Oliver McGarrUniversity of Limerick | UL · School of Education
Oliver McGarr
PhD.
About
85
Publications
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Citations since 2017
Introduction
Oliver McGarr is an associate professor in the School of Education, University of Limerick. His research interests include the use of technology in Education and reflective practice in teacher education.
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (85)
This paper explores the development of policies dealing with teachers' digital competence in Norway, Ireland and Spain. Using a documentary research approach, the study analysed relevant policy documents from each country over a thirty-year period to the present day. Analysis of the documents highlights historical differences and similarities in ho...
With growing societal recognition of the need to take action in order to promote more sustainable futures, school curricula have been seen as crucial vehicles through which to promote education for sustainable development. STEM subjects in particular have been targeted as pertinent areas to best promote sustainability through curriculum development...
Policy documents relating to teacher education in Ireland and Norway from 2008 to 2016, representing periods of change in teacher education in both jurisdictions, were analysed to explore the discursive construction of reflective practice. Employing a discourse analysis, the study found that, while reflective practice was seen as important in both...
Exploring one’s life‐history in order to unearth how one’s past influences current conceptions of teaching is commonly employed in teacher education. Recognising the constructed and situated nature of autobiographical memory, this study examines autobiographical comics completed by pre‐service early childhood educators as part of the first year of...
Dealing with the often-overwhelming nature of the school placement experience, and the associated demands of classroom management, can be a significant challenge for many pre-service teachers. These challenges point to the need for pre-service teachers to experience aspects of challenging pupil behaviour in less pressurised environments, and where...
This report is the first of a series of thematic reports from an on-going 4-year longitudinal
study exploring the implementation, enactment and impact of the Framework for Junior
Cycle in post-primary schools in Ireland. The study aims to capture the opportunities and
challenges presented by the Framework for Junior Cycle and aims to enable schools...
Background
Transition from final-year medical student to newly graduated doctor is challenging with evidence of associated increased patient mortality and medical errors. Previous work suggests tackling preparedness alone does not ‘solve’ this transition. The current focus on mentoring and support provision during this period and is an under-resear...
The metaphors used by teachers to explain the nature of student learning and student difficulty can reveal a great deal about how teachers conceive the teaching and learning process. This is an important area of research as it can shed light on how they see their role in the learning process and how they should intervene to assist students in diffi...
In this final article, we bring together the issues raised by authors included in this special issue. We start by describing the current situation in our own countries, partly to highlight the different ways in which nations are responding in the longer term to the pandemic, but also to draw attention to the similarity of experience – of educators...
This paper explores the career decisions of a cohort of 42 undergraduate, pre-service teachers in Ireland through the lens of Marcia's (1980) Identity Status Theory. The study employed semi-structured interviews to examine the cohort's level of commitment to and exploration of a teaching career as part of their career decision making. Discourse ana...
Preservice teachers’ schooling during their “apprenticeship of observation” has long been a focus of attention in teacher education as it is seen as influential in the development of teacher beliefs and in limiting preservice teachers’ openness to alternative conceptions of teaching. Looking through the lens of autobiographical memory, the research...
Internationally, there is a growing recognition of teacher educators acting as both agents of and subjects to centrally devised policy reforms. In an Irish context, in which a rhetoric of policy veils teacher accountability behind standards/codes of professionalism, this study sets out to explore how professionalism is communicated to pre-service t...
Research relating to the nature and purpose of ‘design’ activity across education sectors has accelerated in recent years as governments and policy makers throughout the world highlight the importance of skills such as creative problem-solving and innovation. Within secondary schools, responsibility for teaching and learning through design is often...
This paper explores future digital technology policy for education with reference to the Irish context. Framed within the global context of commercial influence on education and related discourses, it addresses the Irish context with particular reference to identifiable ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors seen as influencing policy provision in any next phas...
This paper examines the online marketing of digital technologies in education from three multi-national technology corporations' websites focusing on both the language used in the text and the nature of the accompanying images. Through a content analysis, the paper shows the ways in which the need for technology investment is rationalised. It also...
This paper puts forward a case for using the PEAT model in teacher education, a framework designed to capture the different dimensions of teachers' professional digital competence (PDC). The model arose from an Erasmus+ funded project exploring digital competence in teacher education. While existing frameworks and conceptualisations of teachers' di...
This paper reports on the use of comics to help facilitate reflection on one’s past as part of an early childhood education degree programme in Spain. It is common in professional education programmes in the health and education fields to encourage students to reflect on their past in order to explore how this has shaped their development and how i...
