Rebecca Jeffers
Research Profile
Biography
Becci is a lecturer in Social Policy and the Director of the Higher Diploma in Social Policy (online), which is the School’s first completely online programme. She is a member of the Bachelor of Social Science, Postgraduate Diploma in Youth Work, and Masters in Social Policy and Social Justice course teams.
Becci's interests in the social sciences are extensive, across numerous and substantive issues, but recently her work focuses on the intersections of pedagogy, well-being, and political engagement. Becci was involved in Socio-Cycle: Exploring the socio-cultural significance of cycling in an Irish regional city an IRC funded research project. This project is a collaborative research initiative with Cork Environmental Forum and the Cork Cycling Campaign. Becci was a co-PI on the Social Policy Educators: Enhancing Digital Skills (SPEEDS) project, which was a two year project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.
Becci is a member of the ISS21 Research for Civil Society and Social Action (REACT) Cluster and was an editor with the Critical Social Thinking Journal.
Becci's interests in the social sciences are extensive, across numerous and substantive issues, but recently her work focuses on the intersections of pedagogy, well-being, and political engagement. Becci was involved in Socio-Cycle: Exploring the socio-cultural significance of cycling in an Irish regional city an IRC funded research project. This project is a collaborative research initiative with Cork Environmental Forum and the Cork Cycling Campaign. Becci was a co-PI on the Social Policy Educators: Enhancing Digital Skills (SPEEDS) project, which was a two year project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.
Becci is a member of the ISS21 Research for Civil Society and Social Action (REACT) Cluster and was an editor with the Critical Social Thinking Journal.
Research Interests
As a lecturer in social policy, Becci's research interests are significantly concerned with issues of well-being, social justice, and relationships of care. Her PhD research
explores the multiple expressions of young people’s activism including the diverse
activist and institutional settings traversed by young people to achieve
social, cultural, or policy change. This study examines young people’s
navigation of politics and their negotiation of their activist identities.
Previously, Becci was involved involved in a research project examining the experiences of lone parent families in post-2008 Ireland. In 2017, Becci conducted research for a project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which investigated approaches to enhancing social research methods education through authentic assessment strategies. Becci is acted as the co-PI for a second project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which aimed to enhance social policy education through the development of digital skills.
Other interests include, digital cultures, politics and practice; e-democracy; inequalities, injustice, and misrecognition; caring relationships and inclusion; power and oppression; social movements, activism, and citizenship; youth culture and participation.
Previously, Becci was involved involved in a research project examining the experiences of lone parent families in post-2008 Ireland. In 2017, Becci conducted research for a project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which investigated approaches to enhancing social research methods education through authentic assessment strategies. Becci is acted as the co-PI for a second project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which aimed to enhance social policy education through the development of digital skills.
Other interests include, digital cultures, politics and practice; e-democracy; inequalities, injustice, and misrecognition; caring relationships and inclusion; power and oppression; social movements, activism, and citizenship; youth culture and participation.
Research Grants
Project | Funding Body |
Start Date | End Date | Award | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Socio-Cycle: Exploring the socio-cultural significance of cycling in an Irish regional city | Irish Research Council | 01-DEC-21 | 30-SEP-22 | €11,750.00 | |
Briefing Document on the Development of a Public Model of Childcare | 01-JAN-24 | 31-MAY-24 | €6,500.00 | ||
Transforming Personal and Professional Digital Capacities in Teaching and Learning Contexts: A Collaboration between Social Policy Educators, Students, and Learning Technologists | National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education | 01-FEB-17 | 31-DEC-18 | €149,940.00 |
Published Reports
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2024) | Socio-Cycle: Policy Briefing.
Hogan, E., Jeffers, B., Nagle, A. (2024) Socio-Cycle: Policy Briefing. Cork City Council, Cork. [Details] |
|
(2019) | SPEEDS (Social Policy Education: Enhancing Digital Skills) Impact Report.
Hogan, Eileen., Jeffers, Becci., and O'Mara, Tom (2019) SPEEDS (Social Policy Education: Enhancing Digital Skills) Impact Report. National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Dublin. [Details] |
|
(2023) | Sense of Freedom: Exploring everyday experiences of cycling in an Irish regional city.
Hogan, E., and Jeffers, B. (2023) Sense of Freedom: Exploring everyday experiences of cycling in an Irish regional city. Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century, University College Cork, Cork. [DOI] [Details] |
Documentary
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2023) | Socio-Cycle UCC.
Curtain, Linda., Hogan, Eileen. and Jeffers, Becci (2023) Socio-Cycle UCC. Documentary [ Publisher's Version] [Details] |
Electronic Journals
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2014) | Critical Social Thinking: Policy and Practice, Vol 6.
Hogan, Eileen and Jeffers, Rebecca (2014) Critical Social Thinking: Policy and Practice, Vol 6. Electronic Journals [Details] |
|
(2013) | Critical Social Thinking: Policy and Practice, Vol. 5.
Hogan, Eileen and Jeffers, Rebecca (2013) Critical Social Thinking: Policy and Practice, Vol. 5. Electronic Journals [Details] |
Online Multimedia
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2023) | GenÉIRation Z: Young Activists in Ireland (Short Documentary).
Taggart, Maeve (2023) GenÉIRation Z: Young Activists in Ireland (Short Documentary). Online Multimedia [ Publisher's Version] [Details] |
Video recording / TV
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2023) | Socio-Cycle Launch.
