Voices of Educators in 21st Century Ireland

Abstract

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.