Sabrina is a qualified post-primary teacher (English and Religious Education), and she taught for several years before moving into Initial Teacher Education. Her doctoral thesis focused on teaching and learning in a virtual environment, and her interest in supporting 'depth of learning' is central to her philosophy of education.
Sabrina leads a number of 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 is engaged in collaborative research with colleagues in the School(s) of Policy and Practice and SEIGS ( IoE, DCU), including research on student teachers' quantitative progression during school placement and micro-professional placement. Other recent research projects include the effect of mobile phone distraction on memory (cognitive psychology) and the stereotyping of young people in the media (social psychology).
Sabrina is co-director of CREATE - The Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education.
Roles held within ITE:
- Director of School Placement (BRelEd, MDI)
- Research Ethics Convenor in the School of Education (MDI)
- Governing Board Member (MDI)
- Assistant Editor for the REA Journal (Religion, Education and the Arts) (MDI)
- External Examiner for School Placement (St. Patrick's College, Thurles)
- Research Convenor, School of Policy and Practice, IOE (DCU)
Sabrina has supervised over 100 undergraduate theses, 40+ masters level theses and five doctoral theses to completion.
A Sample of Joint Supervision Topics:
Talbot, Tara (2022) Literacy for learning and life: an evaluation of the potential of the reading management programme accelerated reader to improve the literacy standards of Irish post-primary students. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.
Naughton, Yvonne (2020) Faces of change: exploring post-primary students’ motivations and perceptions of teaching as a choice of career from diverse racial, ethnic or cultural backgrounds. Doctor of Education thesis, Dublin City University.
Kavanagh, Siobhán (2020) The professional development needs of appointed middle leaders in education and training board, post-primary schools. Doctor of Education thesis, Dublin City University.
Morrison-Reilly, Ciara (2016) An exploration of smartphone microblogging supporting the device, learner and social aspects of mobile learning within post-primary Religious Education. Doctor of Education thesis, Dublin City University.
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Fitzsmions, S.; sexton, pj; Lehane, P.; Donlon., E.; Karakolidis, A.; McDonald, E.; Keever, C. (2024) 'Understanding pre-service teachers’ improvement in professional practice: A quantitative perspective'. Irish Educational Studies, . [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Kavanagh, S; Sexton, P; Fitzsimons, S. (2021) 'Transforming Middle Leadership in Education and Training Board Post-Primary Schools in Ireland'. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH, 8 (1). [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Donlon, E., McDonald, E., Fitzsimons, S., & Sexton, P. (2020) 'Being and Belonging: Student-Teachers’ Contextual Engagement in Schools'. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46 (6):95-113. [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Fitzsimons, S. and Farren, M. (2016) 'A Brave New World: Considering the Pedagogic Potential of Virtual World Field Trips (VWFTs) in Initial Teacher Education'. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH, Vol. 3 (1). [Link] https://doi.org/10.1515/ijtr-2016-0002 | |
| 2013 | Fitzsimons, S. (2013) 'The road less travelled: The journey of immersion into the virtual field'. Ethnography and Education, 8 . [Link] [DOI] |
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Fitzsimons, S. (2013) 'Conducting Research in a Virtual World' In: Crotty, Y and Farren, M(Eds.). Digital Literacies in Education. : Peter Lang. | |
| 2012 | Fitzsimons, S. (2012) 'Part Three: Online Ethnography and Education' In: Rethinking Education Ethnography: Researching On-Line Communities and Interactions. Barcelona : Esbrina. Universitat de Barcelona. [Link] |
Conference Contribution
Research Interests
- 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.
- Psychology of Education - Learning theories, memory and retrieval practices, adolescent development and stereotyping.
- 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).
Teaching Interests
- The foundation disciplines (with a specific interest in the psychology of education)
- Practice-based research within Initial Teacher Education, Online/Virtual ethnography and other research methods.
- Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds.