Education Commons^™

An Analysis Of The Impact And Efficacy Of An Online Mindfulness-Based Intervention As A Support For First-Year University Students, Wyndham Chalmers, Aiden Carthy, Maria Kenneally, Niamh Bruce, Colm Mcguinness, Philip Owende

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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many university courses transitioned to online delivery, therefore, educators and students faced new challenges associated with the delivery of modules and the provision of necessary student supports. Given the scale of this transition, it is likely that many universities will continue to teach remotely far beyond the reach of any pandemic specific restrictions. This study sought to explore the impact and efficacy of a five-week online mindfulness course to a cohort of first year university students (n = 25) at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland. Results demonstrated that participation in the course …

Definition And Characteristic Features Of A ‘Cultural Flashpoint’: A Case Study Of Exploring Masculinities, A Controversial Gender And Education Programme In Ireland, Joan Hanafin, Paul Conway, Cormac O Beaglaoich, Jack Hanafin

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The concept ‘cultural flashpoint’ (CF) has not been fully defined or described. The authors test this concept through the prism of a controversial gender-focused Irish school programme, Exploring Masculinities (EM). Adopting an instrumental case study methodology, they use media content analysis to develop a temporal trajectory of the CF, describe its shape, explicit and implied contentious themes, and its process. They identify characteristic features of a cultural flashpoint: (i) a focal issue, event and/or object; (ii) conflict; (iii) bounded time period; (iv) the involvement of exo- and multi-sectoral individuals and groups; (v) randomness, opaqueness and conflation among its expressions; and …

The Association Between Time Spent On Screens And Reading With Myopia, Premyopia And Ocular Biometric And Anthropometric Measures In 6- To 7-Year-Old Schoolchildren In Ireland, Síofra Harrington, Veronica O'Dwyer

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Purpose More time spent on near tasks has consistently been associated with the promotion of myopia. The World Health Organization advises limiting daily screentime to less than 2 h for children aged five and over. This study explored the relationship between time spent on screens and reading/writing with refractive status, ocular biometric and anthropometric factors in 6-to 7-year- olds in Ireland.

Methods Participants were 723 schoolchildren (377 boys [51.8%]), mean age 7.08 (0.45) years. The examination included cycloplegic autorefraction (1% cyclopentolate hydrochloride), ocular biometry (Zeiss IOLMaster), height (cm) and weight (kg). Screentime and reading/writing time were reported by parents/legal guardians …

The Creditor Duty Post Sequana: Lessons For Legislative Reform, John Quinn, Philip Gavin

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UK common law recognises that directors owe a fiduciary duty to consider creditors' interests when a company is insolvent or in financial difficulty. However, the scope of this duty remains unclear, particularly the degree of financial difficulty necessary for it to arise. In 2022, in BTI v Sequana, the Supreme Court did little to resolve these uncertainties, retaining a context first approach, where the duty's triggering point is based on the facts and the risk borne by creditors in the specific case. In contrast, Ireland codified its creditor duty in 2022, setting out a series of legislatively defined financial situations …

Internationalization As A Strategy To Enhance Higher Education Quality In Vietnam – Reflections From University Leaders, Nguyen Trong Hoai, Luong Vinh Quoc Duy, Damien Cassells

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Internationalization is viewed as an important strategy in the context of a country in transition from central planning to market orientation. Efforts to internationalize universities are being carried out at both national and institutional levels. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there has been no study to investigate how individual institutions approach internationalization and what they gain from that process. This paper aims to investigate the enhancement of teachers’ and students’ knowledge and skills using internationalization in Vietnam universities as a strategy.

