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Alan Gorman

Dr

Contact Details


SPC M 314, School of Policy and Practice
DCU Institute of Education
T:+353 1 700 9260

E:Alan.Gorman@dcu.ie
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Dr Alan Gorman, BEd, MEd, PhD, is Deputy Chair of the Doctor of Education (EdD) programme at DCU. He is also the Area of Professional Focus Leader for Professional Learning and Teacher Education on the EdD. He received the DCU President’s Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2022. His research and publications focus on critical policy analysis, professional learning, and teacher education. He has supervised doctoral students to completion in these areas. He is currently undertaking a tri-nation research study on system leadership with Prof Alma Harris (Swansea University), Prof Michelle Jones (Cardiff Metropolitan University) and Dr Fiona King (DCU). He has also completed research on early career principal identity across the island of Ireland and co-led an innovative teacher education project on AI-enabled virtual reality environments (featured on RTÉ). 

He is a Research Fellow at the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC). He has presented to the Department of Education and the Oireachtas Committee on policy development and enactment. He also conducted a policy audit, which was published in the Report on the Review of the 2013 Action Plan on Bullying and the Development of Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying (Department of Education, 2023, pp. 36-39). 

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2024 Brennan,A.; Logan, A.; Pennycook, C.; Gorman, A.; Scanlon, D. (2024) 'Collaborative self-study in higher education: lessons from redesigning school placement during the pandemic'. Journal of Education for Teaching, . [DOI]
2024 Feijóo, S; Kuldas, S; Sargioti, A; Kinahan, A; Heaney, D.; Gorman, A.; O'Higgins Norman, J. (2024) 'A test of Dublin Anti-bullying Self-Efficacy Scale for teachers (DABSE-T)'. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, . [DOI]
2024 Hsu, H.P.; Mak, J.; Werner, J.; White-Taylor, J.; Geiselhofer, M.; Gorman, A.; Capurro, C. T. (2024) 'Preliminary study on pre-service teachers’ applications and perceptions of generative artificial intelligence for lesson planning'. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 32 (3). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/224413/
2024 Doyle, A.; Conroy Johnson, M.; Scanlon, D.; Logan, A.; Silke, A.; Brennan, A.; Furlong, A.; O’Grady, S (2024) 'Reconceptualising school placement assessment in initial teacher education: a figurational perspective'. European Journal of Teacher Education, . [Link] https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2024.2345904
2023 Gorman, A.; Furlong, C. (2023) 'Partnership or prescription: a critical discourse analysis of HEI-school partnership policy in the Republic of Ireland'. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 51 . [Link] [DOI]
2023 Gorman, A.; Hall, K. (2023) 'Exploring the impact of an online learning community to support student teachers on school placement'. European Journal of Teacher Education, . [DOI]
2023 Brennan, A.; Gorman, A. (2023) 'Leading transformative professional learning for inclusion across the teacher education continuum: lessons from online and on-site learning communities'. Professional Development in Education, 49 . [Link] [DOI]
2023 Moynihan, D; Gorman, A; Leahy, M; Scully, D (2023) 'All the World’s a Stage: Examining the Actors That Influence the Development of Primary Pre-Service Teacher Digital Competence in the Republic of Ireland'. Education Sciences, 13 (10). [Link] https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13101045
2023 Barron, B.; Gorman, A.; Looney, A. (2023) 'Teacher professionalism in policy texts in the Republic of Ireland; a critical discourse analysis'. Irish Educational Studies, . [Link] [DOI]

Book Chapter

Year Publication
2024 Lehane, P.; Gorman, A. (2024) 'Assessment and Learning- Summative Approaches' In: Learning to Teach in the Primary School. London : Routledge.
2023 King, F; Brennan, A; Gorman, A (2023) 'Teacher professional learning in the Republic of Ireland: Policy development to policy enactment' In: Innovation in Teacher Professional Learning in Europe. London : Routledge. [DOI]

Online Article

Year Publication
2024 Gorman, A. (2024) How 50 years of the Transition Year programme has changed Irish schools. ELEA [Link] https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2024/0819/1465614-transition-year-programme-secondary-schools-ireland-1974/
2024 Gorman, A. (2024) A guide to understanding political policy language in the 'Year of Elections'. ELEA [Link]

Published Report

Year Publication
2024 Gorman, A.; Woods, C.; Brennan, A.; Furlong, C.; Curtin, A.; Hall, K. (2024) Documenting the identity formation of earlycareer school leaders: transition, socialisation, and role duality. SCOTENS, . [Link] https://scotens.org/site/wp-content/uploads/DPIF.pdf

