Academic Staff | People | EQI
People
Academic Staff
Prof Joe O'Hara
Joe O'Hara is Professor of Education and Head of the School of Education Studies. He is a member of the The Teaching Council, of Ireland, on the steering committee of the Irish Evaluation Network and Irish representative on the Network of European Societies of Evaluation Working group (NESE). Joe O'Hara is an adjunct faculty member of the Centre for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Director at the Centre for Educational Quality and Inspection, DCU. He is also a member of the Board of Management of Glasnevin Educate Together National School.
Joe has published widely in the fields of evaluation, inspection, quality assurance and culturally responsive evaluation and assessment. He has been part of a number of European projects on evaluation and assessment and is currently co-PI on the Erasmus + project ‘ Polycentric Inspection Network for Schools’
Prof Gerry McNamara
Gerry McNamara is Professor and former Head of School at the School of Education Studies Dublin City Universiy. He now leads the Doctorate of Education in Leadership and Evaluation. Gerry is a specialist in the evaluation of education and training programmes, value for money audits, and quality assurance systems. He has led evaluations for a wide range of organisations in Ireland and abroad, including the National Centre for Guidance in Education, the Equality Authority of Ireland, the EU Commission and the United Nations Development Programme. Gerry has published widely in his field.
Gerry enjoys an international reputation in the field of Educational Evaluation and in particular on the evaluation and inspection of schools and teachers. Gerry is currently co-Principal Investigator for the Irish portion of PINS ‘ Polycentric Inspection Network for Schools’ bringing together researchers and the school inspectorates in eight EU countries.
Claire O'Rourke
Claire is a research assistant in the Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection within the School of Education Studies, working in areas of Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) and Polycentric Networking. Claire has an M.Sc. and B.A. in Psychology from UCD. Claire has previously worked on an RCT for social anxiety within the Youth Mental Health Lab in UCD; the Children's Thoughts about School Study with the multidisciplinary Early Childhood Research Team in the Geary Institute, UCD; and a study exploring children's attitudes towards peers with disabilities. Her research interests include: education and educational disadvantage; diversity and inclusivity; child development; child and adolescent mental health; and research methods.
Dr Francesca Lorenzi
Francesca Lorenzi is a lecturer in the School of Education Studies, Dublin City University. Her teaching is primarily in the areas of Intercultural Education, Ethics and Values Education and Assessment and Evaluation. She obtained a PhD in Education from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth with a thesis focusing on the role of dialogue in assessment and the democratisation of practices in education. Formerly she was Co-Chair of the BA in Humanities offered by Oscail the Distance Education Centre at Dublin City University. During this time she engaged in research and published on evaluation of distance education courses. She has presented her research on assessment at several national and international conferences. She is currently a member of the inter-disciplinary project EELF (Ethics Education through literature and film) and of the Fighting Words evaluation project. The latter is a project focusing on the evaluation of Fighting Words a creative writing initiative initiated by Irish writer Roddy Doyle and aimed at cultivating creativity particularly among disadvantaged school children. Francesca is one of the researchers on the Fighting Words Evaluation project.
Dr Shivaun O'Brien
Shivaun O'Brien is a lecturer in the School of Education Studies. She is Director of School placement for both the undergraduate and post-graduate teacher training programmes. She took up employment in DCU on a full time basis in 2014, having previously worked part-time in the school. She was qualified as a post-primary teacher and worked in mainstream for a number of years. Having completed a Masters Degree in Adult Education and Community Development she worked in many aspects of adult and further education and specialised in work with disadvantaged youth. For 10 years she worked as National Coordinator of the Quality Framework Initiative, a quality assurance system for Centres of Education, which she established and coordinated. She worked for Louth and Meath Education and Training Board as Education Development Officer for five years where she was part of the Senior Management Team. before taking up her position in DCU. During this period she was responsible for setting up new post-primary schools, coordinating the LMETB QQI quality assurance process, developing strategic plan for the VEC, coordinating European projects,establishing a Gaelcolaiste, facilitating self-evaluation processes in post-primary schools and delivering continuing professional development to various staff teams.
Her research interests include Self-Evaluation, Evaluation, Capacity Building, School Improvement, Quality Assurance Processes, Education Policy, Accountability, Inspection and Facilitation of Improvement Processes. She is also interested in research on educational disadvantage, early school leaving, assessment for learning, active teaching and learning methodologies and school placement. She has particular expertise in designing self-evaluation processes in educational settings, developing self-evaluation tools, analysing data and guiding teams through such processes. Currently she is coordinating a research project which involves trialing the implementation of a particular model of external support for self-evaluation in six post-primary schools.
Jane O'Kelly
Jane O’Kelly is a lecturer in the School of Education Studies in Dublin City University. She lectures in Creative Instructional Design, Research methodologies and approaches, Work Based Reflective Practice and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education. Her research interests include online learning communities, cross-generational learning, blended learning and emerging pedagogies related to the continuing integration of ICT in education and training. She is currently completing her doctorate on the use of online learning communities for peer support in education. Her background includes working in the National Centre for Guidance in Education as a project manager for EU guidance projects and supporting policy and practice in the areas of guidance and counselling across all education sectors. She has strong ties to European Commission funded vocational education and training programmes through twenty years of administration, management, evaluation and report writing in the Euroform, Adapt, Lifelong Learning and Erasmus+ programmes. She has a deep interest in contributing to the development of the further education sector in Ireland through evaluation and research in pedagogy, peer support and the use of ICTs to support the continuing professional development of educators and trainers.
