News Closing the Circle: New Research Collaboration Between The School of Education & UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre

The School of Education and UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Institute for Lifecourse and Society at NUI Galway have announced a new research collaboration which will enable partnership and collaborative expertise to address key priority areas for young people’s education and well-being, in Ireland and internationally.

Speaking of the innovative collaboration, Professor Gerry Mac Ruairc, Head of the School of Education: ‘This new initiative provides greater, enhanced capacity at NUI Galway for shared impactful research and graduate study in the promotion of young people’s education and well-being, in and outside of school.’

Professor Pat Dolan, Director of UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Institute for Lifecourse and Society noted the potential of this timely partnership and how bringing together the cognate research areas of both the School of Education and UNESCO Centre at NUI Galway will help to promote and enhance education in formal and non-formal contexts: ‘Our alignment in research will impact significantly on our current and future work, particularly in terms of augmenting our impact with schools, practitioners, families, parents, and our educational partners and stakeholders, including the regulatory context and policymakers’.

The new collaboration between the School of Education and UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre will initially explore developments to enhance NUI Galway’s research capacity and impact across a number of identified priority areas, including education for empathy and well-being; inclusion and diversity; STEM education; special educational needs; educational policy; participatory and practitioner research methodologies; and educational design.