Hogan, Eileen and Jeffers, Becci (2023) Socio-Cycle Launch. Cork: Video recording / TV [ Publisher's Version] [Details] |
Honours and Awards
Year | Title | Awarding Body | |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | CACSSS Impact Narrative Prize | CACSSS, University College Cork |
Conference Contributions
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2019) | Critical Perspectives on Stigma, Shame and the Irish Welfare Imaginary,
Jeffers, Rebecca (2019) “Protests will not build houses:” A critical analysis of Irish Housing struggles in post-2008 Ireland. [Oral Presentation], Critical Perspectives on Stigma, Shame and the Irish Welfare Imaginary, Ireland , 20-SEP-19 - 20-SEP-19. [Details] |
|
(2018) | Identity, Belonging and Activism,
Jeffers, Becci (2018) Young people’s activism in post-2008 Ireland: wellbeing, identity, and belonging. [Oral Presentation], Identity, Belonging and Activism, University of Nottingham , 24-FEB-18 - 24-FEB-18. [Details] |
|
(2016) | Authentic Assessment in the Disciplines a T&L Partner Showcase,
Hogan, E., Jeffers, R., O’Doherty, C., Byrne, J., and Köppe, S. (2016) The Social Commons: Advancing Social Research Methods Education through Disciplinary and Community Partnerships. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Authentic Assessment in the Disciplines a T&L Partner Showcase, Cork Institute of Technology , 25-NOV-16 - 25-NOV-16. [Details] |
|
(2018) | Embedding Digital Literacies in HEIs, DARIAH Ireland,
Hogan, Eileen and Jeffers, Rebecca (2018) An Examination of Social Policy Educators digital skills, capacities and attitudes in Ireland. [Oral Presentation], Embedding Digital Literacies in HEIs, DARIAH Ireland, Ireland , 21-JUN-18 - 22-JUN-18. [Details] |
|
(2018) | Embedding Digital Literacies in HEIs,
Hogan, Eileen and Jeffers, Becci (2018) An examination of social policy educators' digital skills, capacities and attitudes in Ireland. [Oral Presentation], Embedding Digital Literacies in HEIs, UCC , 21-JUN-18 - 22-JUN-18. [Details] |
|
(2018) | TEL Quality Matters - People, Practices, Policies, ED Tech conference,
Hogan, Eileen and Jeffers, Rebecca (2018) Social Policy Educators-as-Learners: Reflections on the Barriers, Opportunities, and Strategies for Digital Transformation. [Oral Presentation], TEL Quality Matters - People, Practices, Policies, ED Tech conference, Ireland , 31-MAY-18 - 01-JUN-18. [Details] |
|
(2018) | Toward a Learning Culture,
Hogan, Eileen and Jeffers, Becci (2018) Shaping a Digital Learning Culture in Irish Social Policy Education: Challenges and Possibilities. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Toward a Learning Culture, Bergen, Norway , 24-OCT-18 - 27-NOV-18. [Details] |
|
(2018) | Embedding Digital Literacies in HEIs, DARIAH Ireland,
Jeffers, Rebecca (2018) The design thinking and technological development of the Spikey Profile Tool for social policy educators. [Oral Presentation], Embedding Digital Literacies in HEIs, DARIAH Ireland, Ireland , 21-JUN-18 - 22-JUN-18. [Details] |
Teaching Interests
My
teaching interests are many and varied, but are typically at the nexus of
social policy and social movements. Questions relating to power and oppression; social need and
well-being; inequality and injustice; and citizenship, participation, and
activism, inform most of my interests.
In UCC, I am involved in teaching a number of core social policy modules to the Bachelor in Social Science, Bachelor of Social Work, Higher Diploma in Social Policy (online and campus-based), and Masters in Social Policy programmes.
My main interest as an educator is to support students in their learning and to foster a learning environment that is critical, inclusive, and collaborative. Since commencing work as a social policy educator, my primary interests are to:
A critical interest of mine is to nurture students’ critical and collaborative abilities. By building learning environments that aim to motivate students and encourage independence, I have been fortunate to have many fruitful and engaging exchanges with learners, which serves to expand my teaching interests from year to year.
In UCC, I am involved in teaching a number of core social policy modules to the Bachelor in Social Science, Bachelor of Social Work, Higher Diploma in Social Policy (online and campus-based), and Masters in Social Policy programmes.
My main interest as an educator is to support students in their learning and to foster a learning environment that is critical, inclusive, and collaborative. Since commencing work as a social policy educator, my primary interests are to:
a) Inspire interest and
understanding in social policy by supporting students in navigating
disciplinary knowledge, ideas, and skills.
b) Improve student engagement through creative, interactive, and collaborative participation inside and outside the classroom.
c) Uphold research informed teaching and learning strategies, through the implementation of student feedback; the exploration of contemporary literature on social science education; and complementing lectures with useful empirical and conceptual literatures.
b) Improve student engagement through creative, interactive, and collaborative participation inside and outside the classroom.
c) Uphold research informed teaching and learning strategies, through the implementation of student feedback; the exploration of contemporary literature on social science education; and complementing lectures with useful empirical and conceptual literatures.
A critical interest of mine is to nurture students’ critical and collaborative abilities. By building learning environments that aim to motivate students and encourage independence, I have been fortunate to have many fruitful and engaging exchanges with learners, which serves to expand my teaching interests from year to year.