Towards An Inclusive And Representative Academic Landscape, Linn Leppert, Katalin Solymosi, Yvonne Galligan

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This article is a summary of a panel discussion entitled ‘Towards an inclusive and representative academic landscape’, held at the Building Bridges Meeting of Academia Europaea and the Young Academy of Europe on 26 October 2022. The panellists were Professor Yvonne Galligan, director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Professor of Comparative Politics at the Technological University Dublin, Dr Katalin Solymosi, plant biologist, assistant professor at Eötvös Loránd University and vice-chair of the Young Academy of Europe, and Professor Stephen Curry, Assistant Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Professor of Structural Biology at Imperial College London. Dr Linn Leppert, …

Numeracy-Meets: An Innovative Professional Development Model For Adult Numeracy Practitioners In Ireland, Mark Prendergast, Annette Forster, Niamh O'Meara, Kathy O'Sullivan, Fiona Faulkner

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Despite the clear and obvious need for adults to be proficient in numeracy, international studies suggest that many continue to struggle in this area. In Ireland, one of the main challenges continues to be the availability of effective adult numeracy education. This is a diverse sector, and little is known about the varied provision of adult numeracy courses and of those who teach on them. Recent research has highlighted an unmet demand for the professional development of adult numeracy practitioners with many looking for opportunities to network and further develop their practice. This study aimed to design, implement and evaluate …

Racialization Of Muslim Students In Australia, Ireland, And The United States: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, Melanie C. Brooks, Miriam D. Ezzani Miriam D. Ezzani, Youcef Sai, Fida Sanjakdar

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The purpose of this qualitative cross-cultural case study was to better understand how Muslim students living in Australia, Ireland, and the United States navigated racism to identify ways in which school leaders and teachers can better address the structural, historical, and socioeconomic roots of racial injustice, discrimination, and ongoing oppression. Data collection was guided by a shared interview protocol that asked questions regarding family background, personal interests, identity, and friendships with a focus on their experiences of anti-Muslim racism in secondary schools. Findings suggested that Muslim students navigated racialization by (de)constructing their Muslimness, seeking voice, navigating between inclusion and exclusion, …

Something More Beautiful: Educational And Epistemic Integrations Beyond Inequities In Muslim-Minority Contexts, Claire Alkouatli, Nadeem Memom, Dylan Chown, Youcef Sai

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Islamic schools in Western secular societies are evolving in response to collective concerns over marginalization of Muslim children and communities and to increasing demands for high-quality education in the faith tradition. These schools are at the center of public debate over how they fit within secular societies. This paper aims to take a pedagogic look at the literature in the field of Islamic Education Studies.

Entrepreneurial Competencies In Action: Online Fundraising Initiatives By University Students, Thomas M. Cooney, Martina Brophy

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It has been argued that entrepreneurship educators are inclined to let students learn in a safe controlled environment, with no pressure except to pass the module. Students working in groups of three were given 12 weeks (Target 1) to develop a fundraising initiative, work with various stakeholders, and execute their online fundraising initiative to meet a target goal of €2000 (Target 2) per group. Employing approaches such as Effectuation, Lean Start-Up and the Business Model Canvas, a self-directed learning approach ensured students were able to take ownership of their learning journey with the lecturer acting as coach or facilitator. The …

Enhancing The Online Student Experience Through The Application Of Universal Design For Learning (Udl) To Research Methods Learning And Teaching, Mairéad Seymour

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This paper documents the process and outcomes of redesigning an online research methods module for taught postgraduate students using Universal Design for Learning (UDL). It also explores the effectiveness of UDL-informed design and practice to support the development of social, cognitive and teacher presence as defined under the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. The paper is based on findings from an online survey with students taking a research methods module as part of their Master of Arts (MA) programme. The findings point to a number of UDL-informed structures and practices that supported students' engagement on the module. These include (a) …

Understanding Professional Skills In Engineering Education: A Phenomenographic Study Of Faculty Conceptions, Una Beagon, Brian Bowe

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Abstract Background Globalization and socially complex problems will greatly affect the way engineers work in the future. Therefore, efforts to transform engineering education must focus on professional skills and engagement of faculty as key change agents.

