Researcher Details |

Annie Ó Breacháin

I am an Assistant Professor in Drama Education within the School of Arts Education and Movement at the DCU Institute of Education.

My research and teaching are grounded in relational pedagogy informed by my doctoral research (University of Exeter) which interrogated the complexities of the child-teacher relationship in upper primary school contexts through a phenomenological lens. My master’s research (Trinity College Dublin) examined drama as a framework for curriculum integration in early years contexts. My background as a primary school teacher, combined with my time as an in-service advisor with Oide (formerly PDST), remains the foundation of my professional perspective. These experiences continue to inform my interest in the practice of teaching.

I served as chairperson of the Association for Drama in Education in Ireland (ADEI) from 2017 to 2021 and continue to serve on the ADEI committee for curriculum matters. In April 2021, I joined the Board of Directors at The Ark, Ireland’s dedicated cultural centre for children, where I continue to serve and chair the research working group

Book Chapter

	Year	Publication
	2021	Ó Breacháin, Annie and Fagan, Ciara (2021) 'Drama, Social Justice Education and Education for Sustainable Development: Theory in Action' In: Teaching for Social Justice and Sustainable Development Across the Primary Curriculum. London : Routledge.

Peer Reviewed Journal

	Year	Publication
	2013	Ó Breacháin & O'Toole (2013) 'Pedagogy or politics?: cyclical trends in literacy and numeracy in Ireland and beyond'. Irish Educational Studies, 32 :401-419. [DOI]

Other Journal

	Year	Publication
	2011	Ó Breacháin (2011) 'Soaring and Swooping: Drama on the Primary School Curriculum in Ireland' . [Link]

Conference Contribution

	Year	Publication
	2025	Ó Breacháin, Annie (2025) Spinal Surgeons Wellness Symposium Exploring wellness through immersive, embodied, drama practices Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildare, .
	2024	Piazzoli, Erika; Zoe Hogan; Modesto Corderi Novoa; Jungmi Hur (2024) Scenario 2024 Presence as the Untranslatable, Scenario 3rd International Conference, Performative Language Teaching, Learning and Research, Trinity College Dublin, 9-11 May 2024, 2024 Trinity College Dublin, .
	2020	Ó Breacháin, Annie (2020) THRIECE International: Placing the Child at the Centre of Quality in Early Childhood & Primary Education All of Me and All of You: Lived Experiences of the Child-Teacher Relationship in Upper Primary School VISUAL, Carlow, 16/01/2020-16/01/2020.
	2015	Delaney, S; Ó Breacháin, A and Macken, S (2015) American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Conference Teaching Simulations that assess the use of teaching knowledge and skill Chicago, .
	2018	Annie Ó Breacháin (2018) IAFOR European Conference on Education (ECE) On the Nature of the Child-Teacher Relationship in Upper Primary School Contexts: Findings from a Phenomenological Inquiry Brighton, 29/06/2018-01/07/2018.
	2017	Annie Ó Breacháin (2017) Asylum Narratives Panel chair at a one day colloquium looking at asylum narratives from a variety of perspectives DCU, .
	2017	Ó Breacháin, A (2017) Scenario Forum for Performative Teaching, Learning and Research Paper presented on the opportunities and obstacles associated with generating embodied data in educational research University College Cork, 25/05/2017-28/05/2017.
	2014	Delaney, S, Ó Breacháin, A & Macken, S. (2014) American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Conference Innovation in Practice: Implementing and Evaluating a Course on Approximations of Practice Philadelphia, 03/04/2014-07/04/2014.
	2013	O'Toole, L. & Ó Breacháin, A (2013) Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) Annual Conference Going round and round with the 3 R’s: International experiences of standardised testing and league tables: Implications for educational policy in Ireland Limerick, 21/03/2013-23/03/2013.
	2013	Ó Breacháin, A & Glavey, A (2013) Heathcote Reconsidered National Drama (UK) London, 04/07/2013-07/07/2013.
	2012	Ó Breacháín, A (2012) International Drama in Education Research Institute (IDEIRI) Transcending the Borders of Subject Disciplines: Using Drama to Integrate Teaching and Learning in the Early Years’ Limerick, 10/07/2012-15/07/2012.
	2012	Ó Breacháin, A (2012) Launch of the Arts in Education Research Group (AERG) How Can Drama be used as a Framework to facilitate Integrated Teaching and Learning in the Early Years? Trinity College, Dublin, 19/06/2012-19/06/2012.

