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Stran at SCoTENS 2024: research launched at all-Ireland teacher education conference

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

The 22nd Annual SCoTENS conference took place last Thursday and Friday at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, with Stranmillis well represented at this year’s event.

SCoTENS – short for the Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South – was established in 2003 following the Good Friday Agreement to promote cross-border collaboration in teacher education on the island of Ireland. As part of this work, SCoTENs organises an annual conference, a student-teacher exchange programme, and provides seed funding for research projects.

Among the major reports launched at the event was the Cultural Responsivity in Teacher Education: Research in Action report – known as the CRiTERiA project – co-led by SUC’s Director of Teaching and Learning, Prof Patricia Eaton in conjunction with teams from Dublin City University, University of Galway, and Queen’s University Belfast.

Stranmillis staff were also represented across the two-day conference, including

  • Dr Jayne Moore, who presented with Dublin City University’s Dr Regina Murphy, on their report ‘Co-constructing understandings of inclusion and democracy through music education with student teachers in North and South’
  • Ms Catriona Rogers and Ms Paula Carlin, presenting with Dr Alison Moore from University College Cork, on their research ‘Facilitating Reflection and Dialogue Across Borders: Establishing a Community of Practice to enhance early years placement experience in Ireland’
  • Dr Gillian Beck, presenting her research ‘Promoting sensory pedagogy for all: a whole class teaching approach to sensory education provision’

Stranmillis University College’s Director of Research and Scholarship, a previous Chair and current member of of SCoTENS Committee, also chaired a panel discussion around a keynote address of the conference from Mr John Lonergan, ‘The challenges that still exist in our efforts to create a fair, just, equal, and inclusive society on the island of Ireland – why teachers play a vital role in helping us to achieve this dream’.

Find out more about SCoTENS on their website here: https://scotens.org/

Taoiseach announces research funding for Stranmillis-led ‘BUDDIES project’

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

An all-Ireland team led by Stranmillis University College’s Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) have been successful in being awarded a significant funding award for research through the Irish government’s Shared Island initiative and SCoTENS. The development was announced today in a keynote address to the Shared Island Forum by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

The BUDDIES Project will examine the role and potential of the Home-School Community Liaison (HSCL) coordinator in terms of addressing educational disadvantage across the island of Ireland.

The research will be a collaborative project with University College Dublin (UCD) and Marino Institute of Education (MIE).

Led by Dr Glenda Walsh, Assistant Director of CREU and Head of Early Years Education, the Stranmillis research team includes Dr Jill Dunn, Dr Ken Gibson and Dr Karen Orr, working in conjunction with southern partners Dr Seaneen Sloan at UCD, and Dr Cliodhna Martin at MIE.

Professor Colleen McLaughlin, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Cambridge, will play a role as an expert advisor.

The HSCL works at the intersection between home and school, supporting children and families in the process, particularly in areas of high deprivation and those at risk of educational underachievement. It is all about enhancing partnerships with families so that they value and support their children’s education more fully.

The research aims to provide a fuller understanding of the role of HSCL coordinators across the full educational spectrum and to guide policy-makers and practitioners in their knowledge and appreciation of the value of HSCL coordinators, particularly for those facing disadvantage.

Welcoming the news, Dr Glenda Walsh said “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with University College Dublin and Marino Institute of Education on such a timely and significant project.  Positive home-school partnerships are hugely beneficial in terms of tackling educational underachievement so learning more about best practice in this field will no doubt prove beneficial across the educational spectrum.”

Director of CREU, Dr Noel Purdy, said “There is so much to be learnt from the sharing of experiences and expertise with our closest neighbours and so we are very grateful to SCoTENS and the Shared Island initiative for funding this north-south research.  I know that the findings will be keenly anticipated by school leaders, researchers and policy makers on both sides of the border.”

Report: School-based Support for Syrian Refugee Pupils in Northern Ireland

Posted on by Andrew McAteer


Over the past 5 years Northern Ireland has welcomed approximately 1,900 Syrian refugees, including almost 700 school-aged children and young people, through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (VPRS). Many of these have experienced war and persecution, and a range of additional adversities during and post-migration. Alongside language proficiency, ‘trauma’ has been the most common challenge reported by school staff to the Education Authority’s (EA) Intercultural Education Service (IES). In response, during 2020-21 a new pilot referral service for schools, the Schools Trauma Advisory and Referral Service (STARS), was formed, with the overall aim of reducing the impact of trauma as a barrier to learning and managing the demands of a school day.