Background and Context: School principals and school guidance counsellors can be very influential in deciding what subjects are offered on the curriculum, how they are promoted and who they are targeted to. For that reason, exploring their views of Computer Science (CS) as a subject can help unearth potential barriers that may hinder the wider upta...
Internationally, initial teacher education has experienced shifts towards competence and school-based programmatic reforms. As a result, literature on the role of teacher educators operating within the academy suggests a sense of doom as market-based and political distrust of the academy grows. For now, initial teacher education in Ireland is large...
Encouraging students to reflect on their decisions to become early childhood educators and explore their future intentions is commonly employed in pre-service programmes. Notwithstanding the value of such tasks, research has tended to downplay the constructed and performative nature of such responses. This paper explores the performative nature of...
This qualitative study explores the views of nine teachers working in the Further Education and Training in Ireland regarding the use of technology. Drawing on in-depth interviews, thematic analysis exposed a techno-positive perspective and a hierarchy of technologies with newer technologies being valued more. A sort of ‘intangible’ quality is ascr...
In 2017, the Department of Education and Skills (DES) initiated the development of a Computer Science (CS) subject at upper second level in Ireland. The first phase of its introduction involved a selected group of 40 schools. As part of this first phase, teachers from these schools embarked on a professional development programme which commenced in...
This study aimed to explore the digital competence of recent entrants into a pre-service teacher education programme in an Irish University. The participants were drawn from a cohort of 208 undergraduate teacher education students. The study employed an online survey that captured both self-reported levels of digital competence and knowledge of key...
Set amidst the backdrop of concerns related to the entry of students to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers, this study seeks to understand the Professional STEM Identity status of STEM undergraduate students and STEM professionals. This study utilizes a cross-sectional research design to compare participant scores in t...
Set against the backdrop of a succession of educational technology policies in Ireland, influenced by international discourses, this study aimed to explore how Irish pre-service teachers justify the use of mobile technologies in schools. In order to achieve this, 23 pre-service teachers were presented with a vignette that asked them to justify the...
Many studies have espoused the pedagogical benefits of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) across multiple disciplines. With the increasing use of PBL within higher education there exists a need to consider its position not just as a pedagogical approach but as a functional instrument in the development and promotion of social capital and status. Drawing...
This paper explores the rationales underpinning the introduction of Computer Science (CS) into school curricula and examines the ways in which educational systems have responded to these growing calls. In outlining the possible ways that educational systems can respond to this demand, the paper makes use of a conceptual framework through which the...
Although often suffering from a lack of conceptual clarity and definition, the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as a pedagogical approach has become almost ubiquitous across many disciplines in higher education in recent years. As well as purported benefits for student learning, the empowerment of students through increased autonomy is frequentl...
Dealing with the often-overwhelming nature of the school placement experience and the associated demands of classroom management can be a significant challenge for many pre-service teachers. These challenges point to the need for pre-service teachers to experience aspects of challenging pupil behaviour in less pressurised environments and where the...
Reflective writing tasks are commonly employed across higher education programmes, yet despite their use, they are often accompanied by concerns that students simply performance manage by constructing positive accounts of their practice in their reflections. To address this, students are encouraged to be ‘honest’ in their reflections based on the a...
This study examines supervising field instructors’ reporting and assessment of technology use on School Placement. The research examined a sample of reports by supervising field instructors containing their assessment of pre-service teachers’ use of technology in their teaching. Findings highlight that technology was seen exclusively as a presentat...
The importance of Digital Competence in teacher education has increased in recent years resulting in a range of digital competency frameworks aimed at guiding governments in their integration of digital competence in teacher education. Through an analysis of two influential supranational competency frameworks, the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework fo...
Contemporary research is considering new forms of literacy that extend beyond the skills required to process alphanumeric data. The skills involved in visualising, reasoning, and communicating about 2D and 3D spatial information are commonly referred to as ‘Spatial Literacy’. Research has highlighted a positive relationship between Spatial Literacy...
Pre-service teachers' attitudes and future intentions to use digital technologies have been explored through both quantitative and qualitative studies. This study adopts an alternative approach through the use of student generated comics. Analysis of the pre-service teachers' comics highlighted that technology was presented in very positive or nega...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify whether or not females believe they associate with the culture of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by investigating the perceptions of female students currently enroled in STEM courses.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents data from a survey on female STEM students...
Many countries have launched national educational technology policies in the past number of decades aimed at increasing technology integration in schools. This article analyses educational technology policy in Ireland from 1997 to 2017 and draws attention to an underlying economic agenda for technology integration in schools, set against a backdrop...
Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify whether or not females believe they associate with the culture of STEM by investigating the perceptions of female students currently enrolled in STEM courses. Design The paper presents data from a survey on female STEM students' 'Perspectives of Women in STEM', 'Parents' Science Qualification', 'Sup...
The 'learner biography' is commonly used in teacher education to assist in the unpacking of schooling experiences. Although past teachers are often central in these memories, the educational benefit of these recollections for the student teacher's development is often dependent on how these experiences are recalled as they form the basis of further...
This review of literature, examining digital competence (DC) in teacher education, forms part of an Erasmus+ funded project, ‘Digital Competence in Teacher Education’ (DiCTE). The project is led by Oslo Metropolitan University with partners University of Limerick, University of Malta University of Oslo and University of Valencia.
Serious games are becoming increasingly popular due to their association with increased learning outcomes when compared to traditional self‐regulated learning activities. However, the majority of research examining the outcomes of serious games has focused almost exclusively on learning outcomes. This has resulted in a lack of research examining wh...
Scaffolding pre-service teachers to critically reflect on their practice remains a challenging goal. Exploring the extent to which peer discussion facilitates this critical reflection is the focus of this paper. Using a series of three linked tasks, pre-service teachers 1) reflected on a classroom incident from a vignette of practice, 2) shared and...
Pre-service teachers (PSTs) are often placed in a vulnerable position during their school placement. Recognising the presence of power dynamics between PSTs, university-based tutors, and cooperating teachers as well as exploring how PSTs navigate these power relations is the focus of this paper. Data from interviews with final-year PSTs were analys...
Information and communications technology (ICT) now plays a prominent role in pre-service teacher education programmes across the globe. Despite this emphasis, research indicates that pre-service teachers’ use of ICT is often less than expected, even though they express positive opinions of its benefits. This study aimed to explore pre-service teac...
Background: Performance-based assessment (PBA) is an integral component of health professional education as it determines students’ readiness for independent practice. Stakeholder input can provide valuable insight regarding its challenges, facilitators, and impact on student learning, which may further its evolution. Currently, evidence of stakeho...
The ubiquitous and often pervasive expansion of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) agenda across global education systems has largely gone uncontested. Strategic efforts to build on perceived natural subject synergies across the separate STEM disciplines are promoted as central to supporting the growth of economies through...
Background
Clinical performance assessment tools (CPATs) used in physiotherapy practice education need to be psychometrically sound and appropriate for use in all clinical settings in order to provide an accurate reflection of a student's readiness for clinical practice. Current evidence to support the use of existing assessment tools is inconsiste...
The ‘theory-practice divide’ in teacher education can be viewed not simply as an acceptance of a body of knowledge but instead an acceptance of the teacher educator’s authority to determine what is relevant educational theory. This research aimed to explore student teachers’ views of ‘educational theory’ and how it was discursively positioned relat...
Case studies on the use of a virtual chemistry laboratory
This study explores reflective practice through the lens of counterfactual thinking and examines its role in encouraging student teachers to reflect on negative ‘critical incidents’. The study posits that reflections on critical incidents are often not ‘critical’ in nature. They more frequently result in counterfactual thinking processes which lead...
The debate about the use and justification of ICT in schools has been replaced by a discourse of inevitability where schools of the future are presented as technology rich sites of learning. Yet despite this faith in the technology there appears to be a vagueness about what role ICT will actually play and more specifically what way its inclusion wi...
This research aimed to explore information and communication technology (ICT) coordinators' discourse in relation to ICT integration in a sample of Irish post-primary schools. As ICT leaders in their schools, how they conceptualise ICT significantly influences school-based policy and use. The research involved semi-structured interviews with a samp...
Despite the attempts to integrate ICT across the curriculum of all post-primary education systems in the developed world there remains low levels of use. One of the major reasons for this low level of use is the availability of curriculum relevant software. In recent years the availability of high quality authoring tools has provided opportunities...
A pesar de los intentos de integración de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) en el currículo de los sistemas de educación secundaria obligatoria en los países desarrollados, sigue detectándose su bajo nivel de uso. Una de las principales razones de esta escasa utilización es la reducida disponibilidad de software específico p...
Irish public policy strongly promotes greater flexibility in higher education. This review paper examines Irish policy conceptualisations of flexible learning. The review finds that the promotion of flexible learning is positioned within strongly economistic discourses of lifelong learning, and primarily in human capital terms of meeting the skills...
This article critically examines the relationship between recent educational policy and the advancement of second-level subject hierarchies in Ireland. The paradox of promoting an individual subject by means of the matriculation system, while also calling for a broad and balanced curriculum, is questioned. The apparent retreat from a commitment to...
