As editors, we would like to acknowledge the encouragement and support we received from so many people in the production of this book. First, we owe a great debt of gratitude to the contributors who took time from their very busy lives to write these important chapters. As educators at primary, post primary and third level, they are at the coalface of teaching and bring their unique perspectives and experiences to bear on universal issues concerned with education. The chapters in this book contain much original work from master’s and doctoral research. The idea for this book came from the Research Sub-Committee, who wished to promote academic writing and publications as reflected in the Hibernia College Research Strategy. Staff and faculty in Hibernia College were invited to submit an abstract for the book on any issue related to education. All contributors were encouraged to participate in a writing group, which met online every two weeks from April to November 2017. Wendy Belcher’s book was used to structure the meetings. Belcher provides a framework for writing a journal article in 12 weeks; however, we gave ourselves six months for the project (see Belcher, W. (2009) Writing your journal article in 12 weeks A Guide to Publishing Success. London: Sage Publications). During the writing process, members of the writing group collaborated and engaged in constructive criticism in a spirit of collegiality. Submissions went through a rigorous peer-review process. Sincere thanks to peer reviewers who provided valuable advice and feedback. This book has been made possible through the generous support of senior management in Hibernia College, who encouraged us at all stages of the journey. Sincere thanks to Regina Hayde and Shirley Benton-Bailey for their very detailed corrections and to Stephanie O’Brien for creating the art work for the book cover. We would also like to thank the greater Hibernia Team for their support and advice. We are grateful to Jeff Downes in Doggett for his professionalism and support in the publishing of this book.

We are delighted to publish Volume Two of the Hibernia College Education Papers. On our programme, students complete a 10,000-word dissertation as part of their research module. They choose a research topic from four different theme areas: (1) Teaching, Learning and Assessment,(2) ICT, (3) Psychological, Sociological, and Historical,(4) Inclusion and Differentiation. This year, our top-performing graduate teachers who began the programme in March 2015 and September 2015 selected a variety of different areas from dance, visual arts, bereavement support, Autism, Gaeilge, visual literacy, standardised testing and many more. The variety of interesting projects are testament to the hard work and dedication of our graduate teachers, who produced excellent research whilst simultaneously completing a demanding course. The purpose of this publication is to provide a means of research dissemination for our graduate teachers in order to provide a snapshot of their research activity while they were studying in the School of Education in Hibernia College. Our student teachers explored topical issues that permeate the current landscape of Irish education and endeavored to develop their knowledge of a key area within education. During the research journey our student-teachers were guided and supported by their research supervisors. The dedication of these research supervisors has not gone unnoticed and we are grateful to them for the professional way in which they have encouraged and enabled our student-teachers to reach their full potential as they began to see themselves as both teachers and researchers. The value of research in education cannot be understated. We are proud to disseminate this important and thought-provoking publication on the key issues that our student teachers have explored