Education Studies

Biographical Details:

Dr. Joe O'Hara is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the School of Education Studies . He is member of the The Teaching Council, a member of the Council of the European Educational Research Association(EERA) and Irish representative on the Network of European Societies of Evaluation Working group (NESE) .

Research Interests:

Evaluation- School Evaluation, Self-Evaluation, Policy Influences in Evaluation, Programme Evaluation Initial Teacher Education - ICT in Teacher Education,Policy Developments in ITE, Autonomy and Accountability in Education
Click here to view my current research projects

Selected Peer Reviewed Journals

• Ehren, M.C.M., Altrichter,H.,McNamara,G. & O Hara, J. 2013. Impact of school inspections on improvement of schools¿describing assumptions on causal mechanisms in six European countries. Educational Assessment, Evaluation And Accountability, DOI 10.1007/s11092-012-9156-4
• McNamara, G and O'Hara, J. 2012. From looking at our schools (LAOS) to whole school evaluation -management, leadership and learning (WSE-MLL): the evolution of inspection in irish schools over the past decade. Educational Assessment, Evaluation And Accountability, 24, 2, pp79-97.
• Anderson,B.,Brien,K.,McNamara,G.,O'Hara,J.and McIsaac,D. 2011. Reluctant leaders: Why are some capable leaders not interested in the principalship?. International Journal Of Management In Education, 5, 4, pp384-400.
• McNamara,G., O Hara,J., Lisi, P., and Davidsdottir,S. 2011. Operationalising self-evaluation in schools: experiences from Ireland and Iceland. Irish Educational Studies, 30, 1, pp63-82.
• McNamara, G., O Hara, J., Boyle, R. and Sullivan, C. 2009. Developing a Culture of Evaluation in the Irish Public Sector. Evaluation: Int. Journal Of Theory, Research & Practice, 15, 1, pp100-112.
• Mc Namara, G., O Hara, J. and Boyle, R. 2008. Influences Shaping National Evaluation Policies: the case of Ireland. The Evaluator, 14, Spring, pp15-19.
• McNamara G. and O¿Hara,J.. 2006. Workable Compromise or Pointless Exercise?: School-based Evaluation in the Irish Context. Educational Management Administration And Leadership, 34, , pp564-582.
• McNamara, G. and O'Hara,J. 2005. Internal Review and Self-Evaluation ; the Chosen Route to School Improvement in Ireland?. Studies In Educational Evaluation, 31, , pp267-282.
• McNamara, G., Mulcahy,C. and O¿ Hara,J. 2005. An Evaluation of Staff Training Needs and Provision in the Further Education Sector in Ireland. Journal Of Adult And Continuing Education, 11, 2, pp155-170.
• McNamara, G. and J. O¿ Hara. 2004. Trusting the Teacher ¿ Evaluating Educational Innovation. Evaluation: Int. Journal Of Theory, Research & Practice, 10, 4, pp463-474.
• McNamara,G. and O¿Hara,J. 2002. Whole School Evaluation and School Development Planning ¿ an Analysis of recent Initiatives in Ireland. Educational Management Administration And Leadership, 25, 2, pp201-211.
• O¿Hara, J. and G.McNamara. 2001. Process and Product: Issues in the Evaluation of School Development Planning. Evaluation: Int. Journal Of Theory, Research & Practice, 7, 3, pp99-119.
• O¿Hara,J & Byrne, S. 2000. Implementing a Positive Learning Programme. Irish Educational Studies, 19, 1
• O¿Hara, J. and McNamara, G. 1999. Evaluation: Business or Vocation?. Evaluation: Int. Journal Of Theory, Research & Practice, 5, 4, pp490-503.
• McNamara, G., J. O¿Hara and H. Roussi. 1998. The Pedagogical Challenges of Constructivist Theory in Learning and Information Technology. Irish Educational Studies, 17, 2, pp17-38.
• McNamara, G., H. Roussi and J. O¿Hara. 1997. Entrepreneurship in Teaching: Some Pedagogical Challenges from the Perspective of Teacher Education. Points of Departure: the European Dimension in Vocational Teacher Education 1, 2, pp37-50.