This independent research was funded by the EA and had the following aims: i: to better understand the educational experiences of Syrian refugee pupils and explicate the support requirements of teachers and schools; 2: to investigate barriers to accessing the educational environment which may have resulted from the sequelae of previous trauma; 3: to provide an evidence base to inform the service design and delivery of STARS.

A Review of International Evidence

The report contains three distinct strands. The first is a scoping review of international evidence relating to school-based interventions, practices and approaches that address trauma and other psychosocial difficulties among refugee pupils since 2010. This summarised the findings from 11 studies, covering a range of trauma-informed practice in schools ranging from CBT-based interventions to other informed by a TST model, to a wide array of alternative approaches that harness the beneficial effects of music, art and play. We paid particular attention to how these interventions had been implemented in their unique contexts, and with what outcomes, to identify effective, engaging and efficient modes of working.

Consulting with Syrian Refugee Pupils and their Parents

The second strand is a pair of surveys with Syrian parents and pupils to identify barriers and difficulties experienced in school, including those relation to experiences of trauma. Given the exceptional school closures at the time due to the Covid-19, direct engagement through focus groups or interviews was not an option. Survey responses nonetheless covered a significant proportion of Syrian refugee families in Northern Ireland (~20%) and bring their vital voices into the research.

Gathering teachers to share experiences

Finally, a set of online focus groups with teachers investigated the support requirements of teachers and schools, and any barriers to education resulting from the sequelae of previous trauma amongst refugee pupils. 16 teachers representing a range of statutory educational settings were involved in the focus groups, and highlighted a desire for more widespread and available training and support for teachers educating multilingual, trauma-affected children and young people.

The report ends by identifying six major findings and makes six associated recommendations for consideration by EA colleagues and other related agencies.

1. Language acquisition is the main challenge

The first is that language issues were highlighted by all research participants as the main barrier to education and a major area where support is perceived to be lacking. We conclude that language as a barrier needs to be re-visited in terms of commissioning of services as there is not enough capacity in terms of either resourcing or teacher expertise/capacity. In addition, measures to address the impact of language barriers in accessing trauma support are greatly needed.

2. A strong evidence base exists for school-based interventions and practices

Our scoping review found a diverse range of potentially beneficial school-based interventions and practices that support refugee children and adolescents’ recovery from traumatic experiences worldwide. Where they converge is to demonstrate that it is vital that any interventions/practices are culturally sensitive and contextualised, taking into account the participants’ priorities, norms and values. Partnership with members of the Syrian community and other community organisations in the selection, adaptation, implementation and evaluation of interventions is vital.

3. Trauma has impacted some but not all

Our focus group results suggested that there is a default assumption among some school staff that all refugee pupils have experienced trauma and have barriers to learning as a result. However, while a third of Syrian parents reported that their children had experienced a traumatic event, this did not seem to be a barrier to accessing the educational environment according to most parents and pupils. A minority did report signs of trauma including attachment issues, avoidance, separation anxiety, and being quiet and withdrawn. There is a need for psychoeducation to develop understandings of trauma, and of mental health and wellbeing in general, both within the Syrian refugee community and amongst school staff.

4. Schools have a lack of information about refugee pupils

Schools reported a lack of knowledge about refugee pupils’ history and background. In the absence of this information, the biographical experiences that they relate to teachers may lead to the default assumption that trauma has impacted their wellbeing and learning. In the report we suggest systemic approaches through which professionals could gather information about prevalence and impact of previous experiences.

5. Schools have had success, but clear guidance is required

Syrian parents’ and pupils’ reports on school experiences and support were overwhelmingly positive. The focus groups with school staff highlighted professional commitment, passion and creativity in using existing knowledge and understanding, and in a sourcing a range of external supports to support Syrian children and young people. However, some school staff stated that they often had to rely on instinct or personal experience, rather than expertise, which made them feel inadequate and worried about the quality of their provision. A ‘Best Practice Guide’ for supporting refugee and asylum seeking pupils could provide evidence-informed, best practice advice for schools. There are good examples from other areas, but a Northern Ireland-specific, contextualised, guide is needed. In the report we have made further suggestions for what this could include.

