Academic biography

Dr Una McCabe is Associate Professor and Head of the School of Arts Education and Movement at DCU Institute of Education. She lectures in drama education on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and is Programme Chair of the Masters in Arts Education Practice. Her research focuses on the potential of drama and the arts as catalysts for learning and development and she has supervised doctoral students to completion in these areas.  She takes a praxis oriented approach to her research and her national and international publications, presentations and projects are in the areas of drama pedagogy, sociodramatic play training, early years drama, play frameworks, interactions in arts rich classrooms, youth theatre, arts based research methods, creativity and education, and arts curricula.

Una was awarded a DCU Institute of Education Research Fellowship in 2019. She is a member of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Primary Arts Education Development Group; the European Network of Observatories in Arts and Cultural Education; DCU's Civic Engagement Committee; and the (National) Arts and Culture in Education Research Repository committee. She is the Thematic Coordinator for Arts and Social Inclusion in Education for the Educational Disadvantage Centre at DCU and in this role has led commissioned research on the poverty and inclusion aspects of the work of the national arts organisation Fighting Words. She sits on the editorial board of NJ: Drama Australia.

Una holds a degree in Drama Studies, and a H.Dip.Ed., from Trinity College Dublin. She also completed an M.A. at the National College of Art and Design entitled 'Artists, the Arts and Early Childhood Education' and a Phd at University College Cork. Her doctoral research explored how drama-based pedagogical techniques can strengthen children’s sociodramatic play, enabling them to build richer imaginative worlds, interact more effectively with peers, and engage in more creative and collaborative play.

Previous roles include Drama Lecturer in St Patrick's College; Lecturer in Drama and in Early Childhood Education at DKIT; Drama lecturer at the Froebel College of Education (1998-2007) as well as a variety of national and international roles as a teacher, arts education practitioner, leader and evaluator.