Over 60 years of technology development, transformation of educational policy and curriculum innovation in Ireland have resulted in the introduction of the Computer Science (CS) subject in Post-Primary (PP) Education. CS has always been conceived digitally and the Digital Learning Experiences (DLE) enacted through its curriculum are strongly…

The value and importance of play for children's well-being, learning and development is evidenced by its inclusion within the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its increased policy and research presence on a national and international stage. However, with a need for educators and pupils to navigate a range of implicit tensions in…

In an attempt to resolve some of the lingering tensions involved in understanding play as learning in practice, a group of Irish student teachers in the final years of their degree programme participated in an intervention known as 'PLAI' (Playful Learning Across Ireland). This paper reports on the impact of such an intervention on student…

Internationally, second level curriculum policy for STEM education is concentrating its efforts on promoting curriculum-making pedagogies, with enquiry-based teaching and learning at the forefront of this change. Policy aspirations have not translated well into practice, evidenced by science practical lessons consistently being delivered as…

"Musical Futures" approaches, with their roots in informal learning, have been the subject of much research internationally, with studies showing their significant impact on music education policy and practice. Within a theoretical framework drawn from the work of the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this paper examines the manifestation of…

Increasingly, school leaders and teachers are being expected to use digital technologies to collect data to analyze, plan and organize teaching and learning. Such expectations can be traced to a number of policy initiatives over the last decade. This study is concerned with how educational policy puts forward ambitions of digital school leadership…

Schools have long been identified as important sites in terms of instilling values within the next generation. In order to develop our understanding of values, this paper sets out to explore how values are understood in Irish educational legislation, policies and curriculum. Irish Legislation, policies and curricula were searched systematically.…

This article reports on an investigation of a workshop approach to probe and deepen Irish preservice teachers' (PSTs') initial professional pedagogical vision of inquiry-based science education (IBSE). In an effort to understand the experiential and historical foundation of their vision, we report on the current culture of science teaching and…

Technology is omnipresent in our rapidly changing digital world. Capitalising on these technologies is paramount for education systems to support a modern workforce. This study presents a review of 10 countries, highlighting how different public education systems have integrated digital technologies for teaching and learning. These education…

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…

Recent decades have witnessed a change in European governments' policies from benign neglect to active management of religious diversity, where Islam is often seen as the most challenging religion for the European social order. However, the ways in which this 'management' is justified and undertaken varies from country to country and depends on…

In recent years, play-based learning (PBL) has attracted attention, debate and controversy across different national contexts. There is no definitional consensus which may have undesirable consequences for enacting its potential in professional practice. The aim of our study was to synthesize international research on ECE practitioners' views on…

A philosophical shift in policy now situates the development of technological capability as the focus of Irish technology education. Internationally, the effectiveness of curricular reform in the discipline has previously been called to question, as the legacy of the preceding vocational craft subjects has been seen to throttle the evolution of…

The needs of a globalized economy are rapidly changing what is legitimated as school knowledge and values, and calling up new understandings of teachers' role in stimulating democratic spaces. We have termed this "Teachers' Democratic Assignment." We examine changing notions of teachers' democratic assignment in Ireland and Sweden using…

Research on the role of teachers in supporting students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in schools in the Republic of Ireland has largely focused on primary and special schools rather than secondary school settings. This study examined the theoretical and practical knowledge base of Irish secondary teachers regarding the inclusion of learners…