School of Policy and Practice header
School of Policy & Practice

Dr
Sabrina
Fitzsimons

Primary Department
School of Policy & Practice
Role
Academic Staff
Phone number:
01 700
9259
Campus
St Patrick's Campus
Room Number
SPC M 312

Academic biography

Sabrina is Co-Director of CREATE—The Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education—and an Assistant Professor of Education in the School of Policy and Practice at IOE, DCU.

She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and leads several Education Theory modules on the Bachelor of Religious Education and English / History / Music programme (BRelEd) and the Bachelor of Education in Gaeilge and French/German/Spanish (BEdLan). Sabrina has a particular interest in Challenge Based Learning (CBL) pedagogy and ways to support students to bridge the theory-practice divide. 

While she has engaged in research across a range of ITE topics, Sabrina is most keenly interested in educators' occupational wellbeing. For example, Sabrina's recent research explored wellbeing, burnout and rustout in HEI-based Teacher Educators in Ireland and the United Kingdom. 

With colleagues in DCU CREATE, Sabrina is also engaged in collaborative research on the mental health and wellbeing of teachers, student-teachers, leaders, and HEI academics in Ireland and the UK. 

Sabrina is a graduate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI).

Sabrina's research has been featured on RTE Drivetime, RTE Brainstorm, The Conversation, 'Let's Talk Education Research' Podcast, and the Education Matters Vodcast. She was an invited keynote speaker at the Westminster Education Forum Conference

Research interests

Mental Health - Mental health and Wellbeing in Education, for example, burnout in HEI academics, teacher educators, teachers, school leaders, student-teachers and others working in the field of education.Teacher Education -  Student teachers' progression on placement, Student teachers' engagement with research, teacher identity, the role of the teacher in teacher education and other related themes. Innovative Practices - Teaching and learning in virtual environments, challenge-based learning,  creative classroom practices (including the use of various technologies to support teaching and learning).