Conor Sullivan
Conor Sullivan began his career as science teacher. His keen interest in ICT and teaching background brought Conor to the School of Education Studies, where he works in the area of teacher training. He teaches information and communications technology for teaching and coordinates the school's microteaching programme. Conor is a technical officer and provides ICT support for the school's staff and students. Conor played a key role in bringing the Irish Evaluation Network to DCU in 2005 and has been secretary of it since then. He has been active in consolidating the evaluation and inspection elements of the School of Education Studies research programmes into EQI over subsequent years. He provides ICT support for the IEN including maintaining the website and mailing list, disseminating relevant information, organising seminars and setting up live streaming of events. His main involvement with the EQI to date has been with the IEN but he has also worked with CREA, providing technical support for events, and School Evaluation & Inspection, with the Partnership for Learning programme. Conor now provides technical support and maintains the website for the EQI and all of it's constituent parts.
Dr Brendan Walsh
Dr Walsh is a lecturer in the School of Education Studies, Dublin City University. His research areas of interest are History of Education, in particular, the evolution of post-primary teaching, curriculum and professional change, the evolution of assessment strategies in schooling and life-history of teachers, gender and first-hand (life-history) experiences of teaching and learning in Ireland beginning in the early nineteenth century. Dr Walsh also lectures on Teaching Methodology and Professional Preparation for Teaching – in particular the use of Learning for Mastery assessment methodology for both pupils and teachers with regard to critical, professional, self-examination. Dr Walsh has authored and edited several books including: A Guide to Teaching Practice in Ireland (Gill and Macmillan, 2009) and Education Studies in Ireland: Key Disciplines (Gill and Macmillan, 2011). He is a graduate of University College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, England.
Before his appointment as lecturer and Director of Teaching Practice (2005-2014) at DCU, he acted as researcher and Tutor at University College, Dublin; lecturer at NUI Maynooth and, between 1989 and 2000, worked as a secondary school teacher in Dublin and Kildare. As researcher on the National Pilot Project on Teacher Induction he was engaged in research that informed induction programmes currently operating in Ireland and the delivery of workshops to new and beginning teachers and their school-based mentors. This project involved working closely with new and practicing teachers in developing new avenues of self and pupil assessment while developing the ability to reflect critically on established methods of practice, evaluation and qualify of teaching and learning.
Irene White
Irene White is a lecturer in Teaching and Learning Methodologies, English Education, Drama Education and Academic Writing in the School of Education Studies, Dublin City University. She coordinates the Professional Diploma in Education programme and is school placement tutor on a range of teacher education programmes. Irene taught English and Drama for twelve years at post-primary school. During that time, she was a mentor to teachers engaged in initial teacher education and induction and she worked as an examiner with the State Exams Commission. Through her work with various participatory arts organisations in Ireland, Irene has facilitated a number of funded collaborative writing projects and directed several community engaged theatre projects. In her role as facilitator with Smashing Times Theatre Company, she works with adolescents in second level schools north and south of the border, using drama to promote positive mental health and raise awareness of issues surrounding suicide and suicide prevention. She is a member of Lit Lab, a support association for new and experienced writers. Irene is one of the researchers on the Fighting Words Evaluation project.
Prof Michael O'Leary (SPD)
Michael O'Leary holds the Prometric Chair in Assessment at DCU and is Director of Postgraduate Studies in Education at St Patrick’s College. He holds a PhD in Educational Research and Measurement from Boston College. He has acted as Ireland's representative on the OECD's Network A (student outcomes), was a member of the Board of Participating Countries of PISA during its first cycle and was a member of the Child Development and Education Panel of the National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland during it planning phase. Michael has provided statistical analysis of data in national studies of reading and mathematics achievement and collaborated on projects pertaining to the introduction of calculators at Junior Cycle, teaching for social justice and professional development in physical education. His main area of interest is on assessment at the classroom, national and international levels. He was a member of the NCCA working group that developed the guidelines on assessment for primary schools and with colleagues at St Patrick’s College developed the Irish Primary Science Achievement Tests (IPSA-T). His most recent work has involved collaborations with research colleagues at various institutions in Ireland, New Zealand Norway, South Africa and the US. Michael has had research articles published in Ireland, Britain and the US.
PJ Sexton (MDI)
PJ Sexton is Head of the School of Education at Mater Dei Institute of Education. He holds a PhD from Fordham University, New York and three Masters Degrees: the most recent (2012) an MSc in Clinical Supervision from Trinity College, Dublin. He is Chairperson of the Programme Board for the BRelEd/English/History/Music and the MA in Chaplaincy Studies and Pastoral Work and is coordinator of the Centre for Excellence in Post Primary Teacher Education. His research interests include: teacher education, reflective practice, mentoring, supervision, international education and lifelong learning.