Academic biography

Dr. Bernadette Sweetman is

• a Post-doctoral Researcher in Adult Religious Education and Faith Development at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, DCU
• an Assistant Professor in Education in the School of Human Development, DCU Institute of Education

Currently, I am teaching Research Methods and Dissertation modules at undergraduate level in the B.A. Joint Honours and I also work with students in the final years of their B.Ed and B.Rel Ed. degrees, both academically and in their professional placements.

At the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education I have been the post-doctoral researcher on the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development project.  A number of publications and presentations emerged from this study and I am currently editing a volume of research reports from the study.  Another development emerging from the findings of the study is the construction of an immersive digital environment called The Virtual Well for faith exploration and discovery.

My postgraduate qualifications are in the area of religious education, with my professional doctoral thesis in 2016 focusing on the area of godparenthood in Ireland.