Alicia Curtin

Dr Alicia Curtin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at University College Cork since 2012. She is MEd Modular Deputy Programme Director and has previously led the MEd Modular Programme (2023) and Education Gaeilge (2019-2022) as Programme Director. She holds a leadership role on the Cohort PhD and related summer schools. She leads modules and teaches on a range of programmes within the school including BScEd (UG), BEDSSPE (UG), PME (PG), MEd Modular (PG) and Cohort PhD (doctoral). Alicia has supervised 3 PhDs, 29 MEd theses (including Literacy Association of Ireland Award Winner 2017) and 62 Professional Research Papers to completion. She currently supervises 6 PhD students and a range of PG research projects in the school. She is Deputy Chair of the School of Education Learning and Teaching Committee and serves on a number of other committees and working groups within the school. She is a member of UCC’s Work Integrated Learning Community of Practice. She has worked previously with the State Examinations Commission, Dublin Examining Board, Examcraft and as a secondary school teacher of English and German, contributing also to the Teaching Council as External Subject Advisor for these subjects. Alicia is invited External Programme Reviewer at Trinity College Dublin and External PhD Examiner at The University of the Free State, South Africa. She is also invited competitive funding Assessor with The Research Grants Council of Hong Kong and FCT (Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology). She peer reviews for a number of national and international journals and publishers including Irish Educational Studies, International Journal of Research and Method in Education, Literacy, Routledge Publishing, Sage Publishing, Peter Lang Publishing and INTO. Alicia’s research is distinctive and innovative in its sociocultural exploration of relationships between key areas in educati

Research Interests Alicia’s research explores issues highly relevant to education and learning from a sociocultural perspective including learning as identity; power, agency and relationships in teaching and learning; in and out of school literacies and identities; alternative settings for learning; assessment as enacted and experienced in communities of practice; innovative, creative and culturally relevant pedagogical approaches; children's literature as literacy pedagogy; exploring the hidden and hard to know in pedagogical research; school placement in ITE; Continuing Professional Development for teachers; the relationship between educational discourses and learning experiences; and neuroscientific perspectives on literacy and learning. Current Research Documenting Early Career Primary and Post Primary Principals’ Identity Formation This SCOTENS funded (€4500) research in collaboration with the School of Policy and Practice, Dublin City University and the School of Education, Ulster University explores the interrelationships between identity, policy and practice. It is a mixed methods study including desk research, policy analysis, interview and questionnaire and will contribute to the fields of educational leadership and understanding the identity formation of early career principals. A Continuum of Teaching and Learning in Ireland and the EU Supporting colleagues in the Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork on this EU Jean Monnet Teacher Training Awarded research Alicia serves as a Research Board Advisory Member. The focus of this research is the development of a continuum of education on Ireland and the EU from Junior Infants to 6th Year through the design of content and pedagogy materials and teacher Continued Professional Development in partnership with teaching practi

Alicia leads and teaches modules on a number of programmes in the School of Education at undergraduate (Bachelor of Education Sports Studies and Physical Education degree BEdSSPE; Education Science BScEd), Postgraduate (Professional Master of Education PME; MEd Modular MEd) and doctoral (Cohort PhD) level. At undergraduate level Alicia has led and taught Foundational (ED3313 Curriculum and Assessment) and Professional (ED4312 Professional Issues in Education) Studies modules on the Bachelor of Education Sports Studies and Physical Education Degree. Supporting undergraduate ITE placement and research Alicia lectures on ED4108 Conceptual Foundations in School Placement Research Portfolio on the topics of Literacy and planning for English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners. This pedagogy focused module invites Science Education student teachers to develop their own subject and context specific definitions of literacy and undertake a small research project with their own pupils while on School Placement to develop planning and practice in areas of literacy and English as an Additional Language learning. Her work on the development of modules on Education Gaeilge as Programme Director (as well as the development and accreditation of the programme itself) further contributes to the School of Education provision for undergraduate Initial Teacher Education in areas highlighting as experiencing significant national shortage. At postgraduate level Alicia contributes significantly to teaching and learning on the PME Professional Master of Education. She has created and taught ED6321 Cross Curricular Pedagogies to explore creative and innovative pedagogies with student teachers who register to teach one subject only on the PME. She lectures on ED6332 School Placement Research and Professional Experience Portfolio B, supporting planning, practice and research on School Placement. Alicia supervises and supports stu