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Biography
Cindy O'Shea is a staff member in the School of Applied Social Studies where she began her career as a tutor in 1997 and subsequently progressed to the role of Placement Supervisor and lecturer on the B.Soc Youth & Community Work team. Her work chiefly focusses on the development of competent professional practitioners for the Youth & Community Work sector and in the development of reflective practice.
Cindy began her career in UCC in the Centre for Adult Continuing Education in 1992, teaching part-time on a number of Community Based courses but based primarily with the then Certificate & Diploma Courses in Youth Work Practice and in Community Development. In 1995 she took her first part time contract as a Course Co-ordinator with Adult Education with responsibility for the Youth & Community Work programmes. Utilising her own area of expertise as a Community Youth Worker & Health Promotion Worker, she has been involved in the development of Community based approaches to education and specifically in the development of the Diploma in Non-Formal Guidance as well as the redevelopment of the Diploma in Youth & Community Work. The philosophy of community based teaching & learning has been extremely successful for the Centre for Adult Education in past years with 76 outreach Centres in the period of 2000 to 2004 and building on professional networks Cindy successfully built the credibility of Diploma programs in both community based and professional settings. Cindy has been involved in co-ordinating & teaching on a variety of both Adult Education, Outreach and Continuing Education courses through her career with Adult Ed, including, the Masters in Learning & Development Consultancy, Higher Diplomas in Personnel Management, H.Dip in Safety, Health & Welfare at Work and the H.Dip in Leadership Development (Pharma Chem), Diploma's in Employee Welfare at Work, Retail Management, Training & Development, Team Supervision (Pharma Production), Non Formal Guidance, Social Studies, Regional Studies, Youth & Community Work, Community Development and the Youth & Community Work with Physical Activity Certificate.
Since graduating from UCC in 1987 with a B.Soc. Sc (hons), she has completed a Higher Diploma in Counselling in 1995, graduating with first class honours, in 2002 she completed a M.Sc. in Training & Human Resource Management with the University of Leicester completing a thesis at Distinction level. Further study in 2004 led to a Post graduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education and a Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching & Learning in 2010. She has completed a Diploma in Life and Business Coaching and has trained as an NLP Practitioner and has been committed to continuing professional development throughout her career by training and developing skills in governance, management and applied skills. She is currently working on a doctorate track, examining the experience of prisoners in the Irish prison system.
As a professional youth worker she has 10 years direct experience with Ogra Chorcai and Cork Aids Alliance, delivering Drugs Awareness programmes, Personal Development and Health Promotion with Young People, families and professional groups. She has been a volunteer with the East Cork Adult Literacy Service as a literacy tutor and with Meals on Wheels. She has worked on the Boards of Management of Ogra Chorcai, The Irish Heart Foundation (Cork), Cork Aids Alliance, Youth Work Ireland Cork , Cork Volunteer Bureau, AVP and the General Service Board of AA Ireland. She has worked with a Community Development Organisation in Pune, India in the summer of 2008. Cindy has also been involved in the development of a number of resources for Young People on Substance Misuse, Health Awareness, and HIV, Aids and Sexuality with the National Youth Council of Ireland and is involved in consultancy work within the Voluntary sector as a facilitator, supervisor, trainer and researcher. She has worked as a member of Youth Work Irelands Quality Standards Peer Assessment Committee with responsibility for the evaluation & assessment of a number of Youth Work Projects and Services around Ireland.
The value of volunteering and having lived experience motivated Cindy to become involved in Samaritans and she has held a number of senior roles in the organisation since 2012, including Branch Director, Regional Director for Ireland, Regional Prison Coordinator, Appeals Assessor and Deputy Chair of Regional Directors over 15 years. She has worked on a number of cross organisation committees developing policy around Safeguarding, Prison Work, Child Protection, Governance, Organisational design and problem solving.
Cindy is a regular speaker at conferences and has presented papers at conferences at National and international level.
Research Interests
- Professionalisation of youth and community work.
- Reflective Practice and Professional Formation in the social professions
- Group Work Practice
- Group Work as an educational tool
- The experience of prisoners in the Irish prison System
- I am also a member of the 'Researching the Professions' and 'Children & Youth' research clusters of ISS21.