Selected Books

• McNamara, G and O Hara, J. Trusting Schools and Teachers: Developing Educational Professionalism Through Self-Evaluation, Peter Lang Publishing Inc. New York, 2008.
• O¿Hara, J., S. J. Byrne and G. McNamara. Positive Discipline: An Irish Educational Appraisal and Practical Guide, Department of Education and Science, 2000.

Selected Chapters

• Boyle, R., McNamara,G. and O Hara,J. 2012. Riding the Celtic Tiger: Forces Shaping Evaluation Culture in Ireland in Good Times and Bad in Evaluation Cultures: Sense-Making in Complex Times. , pp45-64.
• McNamara, G., O'Hara, J. and Joyce, P. 2010. The Evaluation of Adult Education and Training Programmes. The International Encyclopedia of Education, pp548-555.
• McNamara, G. and O'Hara,. 2009. Ethical Leadership in the Age of Evaluation. The International Handbook on Education for Spirituality, Care and Wellbeing, pp943-960.
• McNamara, G. and OÕHara, J. 2009. Where Global Meets Local: Contexts, Constraints and Consensus in School Evaluation in Ireland. Sage international handbook of educational evaluation., pp273-291.
• McNamara, G. and J. O¿Hara (2000). 2000. Action Research for Organisational Change. Action Research in Ireland, pp305-322.

Reviews

• McNamara, G and O Hara, J. 2009. Trusting Schools and Teachers. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 40, pp783-784.

Selected Non-peer Reviewed Journals

• Austin,R.,Conway,P.,Graffin,D. and O'Hara,J. 2007. ICTs in Initial Teacher Education North and South: The Challenges of Embedding ICTs in the Learning to teach experience. SCOTENS Annual Report: Teacher Education And Schools - Together Towards Improvement, pp106-116.
• O'Hara, J and McNamara, G. 2003. An Evaluation of the IAN / FRY Vocational Skills Training Programme : Belgrade, Serbia. APSO / Trocaire,
• McNamara, G., O¿Hara, J and Mulcahy,C. 2001. An Analysis of the Training Needs of Educators in the Further Education Sector in Ireland. . Department of Education and Science/ Commission of the European Communities Leonardo da Vinci Programme.,
• McNamara, G.,O¿Hara, J. 1999. The Vocational Education and Training System in Surinam Present Realities and Future Directions. United Nations Development Programme, New York,

