Máire Ní Ríordáin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, University College Cork. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Physical Education and Mathematics (2005) and a PhD in Mathematics Education (2009) from the University of Limerick. She currently serves as Programme Director of the M.Ed. Modular Programme, School of Education Examinations Officer and Academic Integrity Representative, and Chair of the School of Education Research Ethics Committee. She is also a member of the UCC Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC) and the CACCSS Research Ethics Committee.

Máire previously held academic positions in the National Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Learning (NCE-MSTL) at the University of Limerick (2008–2010), MIC Thurles Campus (2010–2012), and the School of Education, NUI Galway (2012–2016). She is Treasurer of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) for the 2022–2024 and 2024–2026 terms, and has been a member of the ESAI Executive Committee since 2021.

At European level, she is Co-Leader for Thematic Working Group 09 (Interaction, Communication and Language in Mathematics Education) for the Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME13, 14 and 15). She has also served on the International Programme Committee for the last four ERME Topic Conferences on Language in the Mathematics Classroom and is currently Chair of the Local Organising Committee.

My research is situated at the intersection of language, mathematics education, and teacher learning. I investigate how bilingualism, particularly within Irish/English contexts, shapes mathematical thinking, participation, and equity in classrooms. A key focus of my work is developing language-responsive and cognitively demanding pedagogies that support diverse learners, including those in Irish-medium, and multilingual settings.

I also specialise in teacher professional development, with an emphasis on sustained, practice-embedded models that strengthen teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, disciplinary identity, and capacity to enact inclusive and responsive instruction. Much of this work draws on practitioner research approaches within initial teacher education and continuing professional learning, supporting teachers as researchers in their own classrooms.

A further strand of my research engages with issues of equity and participation in STEM, including collaborative work examining girls’ and young women’s experiences, motivations, and pathways into STEM disciplines. This work aligns with broader national and international priorities to address gender imbalances and to understand how school experiences, identity formation, and disciplinary cultures shape engagement in mathematics and science.

In addition, I explore cross-curricular teaching and learning, particularly at the interface of mathematics and science, to better understand how disciplinary practices, reasoning, and language can be leveraged to enhance conceptual understanding across subjects.

Project: ABACUS: Advancing the Bilingual Advantage in mathematical Cognition - exploiting the UnSeen (COALESCE/2025/5951)
Funding Body: Research Ireland - COALESCE programme
Start/End Dates: 01-MARCH-26 / 31-AUG-28 Award: €219,846.26

Project: CaLSAM: Content-and-language-sensitive Approach to Multilingualism in School (2024-1-DE01-KA220- HED-000255289)
Funding Body: ERASMUS+, KA2
Start/End Dates: 31-DEC-24 / 30-DEC-27 Award: €400,000.00 (UCC -€68,840.00)

Project: Treading the tightrope: Developing inquiring professionals ( )
Funding Body: National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Start/End Dates: 01-JUL-24 / 30-JUN-25 Award: €5,050.00

Project: M²EID: Mathematical Meta-level developments in English and Irish language Discourses ( REPRO/2015/53)
Funding Body: Irish Research Council
Start/End Dates: 01-FEB-16 / 01-DEC-17 Award: €95,500.00

Project: Academic Returners Scheme UCC 
Funding Body: University College Cork
Start/End Dates: 01-MAR-18 / 30-JUN-19 Award: €4,355.00

Project: Academic Returners Scheme UCC 
Funding Body: University College Cork
Start/End Dates: 01-JUN-20 / 30-SEP-21 Award: €4,750.00

Project: Algebraic Screener for Irish 14-year-olds. 
Funding Body: Irish Research Council - PhD Scholarship
Start/End Dates: 01-SEP-15 / 30-JAN-17 Award: €72,940.00

Project: Examining the Practices and Experiences of Graduates of the PDMT.
Start/End Dates: 08-MAR-19 / 31-OCT-25 Award: €24,000.00

Project: MELBA: Mathématiques à l'école en langue bretonne aujourd'hui (MELBA)
Funding Body: University of Renne
Start/End Dates: 01-JAN-13 / 30-SEP-14 Award: €14,000.00

Project: SUIM² – Spreagadh na hUimhearthachta tríd Imeachtaí Múinteoireachta Muiníneacha ( SUIM² )
Funding Body: COGG
Start/End Dates: 01-APR-13 / 31-MAR-15 Award: €30,000.00

Project: An Evaluation of the Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching ( PDMT)
Funding Body: Department of Education
Start/End Dates: 01-SEP-13 / 30-JUN-17 Award: €20,000.00

Year: 2025
Name: Orla Slattery
Intitution: University College Cork
Thesis: Navigating a male dominated domain: Experiences of
female STEM students in higher education in Ireland

Year: 2023
Name: Fergal Harrington
Intitution: University College Cork
Thesis: ‘Is That Enough?’ An Examination of the Conceptual Metaphors Post-Primary Pre-Service Teachers use to make sense of Collaborative Learning

Year: 2021
Name: Aoife O' Brien
Institution: National University of Ireland, Galway
Thesis: Maths was fine until they brought the alphabet into it: An examination of Irish 14-year-olds’ knowledge of initial algebra

Year: 2019
Name: Laura Tagnin
Institution: National University of Ireland, Galway
Thesis: Science Classroom Discourse and Learning in Secondary Biology Classrooms Implementing a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Approach

Year: 2018
Name: Bernie Ní Dhonnchú
Institution: University of Limerick
Thesis: From Policy to Practice: An Investigation into Pre-Service Teachers’ Preparedness for Implementing Literacy and Numeracy for Mathematics Teaching in Ireland

Name: Eoghan Long
Institution: University College Cork
Thesis: Retrieval Practice as a Teaching Method to Enhance Student Understanding

Name: Chelsea Love
Institution: University College Cork
Thesis: The Teaching of Geometry: The influence of a Transition Year (TY) intervention on teachers’ perspectives and self-efficacy in teaching spatial reasoning through geometry.

Name: Seamus Ryan
Institution: University College Cork
Thesis: To Develop and Critically Evaluate a Blended Learning Module for Business Mathematics and Statistics in the Institute of Technology Sector

Name: Jincai Yang
Institution: University College Cork
Thesis: Exploring the Cognitive Dimensions of Plurilingual
Competence in an Irish immersion setting: A Mobile EEG
Approach