Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining Irish Educators’ Attitudes Regarding The Promotion Of Student Social And Emotional Wellbeing: Preliminary Findings, David Byrne

Other resources

Background: A review of the literature identifies that Irish post-primary students are at significant risk of experiencing negative affect in their academic lives. Previous research has demonstrated that initiatives aimed at promoting the development of emotional and social wellbeing in such students can produce positive outcomes such as higher academic achievement, improved self-efficacy and reduced attrition [1][2].

In 2017, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) have recently published wellbeing guidelines which mandate all Irish secondary schools to allocate 300 hours of junior-cycle instruction to the promotion of students’ social and emotional wellbeing. While much is understood globally about …

Childminding In Ireland: Attitudes Towards Professionalisation, Miriam O'Regan, Ann Marie Halpenny, Noirin Hayes

Articles

In light of rapid changes in the early years sector in Ireland since 2000, questions arise about the professionalism of childminders (family day carers), the vast majority of whom are exempt from regulation. Fewer than 0.1% (<120) of childminders are registered with Tusla, the national regulator, despite the National Childminding Initiative, (NCMI) which has promoted professional, high quality childminding. To investigate current attitudes to NCMI’s process of professionalisation (Brannen and Moss [2003]), among childminders and parents, a cross-sectional study was designed using a mixed-method approach. Specifically an anonymous online survey was conducted with 325 participants, followed by a qualitative World Café forum for 40 members of Childminding Ireland, the national childminding body. Findings from both phases of research revealed many of these childminders were well-qualified and engaged, with a sense of professional identity, seeking a distinctive approach to support childminding. Moreover, both childminder and parent participants value the distinctive characteristics of childminding – close relationships, a nurturing pedagogy, a rich, home environment – to a greater extent than markers of professionalism. These findings call for an innovative approach to childminding in Ireland, one that facilitates an organic development of agentic, professional childminding as part of a competent ECEC system.

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

Articles

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 …

The Impact Of The Professional Development Framework On Dit’S Information Literacy Programme, Allison Kavanagh

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter presents a case study of the influence engaging with the Professional Development Framework (PDF) has had on the Information Literacy (IL) programme in a Library of the Technological University Dublin (DIT), since 1 January 2019 the City Campus of Technological University Dublin. The PDF was developed by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. For over a decade (2008-2018), a team of DIT library staff has used a ‘menu’ of one-hour classes to deliver its IL programme in a standardised way. Participation by some team members in L2L (Librarians Learning to Support …

Towards A Learning System For University Campuses As Living Labs For Sustainability, L.A. Verhoef, M. Bossert, J. Newman, Filipa Ferraz, Z.P. Robinson, Y. Agarwala, P. Wolff, P. Jiranek, C. Hellinga

Articles

Universities, due to their sizeable estates and populations of staff and students, as well as their connections with, and impact within, their local and wider communities, have significant environmental, social and economic impacts. There is a strong movement for universities to become leaders in driving society towards a more sustainable future, through improving the sustainability of the built environment and the universities’ practices and operations, and through their educational, research and wider community engagement missions. Around the globe the concept of ‘Living Labs’ has emerged as an instrument to integrate these different aspects to deliver sustainability improvements, through engaging multiple …