Shivaun O'Brien
Biographic Data
| ID | 10101802 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Shivaun O'Brien |
| GIVEN NAMES | Shivaun |
| FAMILY NAME | O'Brien |
| SIGNATURE | BRIEN S O |
| AFFILIATIONS | Dublin City University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7189-1443 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Rethinking success: Embedding values in the practice of school self-evaluation
School self-evaluation (SSE) has been a key component of school quality assurance and improvement for many decades in a growing number of countries. It is therefore timely to reflect on how SSE as a policy has materialised in various jurisdictions. While proponents of SSE highlight the increased autonomy and decision making power it provides to schools it is strongly linked to accountability processes. What schools are actually expected to evalua…
Implementing distributed leadership in Irish voluntary secondary schools from the principals’ perspective
In 2018, the Irish Department of Education and Skills (DES) officially recommended a distributed leadership model as a new approach to leadership and management in post-primary schools. Policy implementation guidance was circulated to school management via DES circular CL003/2018. This study investigates the perspective of voluntary secondary school principals implementing CL003/2018 within the voluntary secondary school sector, where the role of…
Teacher leadership in school self-evaluation: An approach to professional development
The importance of school self-evaluation (SSE) as a school improvement mechanism has been acknowledged by increases in the number of countries with legal requirements for schools to conduct self-evaluation. Despite the provision of a range of support to schools to encourage their engagement with SSE, many implementation challenges have been highlighted in research from various jurisdictions, where SSE has been introduced. The provision of profess…
Quality assuring an ethical education curriculum for schools in Ireland
The growth of multidenominational schools internationally has led to a greater emphasis on the provision of ethical education curricula in many countries as opposed to the more traditional provision of denominational instruction. One of the main providers of multidenominational schools in Ireland is Educate Together, an organisation which currently serves as a patron body for 95 primary and 19 s level schools, catering to over 30,000 students. In…
Student voice and the school hierarchy: The disconnect between senior leaders and teachers
This paper shows how the commitment of senior leadership teams to student voice is not necessarily shared by teachers. As part of a wider study, this paper presents qualitative data generated through interviews with school staff in one Irish post-primary school with a strong culture of student voice to illustrate the discrepancy that can exist between senior leaders and teachers in terms of how they embrace, enact, and experience student voice. S…
Exploring parent and student engagement in school self-evaluation in four European countries
The purpose of this paper, which is part of a three-year EU Erasmus+-funded study titled ‘Distributed Evaluation and Planning in Schools’ (DEAPS), is to provide an analysis of policies, structures, processes, supports and barriers that exist to enable or inhibit the involvement of students and parents in school evaluation in four European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Turkey). Document analysis was used for this study and some 348 pee…
Embedding Self-Evaluation in School Routines
School self-evaluation (SSE) has emerged as a widely used approach to school evaluation in recent decades. This has occurred in the context of what is referred to as “New Public Management,” an element of which seeks to empower public institutions to make decisions locally about improving their processes and standards. Inspection regimes in many countries have developed legislative, methodological, and support mechanisms for schools to carry out …
Enacting school self-evaluation: The policy actors in Irish schools
School self-evaluation is a low-stakes policy recently mandated in Ireland and while schools are becoming more consistent in engaging in this internal mode of evaluation, their engagement has not been uniform. This paper provides new ways of thinking about, understanding, and explaining how school self-evaluation plays out in Irish schools. Subscribing to the view that policies are not simply implemented but enacted through the creative processes…
For improvement, accountability, or the economy? Reflecting on the purpose(s) of school self-evaluation in Ireland
This paper reflects on compulsory school self-evaluation in Ireland. It sets important historical and contemporary context by documenting the development of a culture of evaluation in Ireland throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium before charting the rise of school self-evaluation during the austere economic conditions of post-2008 Ireland. Three key reasons are proposed for the rise of school self-evaluation: the influence of the Organ…
Policy and practice: Including parents and students in school self-evaluation
As with school self-evaluation in most European countries, the Irish education system now promotes the involvement and inclusion of stakeholders such as parents and students in the evaluation process. Yet, in the Irish context, there is limited research exploring the role of these stakeholders in this internal mode of school evaluation. To address this lacuna, this research draws on a national survey of post-primary school principals and intervie…
Irish teachers, starting on a journey of data use for school self-evaluation
External specialist support for school self-evaluation: Testing a model of support in Irish post-primary schools
With an increasing emphasis on school self-evaluation as a mechanism for school improvement, many countries provide a range of supports to guide schools through the self-evaluation process. While models of support vary across jurisdictions, there are a number of common approaches that prevail, including the provision of an external specialist to support the school self-evaluation process. However, there is very little research carried out in rela…
Critical facilitators: External supports for self-evaluation and improvement in schools
Enacting school self-evaluation: The policy actors in Irish schools
School self-evaluation is a low-stakes policy recently mandated in Ireland and while schools are becoming more consistent in engaging in this internal mode of evaluation, their engagement has not been uniform. This paper provides new ways of thinking about, understanding, and explaining how school self-evaluation plays out in Irish schools. Subscribing to the view that policies are not simply implemented but enacted through the creative processes…
For improvement, accountability, or the economy? Reflecting on the purpose(s) of school self-evaluation in Ireland
