Staff Profiles

Dr Valerie Ledwith

BA,MA,PhD.

Contact Details

Lecturer Bar/College Lecturer
Dept of Geography
NUI Galway
T: Ext. 2372
E: valerie.ledwith@nuigalway.ie

Coordinator Population and Migration Research Cluster

Biography

Valerie completed her BA at NUI, Galway and then moved to the United States, where she received her MA in geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Upon graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and worked in the urban programme of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit environmental advocacy organisation. Before returning to Ireland, Valerie completed her PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research in both Los Angeles and Ireland focuses on the geographies of education, particularly on the socio-spatial marginalisation of young migrants. Her work engages with qualitative and quantitative methodologies (including GIS) to examine the emergence of educational disparities between young migrants and their non-migrant peers. She also examines how hierarchies of privilege, opportunity and difference are produced and maintained through the geopolitics of school choice.

Research Interests

My research examines geographies of opportunity, exclusion and privilege, focusing particularly on the socio-spatial marginalization of young migrants within the context of education. I use both qualitative and quantitative methodologies (including GIS) to examine educational achievement, access and aspiration. More broadly, I am interested in geographical enquiry across the sub-fields of population, political, social and cultural geographies.

Research Projects

Project	Start Date	End Date
Lifestyles of Successful Scientist Role Models and the Gender Gap in Geoscience (LifeGeo)	01-OCT-19	30-SEP-20
Replacement Migration on the Edge of Europe	01-NOV-17	31-OCT-18
Replacement Migration in Poland and Ireland	01-NOV-17	31-OCT-18
Transitioning to University: Exploring Young Migrant Experiences in Galway	11-NOV-12	30-JUN-13
Multi-Level Analysis of Migrant Educational Achievement in Galway City	24-NOV-08	30-NOV-09
Neighbourhood Effects on Early School Leaving in Ireland	08-JAN-07	31-OCT-10

Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2023)	'Transitioning to University: Exploring Migrant Experiences in Galway, Ireland' Reilly, K and Ledwith, V (2023) 'Transitioning to University: Exploring Migrant Experiences in Galway, Ireland'. Social And Cultural Geography, [Details]
	(2023)	'The Dubai-Irish: Reworking Irishness as Wasta in UAE' Carter, F and Ledwith V (2023) 'The Dubai-Irish: Reworking Irishness as Wasta in UAE'. Journal Of Ethnic And Migration Studies, [Details]
	(2022)	'Replacement migration on the edge of the European Union: Wasting human capital?' Janicki, W and Ledwith, V (2022) 'Replacement migration on the edge of the European Union: Wasting human capital?'. International Migration, 60 (3):72-87 [Details]
	(2017)	'State supported segregation? Examining migrant clustering in schools in Ireland' Ledwith, V (2017) 'State supported segregation? Examining migrant clustering in schools in Ireland'. Space And Polity, 21 (3):335-354 [Details]
	(2016)	'Finding Home through Motion: Contemporary Migration to Ireland. in Ireland' Ledwith, V. (2016) 'Finding Home through Motion: Contemporary Migration to Ireland. in Ireland'. Ireland Irish Geography Special Issue, 49 (1) [Details]
	(2014)	'Fringe benefits? Educational experiences of migrant and non-migrant youth in the urban-rural fringe of Galway City, Ireland' Ledwith, V,Reilly, K (2014) 'Fringe benefits? Educational experiences of migrant and non-migrant youth in the urban-rural fringe of Galway City, Ireland'. Journal Of Rural Studies, 36 :219-225 [DOI] [Details]
	(2013)	'Two Tiers Emerging? School Choice and Educational Achievement Disparities among Young Migrants and Non-migrants in Galway City and Urban Fringe' Ledwith, V;Reilly, K (2013) 'Two Tiers Emerging? School Choice and Educational Achievement Disparities among Young Migrants and Non-migrants in Galway City and Urban Fringe'. Population, Space And Place, 19 :46-59 [DOI] [Details]
	(2013)	'Accommodating all applicants? School choice and the regulation of enrolment in Ireland' Ledwith, V,Reilly, K (2013) 'Accommodating all applicants? School choice and the regulation of enrolment in Ireland'. Canadian Geographer-Geographe Canadien, 57 :318-326 [DOI] [Details]
	(2010)	'The Influence of Open Enrollment on Scholastic Achievement among Public School Students in Los Angeles' Ledwith, V (2010) 'The Influence of Open Enrollment on Scholastic Achievement among Public School Students in Los Angeles'. American Journal Of Education, 116 :243-262 [Details]
	(2009)	'Open enrolment and student sorting in public schools: evidence from Los Angeles County' Ledwith, V (2009) 'Open enrolment and student sorting in public schools: evidence from Los Angeles County'. Environment And Planning A, 41 :1109-1128 [DOI] [Details]
	(2008)	'Use of local Moran's I and GIS to identify pollution hotspots of Pb in urban soils of Galway, Ireland' Zhang, CS,Luo, L,Xu, WL,Ledwith, V (2008) 'Use of local Moran's I and GIS to identify pollution hotspots of Pb in urban soils of Galway, Ireland'. Science Of The Total Environment, 398 :212-221 [DOI] [Details]
	(2007)	'The effect of the residential mosaic and White flight on public school composition: Evidence from Los Angeles County' Ledwith, V;Clark, WAV (2007) 'The effect of the residential mosaic and White flight on public school composition: Evidence from Los Angeles County'. Urban Geography, 28 :160-180 [Details]
	(2007)	'How much does income matter in neighborhood choice?' Clark, WAV;Ledwith, V (2007) 'How much does income matter in neighborhood choice?'. Population Research And Policy Review, 26 :145-161 [DOI] [Details]
	(2007)	'The effect of the residential mosaic and White flight on public school composition: Evidence from Los Angeles County' Ledwith, V,Clark, WAV (2007) 'The effect of the residential mosaic and White flight on public school composition: Evidence from Los Angeles County'. Urban Geography, 28 :160-180 [Details]
	(2006)	'Mobility, Housing Stress and Neighborhood Contexts: Evidence from Los Angeles' Ledwith, V., Clark, W.A.V. (2006) 'Mobility, Housing Stress and Neighborhood Contexts: Evidence from Los Angeles'. Environment and Planning, A38 (6):1077-1093 [Details]
	(2002)	'Immigration, the Internet, and Spaces of Politics' Staeheli, L.A., Ledwith, V., Ormond, M., Reed, K., Sumpter, A., Trudeau, D. (2002) 'Immigration, the Internet, and Spaces of Politics'. Political Geography, 21 (8):989-1012 [Details]
	(2002)	'Location and Political Choice in Post-Unification Berlin: Explaining the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism) Vote, 1999 and 2001' OLoughlin, J., Witmer, F., Ledwith, V. (2002) 'Location and Political Choice in Post-Unification Berlin: Explaining the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism) Vote, 1999 and 2001'. Eurasian Geography And Economics, 43 (5):349-382 [Details]

Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2020)	'Discounting the Displaced: Examining Hungary’s Denial of Human Security for Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees' Bichieri, T; Ledwith, V (2020) 'Discounting the Displaced: Examining Hungary’s Denial of Human Security for Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees' In: Haven: The Mediterranean Crisis and Human Security. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. [Details]
	(2018)	'Geographies of Education: Context and Case' Reilly, K; Basu, R; Ledwith, V (2018) 'Geographies of Education: Context and Case' In: Movement, Im/Mobilities and Journeys. :1-21 Singapore: Springer. [Details]
	(2017)	'Young Migrants' Educational Achievement: Moving to Equality in Galway City, Ireland' Ledwith, V; Reilly, K (2017) 'Young Migrants' Educational Achievement: Moving to Equality in Galway City, Ireland' In: Movement, Im/Mobilities and Journeys. London: Springer. [Details]

