Dr. Melanie Ní Dhuinn is a Senior Lecturer in Education in Marino Institute of Education and previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the School of Education in Trinity College and Director of the Professional Master of Education in Hibernia College. She is a qualified post-primary teacher (Physical Education and Gaeilge) and now works across primary and post-primary teacher education as a Teacher Educator and a Researcher.
In this podcast Melanie interviews leading researchers, academics, social justice activists, policy makers, curriculum specialists and practitioners as they talk about the Sociology of Education across the continuum of education and how it looks in everyday reality in its many forms and guises.
This is season two of her podcast; “Let’s Talk About the Sociology of Education”, you can listen to season one episodes here. This podcast was developed initially as a resource to support student teachers and others working in Initial Teacher Education to try and make sense of and demystify what can be abstract and dense sociological theories and recognise them in real-time practice. The podcast has gone from strength to strength, now boasting global listenership and interest appealing to many, inside and outside the field of education.
The podcast is broad ranging and covers a range of sociological perspectives, experiences and discussions including Social Justice, Equity and Equality, Disability, Inclusion,Cultural Capital, Schools and Schooling, education systems, technology in education, LGBTQI+ experiences in education, values, beliefs, gender in education, global citizenship, the family and school, emotion in sociology and much more. Tune in to learn from expert researchers, academics and practitioners as we discuss everything and anything sociological within the field of education.
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Dr. Melanie Ní Dhuinn is a Senior Lecturer in Education in Marino Institute of Education and previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the School of Education in Trinity College and Director of the Professional Master of Education in Hibernia College. She is a qualified post-primary teacher (Physical Education and Gaeilge) and now works across primary and post-primary teacher education as a Teacher Educator and a Researcher.
In this podcast Melanie interviews leading researchers, academics, social justice activists, policy makers, curriculum specialists and practitioners as they talk about the Sociology of Education across the continuum of education and how it looks in everyday reality in its many forms and guises.
This is season two of her podcast; “Let’s Talk About the Sociology of Education”, you can listen to season one episodes here. This podcast was developed initially as a resource to support student teachers and others working in Initial Teacher Education to try and make sense of and demystify what can be abstract and dense sociological theories and recognise them in real-time practice. The podcast has gone from strength to strength, now boasting global listenership and interest appealing to many, inside and outside the field of education.
The podcast is broad ranging and covers a range of sociological perspectives, experiences and discussions including Social Justice, Equity and Equality, Disability, Inclusion,Cultural Capital, Schools and Schooling, education systems, technology in education, LGBTQI+ experiences in education, values, beliefs, gender in education, global citizenship, the family and school, emotion in sociology and much more. Tune in to learn from expert researchers, academics and practitioners as we discuss everything and anything sociological within the field of education.
S2 Episode Twelve: Professor Dympna Devine "What has social justice got to do with pedagogy?"
Let's Talk About Sociology of Education
51 minutes
8 months ago
S2 Episode Twelve: Professor Dympna Devine "What has social justice got to do with pedagogy?"
In this episode I speak to Professor Dympna Devine in an episode entitled, "What has social justice got to do with pedagogy?" a title which Dympna explains was inspired by a question from a student in a module that she taught on equalities and social justice.
Professor Devine is a full Professor of Education in UCD School of Education. Her specialist field is sociology, researching at the intersection of sociologies of education and sociologies of childhood, and the impact of education on society. Dympna is currently leading the first large-scale mixed methods longitudinal study (2018 - 2025) exploring children’s primary schooling experiences in Ireland : Children’s School Lives (www.cslstudy.ie). She previously led a longitudinal study (2017 - 2022) of children's primary school lives in rural Sierra Leone (www.safelearning.ie) which received a UCD case study impact award in 2023. Both studies build on her long-standing research into children’s everyday lives, focusing on their voices, rights, identities and equalities across home and school. Professor Devine shares her motivation to focus on sociology, which was sparked by her interdisciplinary B.Ed. at St. Patrick's College and her work with Professor Kathleen Lynch.
A former Fulbright scholar and Marie Curie Fellow, Dympna has an extensive portfolio of doctoral and postdoctoral supervision, and has published widely in the areas of migrant children in education, children’s rights and citizenship, pedagogies and school cultures for social justice and equality.
Our conversation begins with a discussion highlighting the challenge for students to connect their everyday classroom experiences with wider concepts and theories of sociology of education. Professor Devine emphasizes the importance of bringing sociology of education into the everyday reality of classrooms and making it relevant to teachers, school principals, and children. Professor Devine explains that pedagogy is central to the micro and macro dynamics in society, with a focus on relationships between teachers and students.
We discuss the concept of sociological imagination, which involves developing a different way of seeing things through the use of specific concepts and ideas. Dympna highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics of structure and agency in pedagogy, particularly in the relationship between teachers and students. She emphasizes the need for socially just informed pedagogy to create meaningful opportunities for children through education.
Dympna’s research has focused on understanding children's social worlds, power relations in schools, and the impact of migration and ethnicity on children's experiences.
Dympna provides an overview of the "Children's School Lives" study, which is the first in-depth longitudinal cohort study of primary school children in Ireland. The study tracked 4000 children over five years, with 189 primary schools participating, and included both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The study focused on themes such as family, school and teaching cultures, equality, voice and inclusion, well-being, children's engagement with learning, and transitions to secondary school. Dympna highlights the importance of the study in informing the primary curriculum reform in Ireland and its impact on policy and practice with the NCCA finding the research useful for evidence-based reform.
Professor Devine reflects on the importance of education as a public good and the role of teachers in fostering active citizenship among children.She emphasizes the need for socially just pedagogies to facilitate children's participation and contribution to society,highlighting the strong commitment to care and nurture among primary school teachers in Ireland, which is evident in the "Children's School Lives" study. She concludes by emphasizing the importance of teachers' trust and the value of education in maintaining a strong democracy.
A must-listen episode!
Let's Talk About Sociology of Education
Dr. Melanie Ní Dhuinn is a Senior Lecturer in Education in Marino Institute of Education and previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the School of Education in Trinity College and Director of the Professional Master of Education in Hibernia College. She is a qualified post-primary teacher (Physical Education and Gaeilge) and now works across primary and post-primary teacher education as a Teacher Educator and a Researcher.
In this podcast Melanie interviews leading researchers, academics, social justice activists, policy makers, curriculum specialists and practitioners as they talk about the Sociology of Education across the continuum of education and how it looks in everyday reality in its many forms and guises.
This is season two of her podcast; “Let’s Talk About the Sociology of Education”, you can listen to season one episodes here. This podcast was developed initially as a resource to support student teachers and others working in Initial Teacher Education to try and make sense of and demystify what can be abstract and dense sociological theories and recognise them in real-time practice. The podcast has gone from strength to strength, now boasting global listenership and interest appealing to many, inside and outside the field of education.
The podcast is broad ranging and covers a range of sociological perspectives, experiences and discussions including Social Justice, Equity and Equality, Disability, Inclusion,Cultural Capital, Schools and Schooling, education systems, technology in education, LGBTQI+ experiences in education, values, beliefs, gender in education, global citizenship, the family and school, emotion in sociology and much more. Tune in to learn from expert researchers, academics and practitioners as we discuss everything and anything sociological within the field of education.
