Academic biography

Dr Paula Lehane is an Assistant Professor in the School of Inclusive and Special  Education. She is the current chair of the Masters of Education in Specific Literacy Difficulties (SpLD/Dyslexia) and lectures in the areas of assessment, inclusive pedagogy and research methods. Her current research interests include assessment, inclusive pedagogy, literacy instruction and curriculum integration.

A graduate of the Education and Psychology programme at Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Paula started her career as a primary school teacher in a developing school in Dublin. During this time, she gained extensive experience in the areas of digital education, literacy, assessment and inclusive education. She also completed a Graduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs (GradDip SEN) and a Masters in Additional Support Needs (M.Ed ASN) with University College Dublin. Paula then worked with DCU’s Centre for Assessment Research, Policy & Practice in Education (CARPE), where her work focused on various issues relating to assessment and test development in educational and workplace settings. She received funding from the Irish Research Council (IRC) to complete her PhD in the field of digital tests and assessments for post-primary learners. This work was awarded the Kathleen Tattersall New Assessment Researcher Award in 2022.

Paula has been published in several peer-reviewed journals including the European Journal of Teacher Education, Technology, Pedagogy and Education