Teacher Education and Development Research Group

Our Vision

We aspire to be a leading national voice - bridging theory, research, and practice - in shaping the future of teacher and school leader education, with strong international connections. We envision a society where all educators are supported to develop the knowledge, skills, and mindsets needed to thrive in diverse and rapidly changing educational contexts.

More locally, our vision is focused on directly supporting and enhancing the School of Education’s core mission of preparing and nurturing educators’ developmental needs at all career stages. We envisage our approach as centred on four key values:

Evidence, Research and Data

Harnessing evidence and data to inform impactful research and drive meaningful improvements in teacher and school leader education

Innovation

Pioneering novel approaches in teacher education and development

Collaboration

Fostering sustained partnerships with schools, communities, and policymakers

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Promoting inclusive education for all

Research Themes

1. Innovative Pedagogies for Teacher Education

We explore approaches to prepare teachers for contemporary classrooms, including:

• Developing teacher and school leader enquiry mindsets
• Core practices in teacher education
• Subject-specific teacher education (such as STEM, the arts, humanities)
• Digital competencies development
• Bilingual and immersion education teacher education and development

2. Equity and Social Justice

Our research investigates how teacher education can address systemic inequities and prepare educators to create inclusive learning environments that are responsive to inclusion and diversity. We are also interested in questions about equity and social justice in relation to teachers and school leaders.

3. Quality Assessment and Success

We focus on:

• Developing methods for assessing teaching and teacher educator quality
• Strengthening school-university partnerships
• Enhancing school placement experiences
• Supporting and improving mentoring practices, including in relation to our second research theme on equity and social justice
• Evaluating teacher and school leader education program effectiveness in diverse ways, including informal approaches that support professional learning and development

4. Teachers' Work and Lives

We examine factors including:

• Teacher, teacher educator, and school leader life and career histories
• Educator professional identities
• Educator wellbeing
• Recruitment and retention strategies
• Professionalism and professionalisation

5. Policy Research

We analyse national and international approaches to teacher education and development, ensuring our research is locally relevant while remaining globally engaged. Our work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) and national priorities shaping teacher and school leaders’ learning and development.

Initiatives and Striving for Impact

Our research group will disseminate knowledge through publications in journals, while engaging with stakeholders through a future newsletter, webinars. We will support our members through mentoring programs, methodology workshops, writing retreats, and an annual symposium, alongside tailored development activities for cooperating teachers. As a globally connected research group, we will maintain strong partnerships with key international organisations.

Get Involved

For Researchers

• Graduate student opportunities
• Post-doctoral positions
• Research collaborations
• Writing workshops

For Schools

• Partnership programs
• Tailored professional development
• Research participation
• Mentoring opportunities

Contact Us

Location: School of Education, Trinity College Dublin

Email: The group’s current convenor is Dr Gavin Murphy who can be contacted on gavin.murphy@tcd.ie