Conference Contribution

Year Publication
2024 Gorman, A.; Brennan, A. (2024) European Conference of Educational Research How the identity formation of early-career principals/headteachers can provide insights into developing and supporting sustainable school leadership Nicosia, Cyprus, .
2024 Gorman, A.; Brennan, A. (2024) Leadership for Professional Learning Professional learning for early career principals: considerations for designing a PL framework to support early-career principals within the field Santiago, Chile, .
2024 King, F.; Brennan, A.; Gorman, A. (2024) Leadership for Professional Learning Symposium Leadership for professional learning: educators and professionalism in turbulent times Santiago, Chile, .
2024 Tiernan, P.; Gorman, A. (2024) Education Studies Association of Ireland MiTeachVR: a virtual reality classroom for teachers to present their communication skills Maynooth, Ireland, .
2023 (2023) European Conference for Education Research (ECER) Teaching professional learning in Ireland: policy development to policy enactment Glasgow, .
2023 Gorman, A.; Tiernan, P. (2023) Innovative Solutions in Education: from Gamification to Artificial Intelligence Using VR technologies to support student teachers in learning to teach Vilnius, .
2022 Gorman, A.; King, F.; Brennan, A. (2022) International Professional Development Association The six Rs of professional learning: revisiting and reimagining a way forward for PL policy [ Birmingham, .
2022 Giblin, F.; Gorman, A.; Sexton P.J. (2022) Teacher Education Policy in Europe (TEPE) Considering the value of research in teacher education for teachers and pre-service teachers: contested and fertile policy spaces and practices in Europe, England and Ireland Graz, Austria, .
2022 Brennan, A.; King, F.; Gorman, A. (2022) Teacher Education Policy in Europe (TEPE) Supporting teacher professional learning in Ireland: policy development to policy enactment Graz, Austria, .
2019 Brennan, A. & Gorman, A (2019) Teacher Education Policy Europe (TEPE) Annual Conference: Quality Teachers and Quality Teacher Education: Research, Policy and Practice Developing transformative models of professional learning for inclusive practice across the continuum of teacher education Krakow, Poland, .
2018 Furlong, C. & Gorman, A. (2018) Teacher Education Policy in Europe (TEPE) [International Peer Reviewed Conference] Examining the operationalisation of the School Placement Guidelines in relation to the roles of cooperating teachers in the school placement experience: a critical discourse analysis Braga, Portugal, 18/05/2008-.
2017 Gorman, A. (2017) European Conference on Education Research (ECER) [International Peer Reviewed Conference] Supporting student teachers on school placement through an online hybrid learning space Copenhagen, .
2017 Furlong, C., Gorman, A. & White, J. (2017) European Conference on Education Research (ECER) [International Peer Reviewed Conference] Conscription or cooperation: exploring the (de)motivational perspectives on being cooperating teachers on school placement Copenhagen, .
2017 Furlong, C. & Gorman, A. (2017) Teacher Education Policy in Europe (TEPE) [International Peer Reviewed Conference] The teacher I have to be: An exploration into the influence of lay theories; the problem that won't go away Limerick, Ireland, .
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Honors and Awards

Date Title Awarding Body
01/05/2022 President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Dublin City University

Committees

Committee Function From / To
Graduate Research Studies Board -
University Appeals Board -

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
01/04/2017 University College Cork Doctor of Philosophy Education
31/08/2011 Trinity College, University of Dublin Master of Education Education
30/06/2006 St Patrick's College, Dublin City University Bachelor of Education Education

Languages

Language Reading Writing Speaking
Irish Functional Functional Functional

Reviews

Journal Role
Professional Development in Education Reviewer
International Journal of Research and Method in Education Reviewer
European Journal of Teacher Education Reviewer
Irish Educational Studies Reviewer

Outreach Activities

Year Engagement Type Organisation Description
2021 Presentations/Talks to an external audience Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science debate. Witness to brief the committee on school bullying and its impact on mental health.
2023 Advisory Work Department of Education Professional learning to the Parents and Learners Unit on support principals in leading the enactment of anti-bullying procedures.
2024 Educational Outreach/Public Engagement Department of Education Series of professional learning consultations to the Department of Education on policy development and the challenges of policy enactment

Media

Title Year Type Authors
Partnership or Prescription: a critical discourse analysis of HEI-school partnership policy in the Republic of Ireland 2023 Podcast Gorman, A.
DCU researchers launch virtual reality classroom 2024 Newspaper article (Print) Gorman, A., Tiernan, P.
Why are there more ‘Miss’ teachers than ‘Mr’? 2024 Podcast Gorman, A.

Research Interests

Critical policy research; education policy; education leadership; teacher professional learning across the continuum; professional identity formation

Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date
Documenting early-career primary and post-primary principals’ identity formation DCU PI 02/09/2019 31/08/2020
AI for Societal Good Co -PI 05/11/2023 31/01/2024
Preparing Teachers for AI Development in Education as an Innovative Asset Researcher - Policy Workstream Lead 01/01/2024 01/01/2025
Comparing System Leadership: A Tri-Nation Study DCU PI 01/04/2024 30/04/2025

Current Postgraduate Students

Student Name Degree Supervision
O Connor ,Stephanie PhD Supervisor
Dunne ,Stephen James Doctor of Education Supervisor
Tias ,Silfia Asning PhD Supervisor
Nulty ,Alison PhD-track Supervisor

Internal Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
Internal National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre (ABC) Dublin City University Academic
Internal Centre for Inclusive Pedagogy Dublin City University Academic

External Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
External Dr Alicia Curtin University College Cork Academic
External Dr Claire Woods University of Ulster Academic

Teaching Interests

Qualitative Research Methods; Teaching Studies; Policy Analysis; Professional Learning; Teacher Education

Modules Coordinated

Term Title Subject
2023 Policy Analysis ED9015
2023 Teaching Studies ED2030
2023 Professional Learning Policy Analysis ED9012
2023 Working in Schools ED8088
2023 Qualitative Research Methods ED8004