Junior Cycle National Project Team

Prof. Oliver McGarr (Project Director)

Prof Oliver McGarr is based in the School of Education at University of Limerick.  He has extensive research experience in education and working with schools.  He has previously worked on several international and national research projects on curriculum innovations in Irish schools.  In addition to his role as project director, he leads dimension 1 of the study (interviews with key stakeholders) and oversees the school principal interviews.

Dr. Orla McCormack (Project Co-Director)

Dr Orla McCormack is a senior lecturer at the School of Education, University of Limerick. Orla’s research and teaching interest focuses on curriculum, particularly teachers’ involvement in curriculum reform. Orla brings with her a range of experience leading internationally funded projects, aiming to support curriculum and cultural change. Nationally, Orla has worked extensively with the Education and Training Board sector in developing the core values and characteristic spirit that guide ETB schools. As well as project co-director, Orla is also leading the school case studies element of the project.

Dr. John O’Reilly (Project Co-Director)

Dr. John O’Reilly is a lecturer in Initial Teacher Education at University of Limerick addressing areas such as professionalism, planning, curriculum development, active learning, classroom management and assessment for the Postgraduate Masters in Education programme.  His research interests are all schools-based with strong partnerships in the areas of science education (IBSE and PCK in particular) and curriculum development with schools(Negotiated Integrated Curriculum).  As well as his role as project co-director, John is leading the teacher survey component of the project.

Dr Raymond Lynch

Dr Raymond Lynch is a senior lecturer in the School of Education at University of Limerick. He is a qualified Technology teacher and lectures mainly in areas of understanding classroom practices and research methods. His research interests focus on student motivation and task design in the pursuit of enhanced student learning. He is primarily contributing to the conceptual development of the survey methodology, data collection and analysis part of this study.

Dr. Antonio Calderón

Dr Antonio Calderón is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences. His research interest revolves around teaching and learning. In particular to explore the role of digital technology to enhance (or not) teaching and learning within school physical education and initial teacher education. He is contributing to the school-based dimension of the study.
https://www.ul.ie/pess/iframe-staff/dr-antonio-calderon

Dr Aoife Neary

Aoife Neary (BSc, MA, PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Education in the School of Education, University of Limerick, Ireland. Drawing on feminist, queer and affect theory, her research explores the politics of gender and sexuality in schools and society.  She is contributing to the school-based case studies.

Dr Keelin Leahy

Dr Keelin Leahy, Senior Lecturer and Course Director of Technology Education, University of Limerick. Leahy’s research experience/expertise focuses on creativity in education. Leahy’s recent IRC-funded project, IDEAS hub (www.ideashub.eu), addresses developing value and talent to improve innovation-related skills. The project output informs on idea generation for enhancing creativity and innovation. Leahy is the lead partner on an Erasmus+ Capacity Building project focusing on an integrated approach to STEM Education. Leahy co-authored commissioned research, under the auspices of the Department of Education by the Gender Balance in STEM group. Leahy will contribute to the case studies dimension of the study. 

Professor Ann MacPhail

Ann MacPhail is Assistant Dean Research for the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences and a faculty member of the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at University of Limerick. Ann’s teaching and research interests revolve around instructional alignment, curriculum and assessment and teacher educators’ professional learning needs. Ann is contributing to the school-based case study element of the study.

Dr Jennifer Hennessy

Dr Jennifer Hennessy is a Lecturer in Education at University of Limerick. Her research interests include the impact of high-stakes assessment on teaching and learning, the role of teachers as researchers and the impact of performativity on teacher identity and agency.  Jennifer will be contributing to the case studies dimension of the study.

Dr Jennifer McMahon

Dr Jennifer McMahon is a senior lecturer in Psychology in the Department of Psychology, University of Limerick. She is the director of the Irish Research Council-funded i-TEACH (Teaching for Inclusion) research lab at UL. Her primary interests are in the area of inclusion, child and youth social emotional development, school mental health and the translation of evidence to practice in school settings. Jennifer is contributing to the teacher perspective on the evaluation of the Junior Cycle Framework, specifically informing inclusion and wellbeing aspects of the evaluation.

Dr Jason Power

Dr Jason Power is a Lecturer in Engineering and Technology Education. His research focuses on factors that are related to performance within STEM learning environments. He is contributing to the design, and subsequent analysis, of the survey used within this project.

Dr Niamh O’Meara

Dr Niamh O’Meara is a lecturer in mathematics education based in EPISTEM, the national centre for STEM Education in UL. She lectures in Geometry, Algebra, Discrete Mathematics and Mathematics Pedagogy and also acts as an academic advisor on the Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching. Her research interests include mathematics teacher education, the knowledge required to teach mathematics at second level and curricular issues in mathematics education. 

Dr Ciarán Ó Gallchóir
Ciarán Ó Gallchóir is a Lecturer in Educational Leadership in the School of Education at University of Limerick. He teaches on the school’s initial teacher education programmes and postgraduate programmes in educational leadership. He is the course director for the Masters of Education in School Leadership (MESL). His research interests are identity development, school placement and educational leadership. As part of this project, he is engaged in stakeholder interviews along with the school principal phase of the project.

Dr Rachel Lenihan

Dr. Rachel Lenihan is a Lecturer in Teaching, Learning and Assessment in the School of Education at University of Limerick. She teaches on initial teacher education programmes at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels and is Course Director for the Diploma in Drug and Alcohol Studies. Before joining the team at UL in 2022, she was a post-primary teacher of English and History for 17 years. She worked as a School Placement Development Officer in the Department of Education and Professional Studies in UL in 2015-2016, supporting undergraduate students while on school placement and forging links between schools and the university. She was seconded to the support services for teachers as an English Advisor with Junior Cycle for Teachers from 2016-2018. Rachel continues to work as an English Associate with JCT. Her doctoral study, completed in 2019, examines teachers’ understandings of adolescent literacy in the Post-Primary setting. Other areas of interest include education policy, English pedagogy, assessment and reflective practice.

Christine Ní Chathasaigh

Christine is a PhD candidate at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Her research focuses on immersion education and teacher language awareness. This research leads on from masters research, having completed the M. Oid san Oideachas Lán-Ghaeilge agus Gaeltachta in 2020. Christine works in an all-Irish post-primary school setting since graduating in 2013. She is an associate with the Professional Development Support Service for Teachers (PDST).

Dr Robert Lynch

Dr Robert Lynch is a Senior Lecturer in Energy and the Course Director of the BSc in Applied Physics at the Department of Physics at University of Limerick in Ireland. Dr Lynch teaches several undergraduate courses and is the supervisor of several PhD and Masters students in physics and electrochemistry.  He is also the Principal Investigator of the Energy Storage and Semiconductor Technology Group at the Bernal Institute and the Department of Physics.

Dr Aishling Flaherty

Dr Aishling Flaherty is a Lecturer in Science Education at University of Limerick. Aishling’s research interests revolve around all things chemistry education, especially how emotions serve to implicate chemistry education. Aishling will be contributing to the project as an advisor.

Prof Merrilyn Goos (Project Advisory Director)

Prof Martin Mills (International Advisor)