Published Report

	Year	Publication
	2019	Ó Breacháin, Annie, O’Gorman, Róisín, Piazzoli,Erika, Schewe, Manfred, Woodhouse, Fionn (2019) Performative Arts & Pedagogy: An Irish Perspective. Scenario, . [Link]

Invited Seminars

	Year	Publication
	2021	Annie Ó Breacháin (2021) Drama for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: CPD for Support Teachers (DEIS context). INVS

Professional Associations

Association	Function	From / To
Association for Drama in Education in Ireland	Vice Chairperson	07/09/2009 - 12/12/2016
Association for Drama in Education in Ireland	Chairperson	28/01/2017 - 20/01/2021
Association for Drama in Education in Ireland Subcommittee	Member	28/01/2017 - 30/10/2019

Honors and Awards

Date	Title	Awarding Body
01/08/2017	Teaching and Learning Award	DCU IoE
01/01/2018	Elevator Funding	DCU IoE
01/01/2021	IoE Funding for Publication	DCU IoE
01/01/2022	IoE Elevator Funding	IoE

Committees

	Committee	Function	From / To
	The Ark - Director		14/04/2021 -
	The Ark : Educator Advisory Group		01/03/2020 -

Languages

	Language	Reading	Writing	Speaking
	Irish	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent

Reviews

	Journal	Role
	International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism	Reviewer
	SCENARIO	Reviewer

Research Interests

My research interests include relational pedagogy, embodiment, the child-teacher relationship, the practice of teaching, untranslatable words, Drama-in-Education, storytelling and curricular integration using Mantle of the Expert. I am also interested in phenomenological inquiry, research with children and generating and analysing visual and embodied research data.

Internal Collaborators

	Type	Name	Company	Role
	Internal	Dr Paula Murphy, Dr Una Mc Cabe, Sharon McArdle, Dr Kate Mc Auley	DCU IoE School of Arts Education and Movement
	Internal	Dr Lucy Hill	DCU	Academic

External Collaborators

Type	Name	Company	Role
External	Dr Seán Delaney	Marino Institute of Education
External	Prof. Paul Gallagher and Dr John Hayden	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland	Academic
External	Dr Leah O'Toole	Marino Institute of Education
External	Dr Erika Piazzoli	University of Dublin, Trinity College	Academic
External	Prof Manfred Schewe	UCC	Academic

Teaching Interests

I am passionate about the central role of the teacher to create high quality drama experiences for children. I teach drama modules on undergraduate, postgraduate and specialist programmes in the Institute of Education, DCU. I work closely with The Ark both on the MA in Arts Education practice and on the final year specialism module Leadership in Drama Education. I am interested in the practice of teaching and worked with colleagues on developing modules to explore how its complexity can be taught to novices. I love opportunities to learn about assessment techniques and try to employ modes of assessment that are fair, creative and dialogic. Cé gur Béarla mo chéad teanga, is í an Ghaeilge teanga mo chroí agus déanaim iarracht í a fhuáil tríd mo chuid múinteoireachta .

Modules Coordinated

Term	Title	Module ID
2024		Ap404
2026	The Arts	EDP1164-A
2025	Arts Education	EDP1153-A
2026	Communities of Practice: Responding to change in contemporary arts education	EDU1193-A
2025	Drama & Physical Education	EDP1057-A
2025	Leadership in Drama Education	EDP1014-A