Members of the School of Education shared their research with colleagues during a School of Education Research Sharing event on Tuesday 20th of January 2026. Seven members of staff, reflecting 6 ongoing research projects in the University of Limerick, shared insights and considerations from their work.
Dr. Joanne O’Flaherty, Academic Co-ordinator of the Ubuntu Network (Ubuntu Network | University of Limerick) highlighted a collaborative self-study that examines how facilitation within a community of practice can foster self-awareness and critical reflective practice among teacher educators, emphasising relational trust, psychological safety, and vulnerability. It argues that effective facilitation requires emotional, relational, and psychotherapeutic-informed competences.
Dr Niamh O’Meara shared work she is conducting with Dr Olivia Fitzmaurice around the development of a conceptual model to support mathematical knowledge and understanding for teachers. The model, called UKE-MAT, considers the relationship between knowledge and understanding and proposes a research informed way of supporting greater teacher, and student, understanding of mathematical concepts. An earlier paper on the model can be found here: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10857-025-09732-z.pdf
A thought-provoking presentation by John Morris and Manus Mc Dyer explored the position and role of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) within technology education. The paper considers how effective technology education, through engaging in design, can support students Social and Emotional Learning. The presentation explored and questioned how design approaches within technology education can be conducted in an appropriate manner that support SEL.
Dr Nicolaas Blom presented findings and considerations from a scoping review on the concept of ‘followership’. The presentation encouraged members of the School of Education to consider this under-researched area, with the majority of research literature looking at the concept of leaders and leadership, but rarely at followership. The presentation considered the nuances and importance of followership for organisational culture.
Professor Paul Conway provided an overview of the Teachers’ Professional Journeys (TPJ) The First Decade (2024-2030) project. The TPJ project is a national longitudinal research study that has been jointly commissioned and funded by the Department of Education and Youth and the Teaching Council. The project is being conducted by the University of Limerick (UL), Mary Immaculate College (MIC) and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). The project will explore teachers’ early career experiences, as they complete initial teacher education and become established in the profession. More information is available here: TPJ
Dr Helen Lowe and Dr. Pat Dundon presented a timely piece of work exploring student teachers experiences of Supervision and Substitution (S&S) while on school placement. Set within a context of teacher supply issues, the study explored the benefits and challenges student teachers experience when being asked to support with S&S while on placement. While the financial benefits and experience were a support for student teachers, it came at a cost of burn out and stress in balancing lesson planning and preparation.
