Academic biography

I am Associate Professor in Sociology and Head of the School of Human Development at the DCU Institute of Education. I teach on a range of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and across the Faculties of Education and Humanities & Social Sciences. My main teaching responsibilities are in the areas of: Families and Education; Multiple Intelligences; Children’s Rights and Privacy in Schools; and the Sociology of Childhood. 

My research interests and publications are mainly in: Diversity and Education; Parental involvement and Schooling; Homework; Children’s Rights and Privacy; Traveller Education; and School Placement. I am committed to service within the university and wider community; I am a member of the DCU Research Ethics Committee (REC), and am Chairperson of a Board of Management in the Educate Together network of schools.