Anne Graham Cagney

South East Technological University · Education

Having a commitment to lifelong learning is essential to the professional development of teachers as adaptable, self-reliant educators (Coolahan, 2002). And it is vital for further education and training (FET) teachers whose expertise in vocational areas must support flexible responses to evolving industry practices, standards and expectations. Tra...

Higher education institutions increasingly encourage and support interdisciplinary collaborations with the aim of high-impact research productivity. The Fulbright Scholars Program provides faculty with opportunities to form partnerships with colleagues internationally, yet little is known about the impact of the Fulbright experience on internationa...

Rates of autism have been on the increase globally for some time. Regardless of the epidemiological reasons for this increase, there is a clear need to respond to the growing young adult population who are currently transitioning into further and post compulsory education in Ireland. However much of the research to date focuses on either individual...

Findings from an study exploring how Adult/Further Education educators experience professional development programmes, and what learning spaces are needed to support their 'readiness for change' suggest (a) the importance of a personal transformative learning environment comprised of direct and active learning experiences, informed dialogue, critic...

Gentle introduction to the concept of strategy and strategic thinking. Core source is the Henley/IMI programme and George Tovstiga’s book on strategy.

Overall Review In summary, this book provides a resource to inform and educate researchers on action research and on insider inquiry in particular. It addresses a broad range of questions including what are suitable issues to tackle within your own organisation, role duality, how the cycles of action and reflection operate and when to quit. It also...

Talented people are ‘individuals who can make a difference to organisational performance, either through their immediate contribution or in the longer term by demonstrating the highest levels of potential.’ (CIPD, 2007: pg3). Heretofore, faculty members have determined the nature and extent of their professional development; most often driven by ca...

This study's purpose is to design an international survey that will identify the key contributors and their networks; the development points; and the promising research collaboration opportunities that emerge from international scholarly networks. Questionnaires and interviews during the pilot will inform the research study on how to identify the r...

Findings from an exploratory study in a U.S. professional doctorate programme with a signature pedagogy rooted in action research shed light on (a) the nature of learning and insider action research, (b) programme impact on participants’ professional and leadership development, and (c) the nature of ‘doctorateness’ for individuals and higher educat...

This paper presents a case study to explore faculty engagement through personal identification with their organization. The case study is of faculty members in several institutes of technology (IOT) who are currently engaged in doctoral programmes that form part of the staff development strategy for technology university status. Firstly, the study...

This research project examines the impact of international scholarly networks on faculty core research, networked relationships, and inter-disciplinary orientations. Building on social network theory, we develop a model of professional learning and development that identifies the key contributors and their networks; the development points; and the...

In more recent years, there has been some fresh debate around the issue as to what constitutes the complex notion of teacher identity across various teacher education settings. Three seminal reviews of the literature in the last decade (Beauchamp &Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Rodgers and Scott, 2008) have emphasised, in particular, the impo...

This paper reports on the first phase of longitudinal research project undertaken at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) focused on the teaching-learning environment of two of the first graduate and postgraduate TEQ programmes for Further Education in Ireland. More precisely, the study takes a close look at participants’ intentions, expectation...

Insider inquiry involves being immersed in local situations and generating contextually embedded knowledge which emerges from direct experience. It requires a method that facilitates attending to observable data, envisaging possible explanations of that data and selecting as probable or certain the explanations which provide the best account for th...

Interdisciplinary Ways of Thinking and Practicing . . . . Without Tears There is evidence of change within higher education; in the need for research-based responses to the grand challenges facing society; in questions about the disciplinary context in which higher education is being delivered; and in the employability of graduates and post-gradua...

Insider inquiry involves being immersed in local situations and generating contextually embedded knowledge which emerges from direct experience. It requires a method that facilitates attending to observable data, envisaging possible explanations of that data and selecting as probable or certain the explanations which provide the best account for th...

Description There is evidence of change in the context in which doctoral education is developing; in the need for research-based responses to the grand challenges facing society; and in the employability of the PhD. Key features of these changes identified by the EUA and the IUA, include quality research training, inter-disciplinarity, partnerships...

The transformational effect of technology on how we live, and its application to different work disciplines are some of the grand challenges facing society. Radically rethinking our education system in order to cultivate creativity, innovation and thinking across the disciplines is one way of preparing for this future. There is evidence of change w...

This presentation (and subsequent paper) examines the application of threshold concepts in product development teaching and learning. The contexts is an undergraduate degree course in Trinity College Dublin, linking the theory to teaching principles and to learning activities. The students are drawn from two separate disciplines with their own uniq...

This paper uses insights from the literature on threshold concepts to develop a structure for understanding teaching and learning in the area of managing product development. The paper defines the threshold concept, outlines pedagogic principles and describes learning activities that seek to enact these principles. The paper is based upon experienc...

Entwistle (2003) identified one of the outputs of the UK ETL research project as developing more precise ways of thinking about university teaching and learning. An important outcome of this research project has been the development of a set of concepts in respect of the quality of learning, particularly focusing on the pedagogical concepts of trou...

This paper reflects on the experience of creating an appropriate learning space for a threshold concept, namely insider inquiry. The paper defines a threshold concept, outlines pedagogic principles and describes learning activities that seek to enact these principles. The paper is based on an action research project which examines how an undergradu...

This paper uses insights from the literature on threshold concepts to develop a structure for understanding teaching and learning in the area of managing product development. The paper defines the threshold concept, outlines pedagogic principles and describes learning activities that seek to enact these principles. The paper is based upon experienc...