Contract Researchers
| Researcher Name | Project | Role | Funding Body |
---|
| Cindy O'Shea | Barriers to Male Participation in Adult Education | Postgraduate Researcher | UCC Strategic Research Fund |
| Cindy O'Shea | An Evaluation of ABI Services in HSE Southern Region | Co Principal Investigator | Health Service Executive |
| Cindy O'Shea | Needs Analysis of single parents under 24 on Great Island | Co Principal Investigator | Department of Education and Science |
| Cindy O'Shea | Audit of Cork County Education Provision in 2005 | Co Principal Investigator | Department of Education and Science |
| Cindy O'Shea | Social Needs Analysis for Step Program in East Cork | Co Principal Investigator | Department of Education and Science |
Publications
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication |
---|
| (2016) | 'Book Review: Schinkel, Marguerite (2014) Being Imprisoned; Punishment, Adaptation and Desistance' O'Shea, Cindy (2016) 'Book Review: Schinkel, Marguerite (2014) Being Imprisoned; Punishment, Adaptation and Desistance'. Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, Vol 16 (ISS.2) [DOI] [Details] |
Conference Publications
| Year | Publication |
---|
| (2022) | ICEMTL Barcelona O'Shea, C & O'Donovan D. (2022) Practice Teaching in the Pandemic -Creating constructive clinical practice learning environments through interactive multi media methods’ ICEMTL Barcelona [Details] |
| (2022) | ETS Conference Berlin O'Shea, C . (2022) Becoming- the journey from knowledge to practice' ETS Conference Berlin [Details] |
| (2019) | SOTL Conference Bilbao O'Shea, C & O'Donovan D. (2019) Developing the professional 'toolkit' - Making learning meaningful in applied youth and community work education' SOTL Conference Bilbao [Details] |
Published Reports
| Year | Publication |
---|
| (2008) | 'Needs Analysis of single parents under 24 on Great Island'. O'Shea.C and Griffin, M. (2008) 'Needs Analysis of single parents under 24 on Great Island'. Family Support Network, Cork, Cork. [Details] |
| (2006) | 'Social Needs Analysis for Step Program in East Cork'. O'Shea.C and Griffin, M. (2006) 'Social Needs Analysis for Step Program in East Cork'. YMCA East Cork, Cork. [Details] |
| (2006) | An Evaluation of ABI Services in HSE Southern Region'. O'Shea.C and Griffin, M. (2006) An Evaluation of ABI Services in HSE Southern Region'. HSE Regional ABI Committee, Cork. [Details] |
| (2005) | Cork County Adult Education & Training Audit 2005'. O'Shea.C and Griffin, M. (2005) Cork County Adult Education & Training Audit 2005'. Cork County Development Board, Cork. [Details] |
| (2004) | A Study of Barriers to Male Participation in Adult Education'. O'Shea, C & O''Faithigh, M.. (2004) A Study of Barriers to Male Participation in Adult Education'. Centre for Adult Continuing Education, UCC, Cork. [Details] |
Professional Activities
Honours and Awards
| Year | Title | Awarding Body |
---|
| 2022 | Digital Badge | UCC |
| 2022 | Digital Badge | UCC OVPTL |
| 2021 | Digital Badge | UCC OVPTL |
| 2019 | Gold Digital Badge | SPEEDS UCC |
| 2019 | Bronze Digital badge | SPEEDS UCC |
| 2013 | UCC Exceptional Citizen | UCC |
Professional Associations
| Association | Function | From / To |
---|
| Samaritans UK & Ireland | Deputy Chair of regional Directors | 01-SEP-21 / |
| CDYS | Board menber | 01-SEP-22 / |
| Samaritans Cork | Branch Director | 01-JUL-12 / 01-JUL-15 |
| Samaritans Ireland | Regional Prison Support Officer | 01-OCT-20 / |
| Samaritans Ireland | Regional Director | 01-OCT-17 / 07-APR-19 |
| Leargas | Committee Member | 01-MAR-22 / |
| NSETS | HEI representative | 01-JUN-22 / 02-JUN-24 |
| AVP Ireland | Chair & Board Member | 01-JAN-21 / 12-JUL-22 |
| GSBAA | External Trustee | 01-MAR-20 / |
Committees
| Committee | Function | From / To |
---|
| UCC's Work Integrated Learning Project | Committee Member | 2022 / |
| Mediation Course in development in ACE | Chair | 2022 / |
| UCC's RPL Steering Group | Committee Member | 2022 / |
| EAAD Best (HSE South) | Steering Group Member | 2021 / |
| Professional Accredited Programmes and Work Placement Working Group (CACSSS) | Committee Member | 2021 / |
| National Suicide and Self Harm Committee of IPS | Committee Member | 2020 / |
| Mental Health Reform Prison Committee | Committee Member | 2020 / |
| Youth Work Educators Forum | Founder & Convenor | 2017 / |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From / To |
---|
| ACE, University College Cork | Course Co-ordinator | 01-SEP-09 / 30-JUN-14 |
| ACE, University College Cork | Course Co-ordinator | 01-SEP-95 / 31-AUG-04 |
| Ogra Chorcai Ltd | Outreach Worker | 01-JAN-88 / 31-AUG-95 |
| Cork Aids Alliance | Education Outreach Worker | 01-SEP-95 / 01-SEP-97 |
| University College Cork | Lecturer & Practice Supervisor | 01-SEP-04 / |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject |
---|
| 2006 | Coach Academy | NLP Practitioner | NLP Theory and Skills |
| 2010 | UCC | Pg Dip TLHE | Teaching & Learning |
| 2005 | UCC | PG Cert in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education | Teaching & Learning |
| 2002 | University of Leicester | MSC. Training & HRM | Training & Human Resource Management |
| 1987 | UCC | B.Soc. Sc. | Social Sciences |
| 2005 | Coach Academy | Dip in Life and Business Coaching | Life and Business COaching |
| 1994 | UCC | H.Dip Couns | Counselling |
Outreach Activities
| Description |
---|
| Supervisor & trainer for Voluntary sector agencies and Youth Work Practitioners. Speaker at Youth Work Events Erasmus Programme |
Other Activities
| Description |
---|
| External Examiner for Carlow IT 2013-16 and LIT Thurles Campus 2011-14 |
Teaching Activities
Teaching Interests
- Group Work & Facilitation
- Reflective Practice
- Professional Formation & Skills development
- Managing & developing Professional Practice in Youth & Community Work
- Peer Support and approaches to working in prison
- Experience of Prisoners within the prison system
Recent Postgraduates
| Graduation Year | Student Name | Institution | Degree Type | Thesis Title |
---|
| 2022 | Aoife Talty | UCC | | An Examination of the experience of Churchfield Community Trust during the Covid Pandemic |
| 2022 | Nicole Nagle | NUI (UCC) | | An analysis of the Irish Social Welfare System as it is Applied to the Direct Provision System, and the Overlapping of Human Rights Breaches. |
| 2022 | Luke Conway | NUI (UCC) | | Social Isolation Among the Elderly- an All-Ireland Comparative Study of Experiences in Urban & Rural Areas |