Purpose/Hypotheses For engineering programs to address the needs of society, graduates must have the skills to tackle future challenges. Transformation will only be successful if faculty fully engage in all curriculum design aspects; however, little is known about how faculty view professional skills. This understanding is critical if we wish to support and encourage their participation in the transformation effort. This novel study reveals …

Ar/Vr Teaching-Learning Experiences In Higher Education Institutions (Hei): A Systematic Literature Review, Belen Bermejo, Carlos Juiz, David Cortes, Jeroen Oskam, Teemu Moilanen, Jouko Loijas, Praneschen Govender, Jenniifer Hussey, Alexander Lennart Schmidt, Ralf Burbach, Daniel King, Colin O'Connor, David Dunlea

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During the last few years, learning techniques have changed, both in basic education and in higher education. This change has been accompanied by new technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (AR). The combination of these technologies in education has allowed a greater immersion, positively affecting the learning and teaching processes. In addition, since the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend has been growing due to the diversity of the different fields of application of these technologies, such as heterogeneity in their combination and their different experiences. It is necessary to review the state of the art to determine the …

Interfacing Between Blended Case Teaching And International Case Competitions As Undergraduate Student Inquiry And Literacy In Marketing Programmes, Roisin Donnelly, Roger Sherlock

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This practice example explores the inquiry-based relationship for students between case teaching and international competitions in Marketing. This work is based on the premise that undergraduate Marketing students in a College of Business should experience learning through and about inquiry and enhance their research literacy as a result. Although for many students research-oriented ways of engaging them with inquiry are fairly passive experiences, we believe student engagement in case study competitions offer a primarily active and exciting learning opportunity. In a broader sense, the framework offered by Healey & Jenkins (2009) which is explored in this example, is based on …

Fostering Spatial Ability Development In And For Authentic Stem Learning, Caiwei Zhu, Chloe Oi-Ying Leung, Eleni Lagoudaki, Mariana Velho, Natalia Segura-Caballero, Dietsje Jolles, Gavin Duffy, Gunter Maresch, Marianna Pagkratidou, Remke Klapwijk

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Empirical interdisciplinary research has explored the role of spatial ability in STEM learning and achievement. While most of this research indicates that fostering spatial thinking in educational contexts has the potential to positively impact students’ enrollment and performance in STEM subjects, there is less agreement on the best approach to do so. This article provides an overview of various types of effective spatial interventions and practices in formal or informal educational contexts, including targeted training of STEM-relevant spatial skills, spatialized curricula embedded in schools, integrated STEM practices addressing students’ use of spatial skills, and spatial activities in informal STEM education. …

Multistage Sustainability Education For University Engineering Students: A Case Study From Mechanical Engineering In Technological University Dublin, Kevin Delaney

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Sustainability will be a key challenge that future engineering graduates must consider when solving problems. This paper sets out the approach taken in the mechanical engineering discipline of Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) to help students acquire and develop the requisite skills to integrate aspects of sustainability when tackling engineering problems. The approach, which has already been implemented across a number of different design and innovation modules, consists of two distinct phases. In the first, students are educated about sustainability and related issues. In the second phase, students are educated for sustainability and are taught to identify, define and solve …

Experiencing Dyslexia Through The Prism Of Difference, Keith Murphy

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According to research by AHEAD (2021), students with specific learning difficulties (SLD) are accessing third level education in greater numbers than ever before. Within the body of research conducted few studies have focused on the overall experiences of students with dyslexia studying in third level education. The current study addresses this gap in knowledge as it provides an insight into how students with dyslexia, as an SLD, navigate third level education. Ethnography was used as the principal method of research in this project, and 17 participants, ranging in age from 20 years old to mid-40 years old, took part. The …

Discovering Child Sexual Abuse Material Creators’ Behaviors And Preferences On The Dark Web, Vuong Ngo, Rahul Gajula, Christina Thorpe, Susan Mckeever

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Background: Producing, distributing or discussing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) is often committed through the dark web in order to remain hidden from search engines and regular users. Additionally, on the dark web, the CSAM creators employ various techniques to avoid detection and conceal their activities. The large volume of CSAM on the dark web presents a global social problem and poses a significant challenge for helplines, hotlines and law enforcement agencies.

Objective: Identifying CSAM discussions on the dark web and uncovering associated metadata insights into characteristics, behaviours and motivation of CSAM creators.

Participants and Setting: We have conducted an …