Academic biography

Paula Murphy is an assistant professor at the School of Arts Education and Movement DCU, and has lectured in the areas of Drama and Education since 1999. She previously worked as a primary school teacher and as Education Officer for TEAM Educational Theatre Company. She has also held leadership positions in ADEI (Association for Drama in Education in Ireland) since its foundation in 1999. Paula received two President's awards for teaching and learning from St. Patrick's College, one of which included a team award with her colleagues in Drama Education. In 2019 she received a President's award from Dublin City University for Distinctive Approaches to Innovation in Teaching. Between 2012 and 2016 she studied with pioneering dance artist and psychotherapist Joan Davis at the Gorse Hill Centre in Greystones, where she completed her accreditation in somatic movement education and therapy (ISMETA approved - International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association). In 2024, Paula was awarded a PhD from University College Cork for her thesis entitled 'Embodiment in Teacher Education: Widening the Field'.