Dr Anne McMorrough is an Assistant Professor in the School of STEM Education, Innovation and Global Studies at the Institute of Education, Dublin City University (DCU). With expertise in Digital Learning, she has responsibilities for modules relating to initial teacher education and continuous professional learning for pre-service and in-service primary school teachers.
In 2016, Anne was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from University College Dublin. Anne’s doctoral research focused on how education policy appears to be persuaded into being, through growing moves to harmonise teacher education practices in EU member states. In 2014, Anne was the recipient of the National University of Ireland (NUI) Dr Mary L. Thornton Scholarship and Prize in Education for this research.
Anne has extensive experience of teaching and school leadership at primary school level. She has worked as a class teacher, learning support teacher, deputy principal and administrative principal (acting) in Dublin. From 2012-2019, Anne was seconded to Marino Institute of Education, Dublin where she lectured and conducted research in the area of digital technologies for teaching, learning and assessment, on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. In addition, she worked as a School Placement Tutor with pre-service primary teachers. During this time, she was Principal Investigator on a SCoTENS (Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South) - funded research project that explores the nature and detail of teaching and learning activities within a number of “creative classrooms” in Ireland, North and South.
Anne is a member of the Centre for the Advancement of STEM Teaching and Learning (CASTeL). She is also a member of the Computer Education Society of Ireland (CESI) and served on its National Executive Committee from 2008 -1016. She has also been deeply involved in the European Commission initiative of eTwinning, where she worked as an ambassador from 2008-2018.
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NIcola Broderick; Denis Moynihan; Joe Usher; Anne McMorrough; Deirdre Butler (2025) 'Upper primary school children’s attitudes towards STEM: a ‘leaky’ STEM pipeline?'. Irish Educational Studies, . [Link] |
Conference Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Moynihan, D.; McMorrough, A. (2026) INTED 2026 Proceedings: 20th International Technology, Education and Development Conference Building Teacher Confidence in STEM: Mixed-methods Insights from Irish Primary Education [Link] | |
| 2025 | Moynihan, D.; McMorrough, A.; Butler, D. (2025) Proceedings of the EdMedia Conference 2025 Preliminary findings from an integrated STEM intervention using programmable robotics in Irish primary schools: Building a real-world integrated curriculum STEM Barcelona, 19/05/2025- 23/05/2025 | |
| 2024 | McMorrough, A. (2024) Proceedings of the SITE (Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education) Conference 2024 Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Integrate Educational Robotics in the Primary / Elementary Classroom: A Scoping Review of the Literature |
Book
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Moynihan, D; Whelan, P; Usher, J; Broderick, N; McMorrough, A (2025) First LEGO League UNEARTHED Teacher Guide for Ireland. Ireland: Creative Hut. | |
| 2024 | Butler, D.; Moynihan, D; McMorrough, A.; Broderick, N.; Usher, J. (2024) First LEGO League SUBMERGED Teacher Guide for Ireland. Ireland: Stevenage: The Institution of Engineering and Technology. | |
| 2023 | Deirdre Butler; Nicola Broderick; Joe Usher; Denis Moynihan; Anne McMorrough (2023) First Lego League Explore Masterpiece Teacher Guide for Ireland. Ireland: Stevenage: The Institution of Engineering and Technology. [Link] |
Conference Contribution
Published Report
Research Interests
Anne’s research interests include: Computational Thinking, Floor Robotics and STEM education in primary education. In addition, her research explores education policy design and implementation, as well as creative digital learning practices, nationally and internationally.
Her current research projects include BRICS: Building a Real-World Integrated Curriculum in STEM, and the FIRST LEGO League Teacher Guide for Ireland.