• O'Hara, Joe, Educational Evaluation in an Age of Transformation: Finding a balance in unbalanced times., Educational Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference, 29-MAR-12 - 31-MAR-12, University College Cork
• O'Hara, J & McNamara,G., The Rhetoric and Reality of School Inspection in Irish Post Primary Schools, Educational Studies Association of Ireland, 14-APR-11 - 16-APR-11, Church of Ireland College of Education, Dublin
• O'Hara, Joe, McNamara, Gerry, Corrigan, Trudy and Murphy, Timothy, Intergenerational Learning as a Perspective on Learner Voice in Educational Research, American Educational Research Association , 08-APR-11 - 12-APR-11, New Orleans, USA
• Corrigan, T,McNamara, G.and O'Hara, J.,, Intergenerational Learning- A Conversation, Carnegie Research Institute Seminar, , 22-MAR-11 - 23-MAR-11, Leeds Metropolitan University
• O'Hara,J, McNamara,G and Boyle,R., Riding the Celtic Tiger-Forces Shaping Evaluation in Ireland in Good Times and in Bad, European Evaluation Society Bi-Annual Conference, 06-OCT-10 - 08-OCT-10, Prague
• O'Hara,J., McNamara, G., , Anderson, K.,Brien, K.and McIsaac, D., Annual Conference of the British Educational Leadership Management and Administration Society, Reluctance Factors for Principals in Canada and Ireland, 08-JUL-10 - 10-JUL-10, Reading, England
• O Hara, J, McNamara, G., Anderson, K.,Brien, K.and McIsaac, D., Choosing not to lead-examing the reluctant school learder in Ireland and Canada, Annual Conference of the educational Stuies Association of Ireland, 25-MAR-10 - 27-MAR-10, Dundalk, Ireland
• O'Hara, J and McNamara, G., Theory and Evidence in European Educational Research, European Conference on Educational Research, 01-OCT-09 - 03-OCT-09, Vienna, Austria
• Anderson,K., Brien,K., McNamara,G.and O'Hara, J. - ,, Where have `some of the leaders gone: Reluctance factors in leadership graduates as aspiring administrators, The Canadian Association for Studies in Educational Administration, 23-MAY-09 - 26-MAY-09, Ottawa-Canada
• O'Hara, J., McNamara, G.and Mulkerrins, B., Whole School Evaluation and Professional Education in Irish Schools, Annual Conference of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland., 02-APR-09 - 04-APR-09, Kilkenny, Ireland
• O Hara, J and McNamara, G, Educational Research in the Republic of Ireland: An Overview, Developing Celtic Capacity in Educational Research - A Joint TLRP/ESRC Research Conference, 09-JUN-08 - 10-JUN-08, University of Ulster, Jordanstown
• O Hara, J.,Conway, P.,Clarke, L., Sullivan, C., and Austin, R., Transforming Educational Practice with Digital Video, Learning With Moving Images: Digital Video in Education and Teacher Education, 22-MAY-08 - 23-MAY-08, Grand Hotel Malahide
• O Hara,J. and McNamara,G., Whole School Evaluation and Accountability in Teaching and Teacher Education, Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, 23-MAR-08 - 28-MAR-08, New York
• O Hara, J and McNamara, G, Engaging with whole school evaluation, Research, Ethics and Diversity in the New Ireland : Annual Conference of the Education Studies Association of Ireland, 06-MAR-08 - 08-MAR-08, Galway
• O'Hara, J.,Sullivan,C.,Conway,P. and Austin, R., ICTs in Initial Teacher Education North and South: The Challenges of Embedding ICTs in the Learning to teach experience, Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South (SCoTENS) Annual Conference: Teaching in the Knowledge Society, 22-NOV-07 - 23-NOV-07, Grand Hotel Malahide, Dublin., 106 - 116
• O'Hara, J., Conway, P., Graffin, D. and Austin, R., ICT¿s in initial teacher education in Ireland: Perspectives from north and south , CAL 07- Development, Disruption and Debate D 3, 26-MAR-07 - 28-MAR-07, Trinity College, Dublin
• O'Hara J. and Sullivan, C., Using ICT in ITE: A case study, Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCOTENS) - Information and Communications Technology in Initial Teacher Education, 26-OCT-06 - 27-OCT-06, Malahide, Dublin
• O'Hara, J., Reporting on a national Survey of ICT use in ITE: Republic of Ireland Perspective, Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCOTENS) - Information and Communications Technology in Initial Teacher Education, 26-OCT-06 - 27-OCT-06, Malahide, Dublin
