This is the sixth volume of Hibernia College's research papers which gathers together graduate research from across the PMEP and PMEPP programmes. The collection contributes valuable insights to the field of education, addressing relevant aspects of teaching and learning and demonstrating a holistic approach to educational research.

This study examines the reasons for student underperformance in Leaving Certificate Accounting. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory was used to perceive and distill the literature. Thirty-minute, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five experienced post primary Accounting teachers. Thematic analysis drew out three key and several sub-themes. Student underperformance can be attributed to approximately thirty reasons including mobile phone distraction, lack of self-belief, absenteeism, reasons that would not be lost on many people. What is far more interesting is that the reasons for underperformance can be broadly attributed to interactions between stakeholders across a range of ecological systems: The home; The School and the government.

A self-study, semi-structured interviews (N =2), questionnaires (N =30) and DR was used to gather primary data of PPE in Irish public schools. Probability/Non-Purposive sampling was undertaken, and inclusivity criteria adopted. Thematic analysis identified that educators should connect and build relationships (incl. extra-curriculum engagement) with students before implementing differentiation strategies. Successful strategies include differentiating instruction, worksheets, notes, homework, and tests; with active strategies such as using ICT, groupwork and mind maps; monitored via student achievement. The EPSEN Act (2004) requires reform and further address provided by the DoE. Limitations and recommendations for future pedagogical practice and research have been outlined.

The aim of this dissertation was to explore the extent to which the practice of the teacher reading aloud is evident in senior classes of primary schools in Ireland. It endeavoured to gain an insight into the motivations, benefits, and possible challenges of implementing this practice. A mixed-method data collection approach was applied with online questionnaires (n=27) and semi-structured interviews (n=2). Results indicate that all respondents read aloud to their students at varying levels. Modelling good reading, language development opportunities and fostering a love of reading were the primary benefits, with finding a suitable book as the most prevalent challenge to the practice.

This study explored Irish teachers’ perspectives on the use of cooperative learning methodology in mathematics in primary school. Research questions addressed frequency and types of cooperative learning used by teachers, as well as its benefits and challenges. A mixed method approach, informed by pragmatist philosophical paradigm, was taken, with quantitative data gathered from 21 questionnaires, and qualitative data from two semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that half of teachers use structured types of cooperative learning on a regular basis. According to participating teachers, the most significant benefits of CL are academic gains, improved social skills, and language development, while the most significant challenges are a range of academic ability among pupils, pupil relationships and behaviour management, and organisational issues.

Modern foreign language teachers (MFL) are more mindful than ever of differentiating for students with dyslexia and other language processing difficulties. Despite this, there is a lack of research based in Ireland that examines dyslexia in the MFL classroom. Using a qualitative approach and convenience sampling, five MFL teachers were interviewed to gather data on MFL teachers’ experiences of including students with dyslexia. This data was thematically analysed and interpreted with reference to extant studies on dyslexia in the MFL classroom. The findings identify that Irish MFL teachers view students with dyslexia positively but feel that there is a lack of support at an administrative and state level.

This study examined students' motivation to learn French, uptake of French at Senior Cycle, and motivational strategies from teachers' perspectives in an Irish post-primary context. Data was collected using a mixed-methods approach through a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. Teachers reported that students are moderately motivated to learn French (57.5%). The apparent disparity between students' interests and strengths and the perceived insignificance of speaking French as a native English speaker demotivated students. Senior Cycle subject choice was primarily influenced by Higher Entry matriculation requirements and teachers' main motivational strategy emerged as technology.

This study investigates the challenges to second language acquisition for students with dyslexia, from a practitioner perspective. It is a small-scale, qualitative study. Through a series of five interviews with stakeholders in education at second-level, it poses questions about best practice in supporting dyslexic students in the Modern Foreign Language (MFL) classroom. Through careful thematic analysis, the principal finding of the study was to identify a highly individualised approach to differentiation as the key to effective support. The study also identifies the main challenges in MFL teaching, including issues of time and teacher expertise, and recommends strategies that could be used to meet these challenges.

Parity of esteem has long been an enduring theme of educational discourses of inclusion. This article examines parity of esteem through the lens of the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme by focusing on spatial discourses of inclusion. For this article, parity of esteem relates to issues of value and recognition of difference and the resulting experience of inclusion as something that is lived and felt in school contexts. The article draws on research conducted by the author over a 10-month period with four case-study schools in the north-west of Ireland. The LCA programme is a distinct, modular, self-contained, two-year Leaving Cert pre-vocational programme. It ‘emphasises forms of achievement and excellence which the established Leaving Certificate has not recognised in the past. It offers a specific opportunity to prepare for and progress to further education and training’. (PDST, 2019, p.7). The programme incorporates work experience and learning that takes place outside the classroom. It is ringfenced, meaning it is separate from but equal to the Leaving Certificate Established (LCE) programme and is not part of the CAO points system. However, recent changes announced as part of Senior Cycle redevelopment mean that since September 2022 LCA students ‘have the opportunity to take Leaving Certificate Mathematics and, where possible, a Leaving Certificate Modern Language’ (DoE, 2022).

Drawing on a multidimensional conceptualization of occupational well-being, this mixed methods study aimed to ascertain levels of psychosocial well-being of a sample of Irish primary principals (n = 488). A Framework of Occupational Well-Being was devised which facilitated the first psychometric measurement of their levels of burnout, job satisfaction, trait mindfulness, work motivation, perception of fairness and the satisfaction/frustration of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness). Subsequent interviews provided supporting qualitative data and an evaluation by principals of the current management structure of Irish primary schools, 90% of which are governed by Catholic Boards of Management to whom principals are answerable in all their professional decision making. As employers, Boards’ compliance with EU and Irish Occupational H&S directives is examined toward an understanding of the level of protection provided to principals. Results reveal high levels of burnout, anxiety, depression and autonomy frustration among principals alongside low levels of trait mindfulness and low perception of fairness regarding workload and remuneration. Beyond its application in the education sector, the Framework of Occupational Well-Being may prove useful for policy makers and as an assessment tool for employers of other white-collar workers as it provides both a definition of psychosocial well-being and a means by which to measure it.