The CECDE has recently recruited four PhD students to continue our commitment to fostering research on ECCE in Ireland.
Anna Dillon
Anna has worked as a teaching principal in Ballyshannon National School, Kilcullen, Co Kildare for the last 3 years, but is currently on secondment to Mary Immaculate College of Education, UL. She lectures in Educational Methodologies and Modern Language Pedagogy, and is the Acting Co-ordinator of Microteaching. Anna conducted an MA in Education by research in MIC, in the area of second and third language acquisition in Gaelscoileanna and English-medium schools as part of the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative .
The working title of Anna's study is 'A Comparative Study of L1 maintenance, L2 acquisition and L3 acquisition among newcomer children in Junior Infant classes in Gaelscoileanna and English-medium primary schools in the Republic of Ireland'. Her supervisors are Dr. Máire Mhic Mhathúna and Dr. Brian O'Neill and the research is being conducted through the School of Social Sciences, DIT.
Helen Lynch
Helen Lynch is an Occupational Therapist and is currently the lead lecturer and coordinator of the second year Occupational Therapy programme for the undergraduate students in UCC. She has many years experience of working with children with special needs in the Cork area and has a diploma in the Montessori Method of education. She completed her MSc in University College Cork on the typical daily activities of children in middle-childhood, living in Cork city.
The working title of her PhD is ‘Beginning with the end in sight: inclusive environments - inside or out’. Her work is being supervised by Dr. Nóirín Hayes, in the Dublin Institute of Technology, based in Mountjoy Square.
Claire O'Connor
Claire is a primary teacher in Archbishop Ryan Junior National School in Lucan. She completed her MEd in UCD on the motivations surrounding primary teachers’ pursuit of postgraduate study. She has an Associate Diploma in Drama and recently studied at Kings Inns for a Diploma in Legal Studies.
Her PhD is entitled ‘Playing with Partnership’ and explores parents’ perceptions of their role as partners in early childhood education within the primary school system in Ireland. Her work is being supervised by Dr. Philomena Donnelly of St. Patrick’s College.
Sharon O'Driscoll
Sharon is a primary teacher in Coachford National School, Co. Cork. She has worked for many years with the Professional Development unit of the INTO as a designer and tutor on early years courses.
Sharon undertakes her PhD studies on 'Exploring Early Years Pedagogy in Multigrade Classrooms’. This will be supervised by Dr. Elizabeth Dunphy, St. Patrick’s College of Education, Drumcondra, Dublin.
In 2003, the CECDE recruited four PhD students as part of our Research Strategy to complement and strengthen the research capacity of the Early Childhood Care and Education Sector.
These students are nearing completion of the studies and we hope to host their PhDs on this webpage as they are published in 2008.
Anne Boyle
Anne Boyle BA, HDE, MEd has taught in a traveller pre-school in Galway since 1986 and also serves on our Consultative Committee representing the Traveller Pre-School Teachers Association.
She undertakes her PhD studies in ‘Parental Involvement in Traveller Pre-Schools’, to be completed over 3 years, and supervised by Dr. Paul Downes of St. Patrick’s College.
Carmel Brennan
Carmel works with IPPA, the Early Childhood Organisation and is responsible for the on-going development and co-ordination of the IPPA Quality Improvement Programmes. She has worked as a teacher, a playgroup (Naionra) provider and a Childcare Advisor.
She has completed her M.A. in Education with the Open University and undertakes her PhD studies on ‘The Case for Play’, an area of particular interest to IPPA. The study is being supervised by Noirin Hayes of the DIT.
Mary Irving
Mary is Teaching Principal of St. Catherine’s Infant School in Cabra, Dublin 7. She has recently completed an MSc in Psychology with the Open University, and also is an Associate Lecturer of Child Development with the Open University.
Mary takes as her theme Assessment in Early Childhood Education and is supervised by Dr. Mark Morgan of St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.
Mary O'Kane
Congratulations to Mary O’Kane who was recently awarded her PhD from the Dublin Institute of Technology for “Building Bridges: The Transition from Preschool to Primary School for Children in Ireland”. Mary is the first of the original cohort of CECDE-sponsored PhD students to complete her studies. The finished thesis, one of the few pieces of research completed in the area of Transitions in ECCE in Ireland, is available from the CECDE Library and can also be accessed online here.
Site last updated:
5 February, 2012
Centre for Early Childhood Development & Education
Gate Lodge, St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Tel: 00353 (0)1 8842110 Fax: 00353 (0)1 8842111
Email: early.childhood@spd.dcu.ie
