Academic biography

Dr Sinéad McNally is an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education and Psychology at the Dublin City University (DCU) Institute of Education. She specialises in inclusive learning contexts from early childhood to higher education, with a particular emphasis on the developmental importance of play and literacy. Sinéad is the recipient of the President’s Award for Research Impact (2022) for her contributions to early childhood scholarship and its influence on national policy and practice. 

Sinéad is the Principal Investigator of the Autism-Friendly Schools study, an interdisciplinary, national project funded by a Research Ireland COALESCE award. Grounded in a rights-based approach, the study utilises participatory methodologies—such as photovoice and adapted interviews—to place autistic children’s lived experiences at the heart of educational decision-making.

Sinéad is Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Active Learning in Higher Education. She also serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Early Years Education and previously served as editor of Autism and Developmental Language Impairments.

Sinéad is Co-Chair of the faculty Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team and a member of the university's Open Research Steering Group, and she serves as an external examiner for the Technological University Dublin.

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