Researcher Details |

Bernadette Sweetman

Dr.

Contact Details

Post-Doctoral Researcher
Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education
Institute of Education, St. Patrick's Campus
Dublin City University
Drumcondra D9
T:(01) 7009162

E:bernadette.sweetman@dcu.ie

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.

Book

	Year	Publication
	2013	Maura Hyland, Bernadette Sweetman (2013) Encountering Christ in the Sacraments. Frisco, Texas, USA: Veritas.
	2013	Caroline Kehoe, Bernadette Sweetman (2013) The Body of Christ: The Church. Frisco, Texas, USA: Veritas.
	2012	Bernadette Sweetman (2012) Son of God, Son of Mary. Frisco, Texas, USA: Veritas.
	2012	Bernadette Sweetman (2012) Our Family Mass: Resources for the Family Sunday Liturgy Year C. Dublin: Veritas.
	2011	Bernadette Sweetman (2011) Our Family Mass: Resources for the Family Sunday Liturgy Year B. Dublin: Veritas.
	2010	Bernadette Sweetman (2010) Our Family Mass: Resources for the Sunday Family Liturgy - Year A. Dublin: Veritas.

Book Chapter

	Year	Publication
	2022	B. Sweetman (2022) 'Valuing and Cultivating Dialogue Amongst Learner–Educators: Ongoing Challenges for Post-Primary Religious Education Teachers in Catholic Schools' In: Formation of Teachers for Catholic Schools: Challenges and Opportunities in a New Era. Singapore : Springer. [DOI]
	2021	Sweetman, B. (2021) 'Adult religious education and faith development in Ireland: Pushing the boat out' In: Catholic Education: A lifelong journey. Dublin : Veritas.
	2019	Gareth Byrne, Leslie J. Francis, Ursula McKenna, Bernadette Sweetman (2019) 'Exploring the personal, social and spiritual worldview of male adolescent atheists within the Republic of Ireland: An Empirical Enquiry' In: Religion and Education: The Voices of Young People in Ireland. Dublin : Veritas.
	2019	Gareth Byrne, Leslie J. Francis, Bernadette Sweetman, Ursula McKenna (2019) 'Sustaining churchgoing young Catholics in the Republic of Ireland: Assessing the importance of parental example' In: Religion and Education: The Voices of Young People in Ireland. Dublin : Veritas.
	2019	Byrne, G.; Sweetman, B. (2019) 'CPD and RE: What Do RE Teachers in Irish Catholic Schools Say They Need?' In: Global Perspectives on Catholic Religious Education in Schools: Volume II: Learning and Leading in a Pluralist World. [Link]
	2018	Sweetman, B. (2018) 'Godparenthood and education: An irish perspective' In: Religious Education in Catholic Schools: Perspectives from Ireland and the UK. [Link]
	2016	Francis, L.J., Byrne, G., Sweetman, B., Penny, G. (2016) 'Growing Up Female and Catholic in the Republic of Ireland and in Scotland: The Intersectionality of Religious Identity, Religious Saliency, and Nationality' In: Diversity and Intersectionality: Studies in Religion, Education and Values. Bern : Peter Lang.
	2024	(2024) ''What Can the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development Project (AREFD) Tell Us About the Research Agenda in Catholic Education in Relation to LGBTQI+ matters?' In: Queer Thriving in Catholic Education Going Beyond the Pastoral Paradigm for LGBTQ+ Inclusion. Singapore : Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0323-4

Edited Book

	Year	Publication
	2013	Pierpaulo Finaldi, Bernadette Sweetman (Ed.). (2013) My Simple Mass Book. London: Catholic Truth Society,

Peer Reviewed Journal

	Year	Publication
	2021	Bernadette Sweetman (2021) 'Reimagining adult religious education and faith development in a detraditionalised Ireland'. Religions, . https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12110963
	2021	Byrne, G., Sweetman, B. (2021) 'Opening up adult religious education and faith development in Ireland: The AREFD project'. British Journal of Religious Education, . https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2021.1913097
	2021	Sweetman, Bernadette (2021) 'Learnings from the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development (AREFD) project for initial teacher education of religious educators'. JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, 69 (3). [DOI]
	2020	Francis, L.J., Byrne, G., Lewis, C.A., Sweetman, B. (2020) 'Religious affect and personal happiness: Are there significant differences between Catholic adolescents in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland? '. JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, . [DOI]
	2023	Byrne, G.; Sweetman, B. (2023) 'Opening up adult religious education and faith development in Ireland: the AREFD project'. British Journal of Religious Education, 45 . [Link] [DOI]
	2024	(2024) 'From acting as a crutch to activating as a catalyst: a spectrum of responses from Irish adults regarding religious education and faith development in COVID times'. British Journal of Religious Education, . https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2024.2343296

Other Journal

	Year	Publication
	2021	Gareth Byrne, Bernadette Sweetman (2021) 'Responses of clergy and laypeople to COVID-19' . [Link]

