with young pupils (aged 6-7) in…

This paper picks up and elaborates on the conception of policy translators in schools -- key actors in the enactment of policy. The qualitative data presented here highlight how it is often middle leaders doing high-profile policy work in schools, turning ideas into actions and bringing policy to life. As translators, they organise, manage, lead,…

Student voice pedagogies in physical education (PE) offer teachers a mechanism to promote meaningful experiences by actively engaging students in decision-making regarding their learning. Over one academic year, the experiences of one generalist classroom teacher's enactment of student voice pedagogies in their primary PE practice were explored…

Amidst changing sociocultural and political climates, limited economic resources and shifting educational policies, classroom teachers continue to hold a significant responsibility in educating an increasingly diverse student population. Balancing the requirement to support student variability within perceived everchanging contexts can be…

While the Irish language (Gaeilge) is the traditional language of Ireland, it is spoken on a daily basis by a decreasing minority of people. There is an increasing trend for parents to send children, whose first language is English, to Irish-medium schools, where the language of instruction is Irish. Little research has been undertaken regarding…