6. The EA’s Intercultural Education Service support is valued and should be extended

Existing support is widely seen as helpful and is appreciated by teachers and schools. Interaction with IES/STARS personnel was consistently described as positive and helpful, but there was a clear call for this to be more widely available and accessible. With the addition of Educational Psychology staff to IES there is potential for a joined-up, responsive team with diverse expertise to deliver a holistic service for refugee and other newcomer children and young people.
Trauma training should be available for all schools and all staff, regardless of a school’s VPRS pupil population or a staff member’s role. Further collaboration and integration of trauma-informed training and practice across the EA and beyond may better serve school staff. Finally, local training/networking events that bring together staff from neighbouring schools to connect, share best practice, exchange resources and insights, and build capacity were highly sought-after by teachers in our focus groups. These could be facilitated by IES/STARS through reflective practice groups or group process consultation, which would be an effective and efficient approach to supporting a large number of refugee pupils.

Click here to read the full report

Click here to register for the CREU webinar on June 23rd 2021

CREU Podcast: Transfer Tests and Access to Grammar School Places

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

An issue dominating conversations about education in Northern Ireland over the past few months has been the transfer tests and access to grammar school places.

As the transfer tests were first postponed and then cancelled due to the pandemic, we have been left discussing the consequences are for social and educational inequality, as well as assessing the merits and pitfalls of contingencies and of the tests themselves. It has caused great controversy, partly because individual convictions about academic selection are deeply rooted, and partly because reliable data about the transfer process is so difficult to come by.

So what is the evidence?

For this episode, CREU director Dr Noel Purdy spoke to Dr Sam Sims from the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities at the UCL Institute of Education in London, who published a research paper in 2019 entitled “Why do so few low and middle-income children attend a grammar school?”, to find out more.

What’s the (gender) difference?: Views on male primary teachers from three Controlled primary school communities

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

Click here to access the free download of the report

The Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement, in collaboration with the Controlled Schools’ Support Council, have recently undertaken a pilot research project investigating views on male primary teachers.

Northern Ireland, like most developed countries, has experienced a long-term decline in the proportion of male primary teachers, to around 15%. The question of males in teaching has been connected in public discourse to the long-standing problem of underachievement lying particularly with working class, Protestant boys. According to existing research, this is mainly due to the joint assumptions of gender matching (the idea that boys will achieve better outcomes with a male teacher) and compensatory theory (the idea that male teachers provide role models that compensate for the lack (or shortcomings) of a father figure at home). However, these theories remain largely unexplored in the context of Northern Ireland’s school communities. This qualitative pilot research project investigated the perceptions of male and female pupils, teachers, parents and principals in three Controlled primary school communities in East Belfast and North Down, regarding the difference a male primary teacher might make.

Three key themes emerged from the project data. Firstly, it is clear that gender equality is a strong shared desire across all stakeholders in the primary school. This is both in terms of having a more equitable balance of male and female teachers and a balance in distribution across year groups, with parents in particular calling for more males ‘down’ the school, working with the youngest children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 classrooms. Secondly, male teachers were seen as particularly ‘fun’ by pupils, parents and teachers alike. We suggest that this perception could be related to their rarity within the primary school environment, but is also counter-balanced by the similarly widely shared view that male teachers lacked ‘caring’, ‘nurturing’ styles of teaching. Thirdly, the theme of male teachers providing vital role models for children coming from disadvantaged and/or single-parent households was strong in parents’, principals’ and teachers’ interviews. This theme aligns closely with compensatory theory, demonstrating that this is a widely shared point of view amongst adult stakeholders in primary education.

While this small pilot study cannot claim to provide generalised conclusions, the rich qualitative data gathered here goes some way to supporting calls to work harder to change the prejudicial views in society which appear to discourage males wishing to embark on a career in teaching, especially in primary schools and, most acutely, working with children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Further research could explore the issue of the impacts of teacher gender in primary education across a wider range of schools of different management types and in different community settings across Northern Ireland and further afield.