Conference Contribution

	Year	Publication
	2022	Bernadette Sweetman (2022) NfRCE Research agenda in Catholic Education and LGBTQI+ matters What can we learn from the AREFD project in relation to the research agenda of Catholic education and LGBTQI+ matters DCU, .
	2022	Bernadette Sweetman (2022) NfrCE Annual Conference On being an adult Catholic and flourishing: Reflections upon the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development project St. Mary's University, London, .
	2021	Bernadette Sweetman (2021) AULRE 2021: Researching RE: Changing Times for Religious Education Learnings from the AREFD project for the ITE of Religious Educators online, .
	2021	Bernadette Sweetman (2021) Interdisciplinary perspectives on Catholicism in Ireland and Beyond Covid-19 & Church 21: Perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on the faith lives of Catholics in the Republic of Ireland and the UK Irish Institute of Catholic studies (MIC) online, .
	2021	Sweetman, B. , Byrne, G. (2021) ESAI 2021: Possibilities in Education : Re-imagining connections with People, Purpose and Place Re-imagining adult religious education in light of COVID-19: The significance of connection online, .
	2020	Bernadette Sweetman (2020) 2nd International Conference on Catholic Religious Education in Schools Exploring Adult Religious Education and Faith Development in Ireland Melbourne, Australia, .
	2020	Bernadette Sweetman (2020) 2nd International Conference on Catholic Religious Education in Schools Chaired session Melbourne, Australia, .
	2020	Byrne, G., Sweetman, B. (2020) ESAI 2020: Opening Up Education Opening Up Religious Education in Ireland: The AREFD project online, .
	2019	Bernadette Sweetman (2019) Catholic Education: Formal, informal and lifelong Adult Religious Education in Ireland: Pushing the boat out DCU, .
	2018	Bernadette Sweetman (2018) ESAI Conference 2018 Religion UCD, .
	2018	Gareth Byrne, Bernadette Sweetman (2018) International Conference on Catholic Religious Education CPD and RE: What do RE teachers in Irish Catholic primary and post-primary schools say they need? Malta, .
	2018	Gareth Byrne, Bernadette Sweetman (2018) The Voice of Young People on Religion and Education: Research, Policy and Impact Sustaining churchgoing young Catholics in the Republic of Ireland: Assessing the importance of parental example DCU, .
	2018	Gareth Byrne, Bernadette Sweetman (2018) The Voice of Young People on Religion and Education: Research, Policy and Impact Growing up female and Catholic in the Republic of Ireland and in Scotland: The intersectionality of religious identity, religious saliency, and nationality DCU, .
	2017	Bernadette Sweetman, Gareth Byrne (2017) CEIST Annual Conference Presentation on Growing Up Female and Catholic: An Irish Perspective Athlone, .
	2018	Bernadette Sweetman, Joe O'Hara (2018) ESAI Conference 2018 Tackling early school leaving in migrant populations through peer mentoring: The E-Evalinto Project UCD, .
	2016	Gareth Byrne, Bernadette Sweetman (2016) ICRE RE Lecturers and Researchers Colloquium Growing up Female and Catholic in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland: The Intersectionality of Religious Identity, Religious Saliency, and Nationality Dublin, .
	2016	Bernadette Sweetman (2016) New Thinking about Catholic Education Godparenthood in Ireland: An Empirical Study of the Educational Intentions Influencing Parental Selection of Godparents Heythrop College, London, .
	2016	Bernadette Sweetman (2016) European Society of Historical Demography Godaprenthood in Ireland 1965 - 2015 Leuven, Belgium, .
	2015	Bernadette Sweetman (2015) ICRE RE Lecturers and Researchers Colloquium Godparenthood in Ireland Dublin, .
	2014	Bernadette Sweetman (2014) European Society of Historical Demography Godparenthood in Ireland: Exploring the Landscape Alghero, Sardinia, .
	2014	Bernadette Sweetman (2014) DCU Postgraduate in Humanities and Social Sciences Conference Godparenthood in Ireland: Exploring the Landscape Dublin, .

Published Report

	Year	Publication
	2018	Joe O'Hara, Bernadette Sweetman, Denise Freir, Martin Brown, Gerry McNamara (2018) A Review and Evaluation of the NUI Uversity collaborative model of higher education provision through the MA in Creative Process. National University of Ireland, .