This paper reflects on compulsory school self-evaluation in Ireland. It sets important historical and contemporary context by documenting the development of a culture of evaluation in Ireland throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium before charting the rise of school self-evaluation during the austere economic conditions of post-2008 Ireland. Three key reasons are proposed for the rise of school self-evaluation: the influence of the Organ…
External specialist support for school self-evaluation: Testing a model of support in Irish post-primary schools
With an increasing emphasis on school self-evaluation as a mechanism for school improvement, many countries provide a range of supports to guide schools through the self-evaluation process. While models of support vary across jurisdictions, there are a number of common approaches that prevail, including the provision of an external specialist to support the school self-evaluation process. However, there is very little research carried out in rela…
Critical facilitators: External supports for self-evaluation and improvement in schools
External specialist support for school self-evaluation: Testing a model of support in Irish post-primary schools
With an increasing emphasis on school self-evaluation as a mechanism for school improvement, many countries provide a range of supports to guide schools through the self-evaluation process. While models of support vary across jurisdictions, there are a number of common approaches that prevail, including the provision of an external specialist to support the school self-evaluation process. However, there is very little research carried out in rela…
Irish teachers, starting on a journey of data use for school self-evaluation
Policy and practice: Including parents and students in school self-evaluation
As with school self-evaluation in most European countries, the Irish education system now promotes the involvement and inclusion of stakeholders such as parents and students in the evaluation process. Yet, in the Irish context, there is limited research exploring the role of these stakeholders in this internal mode of school evaluation. To address this lacuna, this research draws on a national survey of post-primary school principals and intervie…
Exploring parent and student engagement in school self-evaluation in four European countries
The purpose of this paper, which is part of a three-year EU Erasmus+-funded study titled ‘Distributed Evaluation and Planning in Schools’ (DEAPS), is to provide an analysis of policies, structures, processes, supports and barriers that exist to enable or inhibit the involvement of students and parents in school evaluation in four European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Turkey). Document analysis was used for this study and some 348 pee…
Embedding Self-Evaluation in School Routines
School self-evaluation (SSE) has emerged as a widely used approach to school evaluation in recent decades. This has occurred in the context of what is referred to as “New Public Management,” an element of which seeks to empower public institutions to make decisions locally about improving their processes and standards. Inspection regimes in many countries have developed legislative, methodological, and support mechanisms for schools to carry out …
Enacting school self-evaluation: The policy actors in Irish schools
School self-evaluation is a low-stakes policy recently mandated in Ireland and while schools are becoming more consistent in engaging in this internal mode of evaluation, their engagement has not been uniform. This paper provides new ways of thinking about, understanding, and explaining how school self-evaluation plays out in Irish schools. Subscribing to the view that policies are not simply implemented but enacted through the creative processes…
For improvement, accountability, or the economy? Reflecting on the purpose(s) of school self-evaluation in Ireland
This paper reflects on compulsory school self-evaluation in Ireland. It sets important historical and contemporary context by documenting the development of a culture of evaluation in Ireland throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium before charting the rise of school self-evaluation during the austere economic conditions of post-2008 Ireland. Three key reasons are proposed for the rise of school self-evaluation: the influence of the Organ…
Student voice and the school hierarchy: The disconnect between senior leaders and teachers
This paper shows how the commitment of senior leadership teams to student voice is not necessarily shared by teachers. As part of a wider study, this paper presents qualitative data generated through interviews with school staff in one Irish post-primary school with a strong culture of student voice to illustrate the discrepancy that can exist between senior leaders and teachers in terms of how they embrace, enact, and experience student voice. S…
Quality assuring an ethical education curriculum for schools in Ireland
The growth of multidenominational schools internationally has led to a greater emphasis on the provision of ethical education curricula in many countries as opposed to the more traditional provision of denominational instruction. One of the main providers of multidenominational schools in Ireland is Educate Together, an organisation which currently serves as a patron body for 95 primary and 19 s level schools, catering to over 30,000 students. In…
Teacher leadership in school self-evaluation: An approach to professional development
The importance of school self-evaluation (SSE) as a school improvement mechanism has been acknowledged by increases in the number of countries with legal requirements for schools to conduct self-evaluation. Despite the provision of a range of support to schools to encourage their engagement with SSE, many implementation challenges have been highlighted in research from various jurisdictions, where SSE has been introduced. The provision of profess…
Rethinking success: Embedding values in the practice of school self-evaluation
School self-evaluation (SSE) has been a key component of school quality assurance and improvement for many decades in a growing number of countries. It is therefore timely to reflect on how SSE as a policy has materialised in various jurisdictions. While proponents of SSE highlight the increased autonomy and decision making power it provides to schools it is strongly linked to accountability processes. What schools are actually expected to evalua…
Implementing distributed leadership in Irish voluntary secondary schools from the principals’ perspective
In 2018, the Irish Department of Education and Skills (DES) officially recommended a distributed leadership model as a new approach to leadership and management in post-primary schools. Policy implementation guidance was circulated to school management via DES circular CL003/2018. This study investigates the perspective of voluntary secondary school principals implementing CL003/2018 within the voluntary secondary school sector, where the role of…
Political science (11 works) · Educational Assessment and Improvement (10 works) · Evaluation and Performance Assessment (9 works) · Pedagogy (9 works) · Irish (8 works) · Public relations (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (6 works)