Isabel Machado Da Silva

Ms.

Contact Details


Assistant Professor of Sociology
SPC MG10 , School of Human Development, DCU IoE St. Patrick's Campus
D09 DY00

E:isabel.machadodasilva@dcu.ie
Profile Photo
Isabel is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Doctoral Candidate at the School of Human Development at the DCU Institute of Education. She is also a member of DCU Anti-Bullying Centre. She is part of the Doctoral Network “PARTICIPATE” Project, funded by the Horizon Programme of the European Commission – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). The wider PARTICIPATE project seeks to empower parents/guardians to better understand, and respond to, cyberbullying. Isabel's research directly explores how to enhance family-school partnerships to reduce and prevent online and offline bullying. 

She completed a MSc in Education with International and Comparative specialisation at Stockholm University. For her master’s thesis she conducted a qualitative study on young people's sense of belonging at school during the COVID-19 pandemic. She earned a Bachelor of Laws and Political Sciences from the University Nice Sophia-Antipolis.

Isabel's most recent work looks into (cyber)bullying, parenting in the digital age, young people's digital lives, social stratification, belonging and AiEd. In her research, Isabel specialises in qualitative research and uses critical ethnography and creative methodologies such as PhotoVoice.

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2026 Audrey Bryan; Yoko Mochizuki; Isabel Machado Da Silva (2026) 'Brain Matters: Permacrisis and the Neuro-affective turn in Education'. Comparative Education Review, (Education Governance Future(s) in a Permacrisis World).
2026 Meghmala Mukherjee; Isabel Machado Da Silva; James O'Higgins Norman; Ashling Bourke (2026) 'Children’s Rights in the Digital Age in the Context of Parental Mediation Styles: A Scoping Review'. Journal of Child and Family Studies, .
2022 Tokunaga, T.; Machado Da Silva, I.; Fu, M. (2022) 'Participatory Action Research with Immigrant Youth in Tokyo: Possibilities and Challenges of Ibasho Creation Project'. Annals of Anthropological Practice, 46 . [Link] [DOI]
2022 Verushka Ananmalay; Daniël Benen; Jiali Luo; Isabel Machado Da Silva; Elliot Smith; Tomoyo Taniyama (2022) 'Perspectives and experiences of international students at a Swedish university during the COVID-19 pandemic'. Adult Education Quarterly, . [Link] [DOI]

Conference Contribution

Year Publication
2025 Isabel Machado Da Silva (2025) World Anti-Bullying Forum Interconnected Spaces: How Socio-Economic Contexts Shape Young People Stavanger, Norway, .
2025 Isabel Machado Da Silva (2025) Education Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) ). Class Dismissed? How Socio-Economic Contexts Shape Young People’s Understanding and Experiences of (Cyber)bullying Across Physical and Digital Spaces Athlone, Ireland, .
2025 Isabel Machado Da Silva; Kainaat Maqbool; Giorgia Scuderi (2025) World Anti-Bullying Forum Using Art to Engage Youth in (Cyber)Bullying Research Stavanger, Norway, .

Blog

Year Publication
2025 Isabel Machado Da Silva; Prof. Audrey Bryan (2025) Too Much, Never Enough: The Impossible Role of Parents in Digital Childhoods. BLOG [Link]

Published Report

Year Publication
2025 Darran Heaney; Prof. James O'Higgins Norman; Isabel Machado Da Silva; Deniz Celikoglu; Meghmala Mukherjee (2025) World Café on Addressing Bullying Behaviour: Summary Report on Consultation with Students. DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, . [Link]
2023 (2023) Understanding Bullying and Cyberbullying: A Guide on How to Support Your Child. DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, . [Link]
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2025) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Professional Associations

Association Function From / To
Comparative and International Education Society Member -
Educational Studies Association of Ireland Convenor of the new Emerging Researcher's Network (ERN) -

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
01/09/2017 Keio University Exchange Year International Programme
15/09/2015 University of Nice Sophia Antipolis Bachelor of Laws Law and Political Sciences
26/08/2019 Stockholm University Masters' of Science Education with International and Comparative Specialisation

Languages

Language Reading Writing Speaking
Portuguese Fluent Fluent Fluent
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
Spanish Functional Functional Functional
French Fluent Fluent Fluent

Outreach Activities

Year Engagement Type Organisation Description
2024 Other Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) During my three-month secondment at the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow, I was involved in key projects and received specialised training: - Supported ISPCC's SHIELD Anti-Bullying Programme: Co-delivered drop-in sessions. - Reviewed and updated ISPCC's trainings and content on bullying and cyberbullying to ensure they remain up-to-date with current research. - Trained in Active Listening with Childline. - Received a Designated Liaison Person Training with TUSLA: Acquired skills and knowledge on child protection policies in Ireland. - Assisted in the update and maintenance of the SHIELD programme's database to improve data accuracy.

Research Interests

Bullying and Cyberbullying; Social Stratification; Parenting in the Digital Age; Social Class; Young people's Sense of Belonging in Educational Institutions; Race, Ethnicity and Education; Childhoods in Global Contexts; Gender, Sexuality and Schooling; Ai Education; Global Educational Governance; Comparative-International Education.  


Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date
AIEd for Good?: Critical Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and Education Researcher 01/01/2025 31/12/2026
PARTICIPATE: Parents and Technology in Cyberbullying: Intervention and Prevention for Future Experts. Research Fellow - Doctoral Candidate 01/09/2023 31/08/2026

Internal Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
Internal James O'Higgins Norman DCU Anti-Bullying Centre Academic
Internal Audrey Bryan School of Human Development, DCU Institute of Education Academic
Internal Debbie Ging School of Communications, DCU Academic

External Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
External Tomoko Tokunaga Institute of Human Sciences at the University of Tsukuba Academic
External Yoko Mochizuki The Education University of Hong Kong Academic
External Kainaat Maqbool National Kapodistrian University of Athens Academic
External Giorgia Scuderi Aarhus University Academic

Teaching Interests

My teaching is shaped by a commitment to helping future educators make sense of the social worlds they work in. My teaching aims to support students, teachers, and teacher-educators, in developing the confidence to unpack complex issues, such as bullying, social inequality, digital life, and belonging, and to understand how these challenges are shaped by wider social structures.

I gravitate towards teaching approaches that are hands-on, relational, and reflective. I frequently use photography and visual methods, especially from my PhotoVoice research, to open up conversation, spark curiosity, and invite students to consider multiple perspectives. Bringing real case scenarios from my fieldwork is also central to my teaching, as it helps students link abstract ideas to everyday school life in concrete and meaningful ways.

I am interested in creative and critical pedagogies that encourage students to question taken-for-granted assumptions, recognise their own positionality, and understand how power operates in educational spaces, both online and offline. I aim to create learning environments that support critical thinking, and a sense of responsibility to the communities they will teach in.

Overall, my teaching seeks to equip future educators with practical tools and sociological ways of seeing that help them navigate the complexities of contemporary schooling and participate in education as thoughtful, reflective, and socially engaged professionals.