Online Article

	Year	Publication
	2020	Bernadette Sweetman (2020) What does a religious or spiritual Irish adult look like?. ELEA
	2019	Bernadette Sweetman (2019) Why do we have godparents?. ELEA

Newspaper

	Year	Publication
	2020	Byrne, G., Sweetman, B. (2020) Coronavirus in church: 2020 vision on the meaning of faith in our lives. NEWSA [Link]
	2019	Bernadette Sweetman (2019) Dominant public view of religious persons as less intelligent is lamentable. NEWSA [Link]
	2021	Gareth Byrne, Bernadette Sweetman (2021) Churchgoers want return to old patterns. NEWSA

Thesis

	Year	Publication
	2016	Bernadette Sweetman (2016) Godparenthood in Ireland: An Empirical Study of the Educational Intentions Influencing Parental Selection of Godparents. THES

Guest Lectures

	Year	Publication
	2022	Bernadette Sweetman (2022) Contribution to GRACE webinar. GL

Podcast

	Year	Publication
	2023	David Kennedy; Bernadette Sweetman (2023) The Adult Religious Education and Faith Development Project (AREFD). Online: PODCAST [Link]

Other Publication

	Year	Publication
	2024	(2024) After the Covid pandemic, where does churchgoing fit into Irish lives?.

Professional Associations

Association	Function	From / To
European Society of Historical Demography	Research	27/09/2014 -
Educational Studies Association of Ireland	member	01/12/2017 -
International Seminar on Religious Education and Values (ISREV)	Associate member	01/09/2024 -
BIAPT (British and Irish Association of Practical Theology	Research	01/02/2019 -
European Forum for Teachers of Religious Education	member	01/01/2021 -
Association of Leaders in Lifelong Learning in Ministry	Member	01/01/2021 -
Association of University Lecturers in Religious Education	member	01/01/2021 -
Religious Education Association	Member	01/01/2021 -

Honors and Awards

	Date	Title	Awarding Body
	01/10/2012	Partial scholarship	Irish Centre for Religious Education

Committees

	Committee	Function	From / To
	Advisory Board for the Irish Centre for Religious Education		07/12/2017 -

Employment

Employer	Position	From / To
Dublin City University	Part-time Lecturer and Tutor	01/10/2016 - 31/05/2017
EQI : Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection, DCU	Research Assistant	01/11/2016 -
St. Colmcilles B.N.S. Swords	Mainstream Teacher	01/09/2001 - 31/08/2011
Self-employed	Author	01/09/2011 - 30/09/2013
Irish Centre for Religious Education	Research and Development Officer	01/10/2013 - 30/06/2016
Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, DCU	post-doctoral researcher	01/10/2018 -
DCU School of Human Development	Assistant Professor in Education	01/07/2024 -

Education

	Start date	Institution	Qualification	Subject
		St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra	Bachelor of Education
		Dublin City University and Mater Dei Institute	Doctor of Education
		St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra and Mater Dei Institute	Masters in Education

Reviews

	Journal	Role
	Journal of Beliefs and Values	Reviewer
	British Journal of Religious Education	Reviewer
	Religions	Reviewer
	Journal of Religion and Health	Reviewer

Outreach Activities

	Year	Engagement Type	Organisation	Description
				I was invited by Brackenstown Parish to speak with the Parish Pastoral Council and other parishioners on the development of Family Ministry in the parish.
				I was invited by Castleknock parish to speak about family catechesis at their Parish Festival in October 2013.

Media

Title	Year	Type	Authors
The John Murray show	2015	Radio Interviews	John Murray
What does being a godparent mean to you?	2023	Radio Interviews	Bernadette Sweetman
Adult Religious Education and Faith Development	2018	Radio Interviews	Bernadette Sweetman
Synod	2023	Radio Interviews	Bernadette Sweetman

Research Interests

Adult religious education and faith development. Spirituality. Research methods in religion and education. Human Development.

My research interests are much broader across psychology, sociology and education. I'm currently very interested in deathcare studies, new age religions and popular spiritual practices.

Research Projects

Title	Role	Start date	End date
Adult Religious Education and Faith Development	Post-doctoral researcher	01/10/2018	30/09/2021
CPD and RE: An Empirical Study of the CPD needs of RE teachers in the Republic of Ireland	Field worker	01/05/2017	31/07/2017
E-Evalinto: Evaluation environment for fostering intercultural mentoring tools and practices at school	Project Manager of Irish Partner (EQI)	01/01/2016	30/09/2018

Current Postgraduate Students

	Student Name	Degree	Supervision
	Perry ,Paul Francis	Doctor of Education	Supervisor

Teaching Interests

I am passionate about lifelong learning and embracing an approach of wonder and creativity that goes beyond the formal settings of education.

Initially I was a primary school teacher and I bring that experience as well as more general life experience into my third level teaching as I hope to exemplify and advocate a person-centred philosophy of education.

In terms of subject areas, I am involved in professional placement for initial teachers at primary and post-primary level. I currently coordinate modules in Research Methods and Dissertation and I encourage students to see themselves as not just a subject and / or age group teacher but an educator and a learner.

I am particularly keen on desmystifying academia while at the same time maintaining rigorous standards of ethical research, teaching and learning.

Modules Coordinated

	Term	Title	Subject
	2024	Research Methods and Dissertation	HDE1011