Other Item

	Year	Publication
	(2010)	William A.V. Clark. Encyclopaedia of Geography Thousand Oaks. Ledwith, V. (2010) William A.V. Clark. Encyclopaedia of Geography Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage Other Item [Details]
	(2001)	California's Contaminated Groundwater: Is the State Minding the Store? N. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc New York. Helperin, A, Beckman D.S., Inwood, D., Ledwith, V., Blankenburg, W. (2001) California's Contaminated Groundwater: Is the State Minding the Store? N. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc New York. New York: Other Item [Details]

Professional Associations

Association	Function	From / To
Association of American Geographers	Member	01-JAN-02 /
European Association for Population Studies	Member	01-JAN-17 / 31-DEC-19
Population and Migration Research Network	Co-leader	01-MAR-10 /
Geographical Society of Ireland	Member	01-JAN-08 /

Committees

Committee	Function	From / To
SoGAIS Athena Swan Self Assessment Team	Member	01-SEP-22 /
SoGAIS Research Committee	Chair	01-MAY-22 /
SoGAIS Teaching and Learning Committee	Chair	01-SEP-13 / 31-DEC-19
CAHSS Curriculum Committee	Member	01-MAY-15 / 31-DEC-19
CAHSS Teaching and Learning Sub-Committee	Member	01-MAY-16 / 31-DEC-19
Athena SWAN Self Assessment Team	Member	01-OCT-14 / 01-JUL-19

Education

Year	Institution	Qualification	Subject
2006	UCLA	PhD	Geography
2000	U of C, Boulder	Master of Arts	Geography
1998	NUI, Galway	Bachelor of Arts	Geography, Sociology and Politics

Teaching Interests

My teaching interests span political, social and cultural geography. I also have a keen interest in teaching students how to do geographical research, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

In the course of my career I have been involved in the design and delivery of the following modules:

Undergraduate
TI150 - Principles of Human Geography
TI1100/1101 - Geography in Practice
TI224 - Residential Field Class
TI238 - Global Urbanisation
TI212 - Methods in Geography
TI251/252 - Theory and Practice in Geography
TI330 - Globalisation and Democracy
TI370 - Elements of Human Geography
TI3117 - Migration, Mobility and Belonging
TI 335 - Research Project Design and Development
TI358 - Research Seminar in Social Geography

Graduate
TI702 - Geography and Geographing
TI703 - Geopolitics and Security
TI6130 - Research Project and Dissertation

Recent Postgraduate Students

Graduation	Name	Degree	Primary Supervisor
2022	Aine Keating	Master of Arts	Y
2020	Timothy Eberth	Master of Arts	Y
2020	Jordan Bernard	Master of Arts	Y
2020	Frances Carter	DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY	Y
2015	Alan Keane	Master of Arts	Y
2014	Kuldar Tarum	Master of Arts	Y
2013	Emily Long	Master of Arts	Y
2013	Mairead Lyons	Master of Arts	Y
2012	Paul Rooney	Master of Arts	Y
2011	Shannon Hubbard	Master of Arts	Y
2011	Stephanie Egan	Master of Arts
2011	Thomas Rush	Master of Arts	Y
2011	Nicole James	DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY	Y
2010	Michael McCarthy	Master of Arts	Y
2010	Rebecca Flanagan	Master of Arts	Y

Current Postgraduate Students (Research)

	Student	Degree Type	Type
	Awatif Aljahdali	Doctorate - Structured Ph.D. in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences	Co-supervisor (1)

Modules Taught

Term/Year	Module Title	Module Code
2022/23	Migration, Mobility and Belonging	TI3117
2022/23	Research Seminar in Social Geography	TI358
2022/23	Research Project and Dissertation	TI6130
2022/23	Theory and Practice in Geography	TI251