Research into the challenges faced when integrating ICT into schools has focused on aspects such as the school's levels of ICT infrastructure, teachers' confidence and skills in utilising ICT, the availability of time and the availability ongoing continuing professional development opportunities for teachers. However the influence of an ICT champio...
Interest in inquiry-based science education (IBSE) often pay little heed to the complex power relations that exist within classrooms. A common obstacle to inquiry is that it strongly diverges from current classroom culture and hence, is outside the sphere of teachers’ and students’ experiences. Teachers and students bring expectations to the classr...
A new model of reflective practice for student teachers on school placement was implemented into a teacher education program. The model aimed to encourage critical reflection that challenged hegemonic assumptions and power relations. In contrast to this, the analysis of the student teachers' reflections revealed a desire to fit in and conform. Refl...
The important role of the teacher in developing morally sensitive individuals is widely acknowledged. This paper examines the integration of context-specific moral development interventions within a four-year undergraduate teacher education programme in Ireland. The intervention strategy employed a case-based pedagogical approach where participants...
This paper reports on a study into the roles and attitudes of ICT coordinators in a sample of 37 schools in the Republic of Ireland. The research took an interpretative stance employing both questionnaires and interviews to explore the participants’ experiences. The study revealed that the ICT coordinators’ roles varied across schools. This variati...
This research study developed curricular specific open educational resources (OERs) for the teaching of poetry at Junior Certificate level in Irish post-primary schools. It aimed to capture the collaborative design and development process used in the development of the digital resources and describe and evaluate the implementation of the resources...
The use of peer learning and peer assessment has gained considerable interest in higher education driven by both its educational value and by its ability to provide students with the opportunity to develop important transferrable skills. This paper reports on the use of peer learning and peer assessment with a cohort of four-year undergraduate phys...
Practical work is often noted as a core reason many students take on science in secondary schools (high schools). However, there are inherent difficulties associated with classroom practical work that militate against scientific inquiry, an approach espoused by many science educators. The use of interactive simulations to facilitate student inquiry...
The lack of uptake of science subjects in Post-Primary Schools (High Schools) is a continuous concern, both in Ireland and the international community. In the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation Report, the Irish government stresses the need for a greater focus on investigative approaches, assessing practical work and effectively using...
This study aimed to examine student teachers’ opinions of changes to reflective practice requirements during a five‐week teaching practice placement as part of a one‐year postgraduate initial teacher education programme. The results highlighted that prior to the changes, students saw little relevance in the reflective writing requirements while on...
The uptake of science in post-primary schools has been a well documented and strong cause for concern in the science community over the last three decades, both in Ireland and internationally. In publication of the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (2006), SSTI, the Irish government identifies the need to significantly change the natu...
This paper explores the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in technology education and the extent
to which it is currently addressed in curriculum documents and state examinations in technology education at post-primary
level in Ireland. This analysis is conducted amidst the backdrop of considerable change in technology educ...
This paper examines the possible influence of podcasting on the traditional lecture in higher education. Firstly, it explores some of the benefits and limitations of the lecture as one of the dominant forms of teaching in higher education. The review then moves to explore the emergence of podcasting in education and the purpose of its use, before e...
The focus of this study was to examine the leadership role as lived by teaching principals in a selection of small primary schools in the west of Ireland and in particular the implications information and communications technology (ICT) has for that role. The study involved the use of individual one‐to‐one semi‐structured interviews with a selectio...
This literature review explores the historical development of information and communication technology (ICT) in Irish postprimary/secondary schools and examines how the education system has responded to the various ICT initiatives and policy changes. The review has found that despite national policy and significant ICT initiatives, it appears that...
The Schools IT2000 initiative, launched in 1997, was the first large-scale attempt to integrate information and communications technology (ICT) into teaching and learning in the Irish education system. As part of this initiative a training continuum was developed with the objective of enabling teachers to progress from novice to expert users of ICT...
non-peer-reviewed This study aimed to explore the use of a blended learning course of study on an undergraduate teacher programme in the Republic of Ireland. The study aimed to examine the use of a blend of online learning with face-to-face tuition and web-based assessment. The study also aimed to investigate students’ reactions to the course of st...
Projects
Projects (4)
DiCTE addresses the need in EU policies for newly graduated student teachers to be able to teach using ICT, and for data on students’ digital competence. It focuses on the need to enhance ICT in teaching and learning in teacher training programs and to promote consistency between different European nations, and thereby develop and strengthen the student teachers’ digital competence. See https://dicte.oslomet.no for details