• McNamara, G., O'Hara, J. and Boyle, R., Influences shaping national evaluation policies: an Irish case study, 7th Biennial Conference of the European Evaluation Society, 04-OCT-06 - 06-OCT-06, London, England
• J O'Hara and Norman,J., "You Can't Tell Me What To Do, I Know My Rights !" The Changing Nature of Classroom Behaviour in the 21st Century, Mapping Transformations: Identities and Communities, 11-MAY-06 - 12-MAY-06, Dublin City University
• O'Hara,J., McNamara, G. and Sullivan, C., Can online interaction add to the microteaching experience?, ESAI Annual Conference, 30-MAR-06 - 01-APR-06, National College of Art and Design, Dublin
• O Hara, J, McNamara, G. and Sullivan, C., "I will show you what I mean"- Using ICT to enhance a microteaching programme, Interlearn: Life as Learning Conference, 01-DEC-05 - 02-DEC-05, Helsinki, Finland
• McNamara, G. and J O¿Hara, Fighting the Wrong War? Curriculum Studies in the Age of Evaluation, American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies, 09-APR-05 - 11-APR-05, Montreal, Canada
• O'Hara, J and McNamara, G., Embedding a culture of evaluation: The Whole School Evaluation Experience, ESAI Annual Conference, 10-MAR-05 - 11-MAR-05, University College Cork
• McNamara, G. and J O¿Hara., Knowing what they need to know ¿ Data in School Self-Evaluation, 6th Biennial Conference of the European Evaluation Society, 30-SEP-04 - 02-OCT-04, Berlin, Germany
• McNamara, G. and J O¿Hara (2004) `¿. Paper presented at the inaugural conference of the , DCU, Sept 2004, Embedding a Culture of Evaluation? The Whole-School Evaluation Experience, Irish Evaluation Network Innaugural Conference, 25-SEP-04 - 25-SEP-04, Dublin City University
• O¿ Hara, J and McNamara, G., Online Professional Development ¿ real trainers in a Virtual World¿, Annual conference of the Education Studies Association of Ireland, 02-APR-04 - 03-APR-04, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
• McNamara, G. and J O¿Hara, Evaluating the Reflective Practitioner ¿ a Contradiction in Terms?, Critical Debates in Action Research, 05-JUN-03 - 07-JUN-03, University of Limerick
• McNamara, G. , J O¿Hara and Griffin, S, Vision in the Curriculum: Evaluating Expressive Objectives, American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, 21-APR-03 - 25-APR-03, Chicago, USA
• McNamara,G. and O'Hara, J, Evaluating Quality ¿ an Analysis of Recent Developments in Whole School Evaluation in the Irish Education System, 4th EES Biennial Conference: Taking Evaluation to the People, 12-OCT-02 - 14-OCT-02, Lausanne, Switzerland
• McNamara, G. and J. O¿Hara, Irish Education at the Millennium: Changing Perceptions of Cultural and Religious Identity, Inaugural Conference of the Spanish Association for Irish Studies, 22-MAY-01 - 25-MAY-01, University of Burgos, Spain
• McNamara, G., J. O¿Hara and B. English, Whole School Development Through Evaluation: An Assessment of a National Pilot Project, Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 10-APR-01 - 14-APR-01, Seattle, USA
• McNamara, G., J. O¿Hara and B. English, Whole School Development Through Evaluation: An Assessment of a National Pilot Project, Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 10-APR-01 - 14-APR-01, Seattle
• O¿Hara, J. and G. McNamara, Pathways in Lifelong Learning for Adult Educators: Issues in Structural Change for Social Inclusion, European Access Network 9th Annual Convention, 10-SEP-00 - 12-SEP-00, Santiago De Compostela, Spain
• O¿Hara, J and G. McNamara, The Person in the Process of Change: Action Research in Improving Organisations, International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching, 27-JUL-99 - 31-JUL-99, St. Patricks College, DCU
• O¿Hara, J and G. McNamara, Teacher Professional Development and Organisational Growth ¿ a Collaborative Research Perspective, Third International Conference on Teacher Education, 20-JUN-99 - 22-JUN-99, Beit Berl College, Tel Aviv
• McNamara, G. and J. O¿Hara, Evaluation and Organisational Climate: Practical and Emancipatory Goals in Evaluation Design, 3rd EES Biennial Conference, 10-OCT-98 - 12-OCT-98, Rome, Italy
• McNamara, G. and J. O¿Hara, Teaching in a Digital World: Teacher Development and the Facilitation of Effective Learning in the Modern Educational Environment, Annual Conference of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland, 10-APR-97 - 12-APR-97, University College Galway