Social and Behavioral Sciences 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

Articles

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 …

An Analysis Of The Impact And Efficacy Of Online Emotional Intelligence Coaching As A Support Mechanism For University Students, Aiden Carthy, Wyndham Chalmers, Eoghan Guiry, Philip Owende

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As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, many college courses have pivoted to complete online delivery and colleges are also tasked with providing student supports online. It is likely this transition will last beyond any COVID-19 specific restrictions, therefore this small-scale, exploratory study examined the efficacy and impact of the provision of a 5 week online emotional intelligence (EI) coaching programme to a cohort of Irish university students (n = 19) studying at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). Results revealed that the average overall level of EI increased for participants following the coaching programme. Students reported that they believed …

Social Care Graduates’ Judgements Of Their Readiness And Preparedness For Practice, Fiona Mcsweeney, David Williams

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While research has been conducted on social work graduates’ views of their readiness and preparedness for practice, the views of social care workers have not been specifically researched. This paper reports on the views of social care graduates in Ireland of how ready they are to join the workforce and how their educational programme has prepared them. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with the same participants. The first was at the end of their final year in college and the second between 9 and 12 months later when they were in employment. Findings indicate that participants, while apprehensive, felt ready …

Emotional Intelligence And Graduates - Employers' Perspectives, Ailish Jameson, Aiden Carthy, Colm Mcguinness, Fiona Mcsweeney

Articles

Research has demonstrated that employers favour graduates who possess higher levels of emotional intelligence. Many

initiatives to increase students’ levels of EI have involved ‘whole school’ approaches, whereby generic EI skills programmes are

delivered to all students in a third level institute. This paper details an initial survey of employers’ (n = 500) opinions on the

importance and current level of graduates’ social and emotional competencies. The survey was completed across five sectors:

engineering, IT/computing, professional services (including accounting, business, finance, HR, law, retail), science (including

pharmaceutical and life), and social science which are identified growth industries in Ireland. It …

Digital Literacy: Why It Matters, Allison Kavanagh, K.C. O'Rourke

Articles

In the past two decades the internet, email, apps, mobile devices and all associated hardware and software have become firmly embedded in everyday life, to the extent that it often feels that we have had no control over this phenomenon. What are the implications for education?

Primary and secondary students today have grown up with the always-connected life which the internet has enabled. However, the credence given to the idea that this makes them fully comfortable and aware as "digital natives" is misguided. The social implications of the internet society – surveillance and the decline of privacy, cyberbullying and so …

Thinking Outside The Box: Promoting Learning Through Emotional And Social Skills Development, Aiden Carthy, Sinead Mcgilloway

Articles

The European Qualifications Framework provides a useful insight into the kinds of outcomes and abiliti es that are promotedacross the EU. However, beyond arguably vague references to concepts such as ‘integrity’ and ‘autonomy’, this frameworkmakes no reference to the development of students’social and emotional competencies. Based on initial research findings inan Irish context, and when considered against the backdrop of a convincing literature on the importance of emotionalintelligence in academic attainment, there would appear to be considerable scope to modify this framework in order to accommodate more specific reference to the development of emotional and social skills. This paper addresses …

Enhancing The Academic And Social Learning Of Irish Undergraduates Through Emotional And Social Skills Development., Aiden Carthy, Celesta Mccann, Sinead Mcgilloway, Colm Mcguinness

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This paper considers the potential merits of emotional competency coaching for undergraduate students. We outline the findings from our previous work which showed, for example, that a sample of First Year undergraduate students failed to engage with coaching primarily because it was not a mandatory aspect of the curricula. An analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) - which details the specific learning outcomes that must be achieved by all Irish academic syllabi found that this framework makes scant reference to the development of social and emotional skills. Therefore, a revised working model of the NFQ is proposed, which …

Reasons For Non-Engagement With The Provision Of Emotional Competency Coaching: A Qualitative Study Of Irish First Year Undergraduate Students, Aiden Carthy, Celesta Mccann, Sinead Mcgilloway, Colm Mcguinness

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Very little is known as to why students choose not to participate in emotional intelligence coaching programmes. This qualitative study was undertaken with a sample of Irish undergraduate students (n=20), who chose not to engage with the provision of coaching at a technical college inDublin. The reasons for non-engagement were explored by means of face-to-face interviews. The four principal reasons for non-engagement were: failing to appreciate the value of coaching; a perceived heavy academic workload; the fact that coaching was not a mandatory component of the academic curriculum; and fear that coaching may reveal weaknesses of character. Based on the …

Drama In The Docklands, Mary Moynihan

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An article by Mary Moynihan in IN2 Magazine, issue number seven, Winter 2005, on Drama in the Docklands, a project run by Smashing Times Theatre Company that promotes access to creativity in the docklands area of Dublin, bringing drama into two primary schools - St Joseph's Primary School, East Wall and City Quay Primary School, City Quay. The article documents the project and the year-end show by children at Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, Dublin.

Cooking Online: Investigating The Effectiveness Of Providing Online Support Material To Students On A Professional Cookery Apprenticeship Course, Nuala Harding

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Having worked as a lecturer for five years, I was given the opportunity to undertake the postgraduate diploma in third-level learning and teaching at the Technological University Dublin. The elective I chose as part of this course was online learning. The requirement to compile a reflective journal during the module has provided the catalyst for me to write this paper. This Paper describes work in progress for proposed research within the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Studies in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT). The purpose of this research is to investigate the feasibility of providing and the effectiveness of …

Mature Students - An Examination Of Dit’S Policy And Practice, Dáire Mag Cuill

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This paper examines the current position of mature students in the Technological University Dublin, the largest third-level institute in Ireland. It also deals with the treatment of mature applicants, and the position of mature students in the Republic of Ireland in general. The focus of the paper is on equity issues, and in all discussions of equity the underpinning principle is equality of opportunity. Where places on a third-level course are limited, for example, all applicants must be treated equally and the places allocated in a ‘fair’ manner. This does not mean that one cannot discriminate in the true sense …