Northside teacher award Fellowship by DCU to support next generation of teachers

DCU’s Institute of Education has awarded a Northside school teacher with a two-year fellowship at the university, starting in September 2021.

Emma Gallagher from Swords is a teacher in Marino College and has been teaching since 2001.

At Marino College, Emma was International Students Coordinator and a member of the professional support team.

As a Literacy Link Teacher she oversaw the ‘Hear Me Roar’ project, an oral literacy initiative which was awarded the bronze award at the Digital Media Awards 2015.

Emma has a first-class honours MSc in Education and Training Management (e-learning) and a first-class honours MA in Creative Writing, both from DCU.

A writer of fiction and poetry, she has a keen interest in creative writing pedagogy.

The Fellowship will give Emma and five other primary and post primary teachers a unique opportunity to support the development of students across a range of teacher education programmes, while also undertaking a programme of professional development, to include a programme at Masters or PhD level.

Working with DCU academic staff and soon-to-be teachers on various teacher education programmes, the Fellows will support students by sharing their own experience of becoming a teacher and by bringing their professional practice and insights from classrooms across the country.

This initiative, which is the first of its kind in Europe, was developed to benefit the next generation of teachers and to further enhance the quality of the teaching profession in Ireland.

The Fellows will support DCU student teachers on school placement and as teachers-in-residence, and they’ll support the University’s work of developing the 21st century teacher identity.

Dr Anne Looney, Executive Dean at DCU’s Institute of Education, said:

“Congratulations to our six selected Teacher Fellows. We look forward to welcoming them to DCU in September and to working closely with them over the coming two years.

DCU is doing this because it believes in the transformative power of teachers and because we know that it’s through informing the next generation of teachers with those who are currently doing great work in schools, that we can really contribute to developing the current education system and the quality of the teaching profession in Ireland.”

Other Teacher Fellowship recipients are:

• Mairead Holden from Co. Meath teaches in St. Teresa’s Primary School in Balbriggan and is a B.Ed. graduate of St. Pat’s, from which she also holds a Master of Teaching with first-class Honours.
• Avril Egan from Tuam in Galway has been teaching French and English at Post Primary level since 2007. She has worked in Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, a Microsoft Showcase School for the past eight years
• Ruth Thomas is originally from Headford in Galway and teaches in St. Marnocks National School, Portmarnock in Dublin.
• Ronan Gubbins, originally from Fermoy in Cork, has been a primary school teacher since 2013 and works in St. Cillian’s National School, Dublin.
• Patricia Burke, originally from Co. Laois, is a Junior Infant teacher in Donabate Portrane Educate Together.