Gerry Mcnamara
Biographic Data
| ID | 1540232 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gerry Mcnamara |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gerry |
| FAMILY NAME | Mcnamara |
| SIGNATURE | MCNAMARA G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Dublin City University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2834-9135 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Beyond economics: Cultural factors affecting early school leaving—A systematic literature review
Early school leaving (ESL) remains a critical challenge across Europe, with profound implications for individuals and society, encompassing economic disadvantages, social exclusion, and reduced life opportunities. This systematic literature review examines the cultural factors that underpin patterns of ESL, employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to synthesize findings from 59 studies …
Early School Leaving by Design—Prevention, Intervention and Compensation—A Policy Analysis of Early School Leaving and Underachievement Interventions in Europe
The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparative policy analysis of successful strategies that have been implemented across European countries to address early school leaving (ESL) and academic underachievement. Employing a transformative and multidimensional approach, the study examines systemic and local interventions that integrate cognitive and socio-emotional dimensions of learning. Using Eurostat data to categorise countries based on t…
Does school inspection lead to school improvement? A case study
This study examines the role of school inspections in driving improvement within an initially a low-performing secondary school in Ireland over a 15-year period. Through a longitudinal case study, the research investigates the impact of three inspection cycles on school development. The study draws on a thematic review of literature to contextualise the evolving functions, roles, and frameworks of the Irish Inspectorate from 1996 to the present, …
Lessons learnt from a substantial gain in student retention
High student dropout rates in higher education, particularly in the first year, are recognised as problematic by OECD countries, including Ireland (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019). Decades of research have established that student attrition is multifactorial with mitigation requiring a multifaceted approach (Nora et al 1996). To date, there is very little evidence to contradict Tinto's assertion that substantial gains…
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…
School inspections: A rhetoric of quality or reality
This study aims to explore the perspectives of school inspectors and leaders on the quality of school inspection in four countries with different inspection systems: Dubai, Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan. The study also examines the general perceptions of school leaders and inspectors about the impact of quality assurance agencies on teaching and learning in these countries. Using semi-structured interviews of school leaders ( n = 28) and ins…
Middle leaders as policy translators: Prime actors in the enactment of policy
This paper picks up and elaborates on the conception of policy translators in schools – key actors in the enactment of policy. The qualitative data presented here highlight how it is often middle leaders doing high-profile policy work in schools, turning ideas into actions and bringing policy to life. As translators, they organise, manage, lead, plan, produce, inspire, persuade, and appease, and in doing so they translate policy into practice and…
Challenges and opportunities for culturally responsive leadership in schools: Evidence from Four European countries
Whether voluntary or enforced, increasing patterns of migration have significantly impacted schools by making them linguistically, culturally, religiously and ethnically more diverse than ever before. This increasing diversity requires school leaders to put in place mechanisms to ensure equity of participation for migration background students. Dimmock and Walker (2005) believe that school leaders need to play a vital role in promoting and sustai…
Deconstructing the challenges and opportunities for blended learning in the post emergency learning era
This paper, as part of a European Commission-funded project entitled REBEL (Repurposing Education through Blended Learning), deconstructs school communities understanding of the challenges and opportunities for blended learning in the school sector in Ireland with perceptions shaped by experiences of enforced school closures during the pandemic. It provides an overview of five case studies in primary and post-primary schools in Ireland. The findi…
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…
Global messages from the edge of Europe the cause and effect of leadership and planning strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic
This paper provides an analysis of the leadership and planning strategies employed by school leaders during the Covid-19 Pandemic. It draws on a series of focus group interviews with school principals from all school types in Northern Ireland. Results derived from the study shows that despite the benefits of various modes of leadership such as distributed leadership and a consensus-based approach to educational provision that is increasingly prom…
Drivers for student and parent voice in school self-evaluation activities
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…
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Academic Selection: The Case of Northern Ireland
There has been much public discussion about church-controlled schools north and south and the potential issues involved if constitutional change was to occur. However, there has been far less debate about Northern
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…
From inspection to quality: Ways in which school inspection influences change in schools
Critical facilitators: External supports for self-evaluation and improvement in schools
Developing a Culture of Evaluation in the Irish Public Sector: The Case of Education
This article is a case study of the emergence of an evaluation culture in the public sector and particularly in education in Ireland. It suggests that the emergence of this culture was strongly influenced by external bodies, particularly the EU and, to a lesser but significant degree, the OECD. It is further argued that the continuation of systematic evaluation is still dependent on external forces, since a commitment to evaluation as a tool of g…
The importance of the concept of self-evaluation in the changing landscape of education policy
Middle leaders as policy translators: Prime actors in the enactment of policy
This paper picks up and elaborates on the conception of policy translators in schools – key actors in the enactment of policy. The qualitative data presented here highlight how it is often middle leaders doing high-profile policy work in schools, turning ideas into actions and bringing policy to life. As translators, they organise, manage, lead, plan, produce, inspire, persuade, and appease, and in doing so they translate policy into practice and…
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…
Developing a Culture of Evaluation in the Irish Public Sector: The Case of Education
This article is a case study of the emergence of an evaluation culture in the public sector and particularly in education in Ireland. It suggests that the emergence of this culture was strongly influenced by external bodies, particularly the EU and, to a lesser but significant degree, the OECD. It is further argued that the continuation of systematic evaluation is still dependent on external forces, since a commitment to evaluation as a tool of g…
Trusting the Teacher: Evaluating Educational Innovation
The efficacy of and ethical justification for applying positivist research principles to the evaluation of social processes such as education are being increasingly challenged. Recent work in educational evaluation has tried to meet this challenge by moving the focus towards understanding the impact of projects and innovations on their recipients and by encouraging self-evaluation. However the dominant form of educational evaluation still involve…
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Academic Selection: The Case of Northern Ireland
There has been much public discussion about church-controlled schools north and south and the potential issues involved if constitutional change was to occur. However, there has been far less debate about Northern
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…
Evaluation: Business or Vocation
The following is offered as a response to the challenge to redefine the ‘market’ for evaluation as it currently exists in Europe, laid down by Frans Leeuw, Jacques Toulemonde and Andre Brouwers. This challenge was initiated by Leeuw and Toulemonde in the course of a lively debate which took place at the 1998 Rome
Evaluation: Business or Vocation
The following is offered as a response to the challenge to redefine the ‘market’ for evaluation as it currently exists in Europe, laid down by Frans Leeuw, Jacques Toulemonde and Andre Brouwers. This challenge was initiated by Leeuw and Toulemonde in the course of a lively debate which took place at the 1998 Rome
Process and Product Issues in the Evaluation of School Development Planning
In recent years, state funded, practitioner-led organizational improvement programmes have become increasingly common within the Irish education system. Central to this new model of public funding has been the demand for extensive evaluation of each programme, a demand that has raised a number of important theoretical and practical issues for programme evaluators. The issue addressed in this article is that of the difficulty of designing approach…
Trusting the Teacher: Evaluating Educational Innovation
The efficacy of and ethical justification for applying positivist research principles to the evaluation of social processes such as education are being increasingly challenged. Recent work in educational evaluation has tried to meet this challenge by moving the focus towards understanding the impact of projects and innovations on their recipients and by encouraging self-evaluation. However the dominant form of educational evaluation still involve…
Internal review and self-evaluation — the chosen route to school improvement in ireland
The importance of the concept of self-evaluation in the changing landscape of education policy
Developing a Culture of Evaluation in the Irish Public Sector: The Case of Education
This article is a case study of the emergence of an evaluation culture in the public sector and particularly in education in Ireland. It suggests that the emergence of this culture was strongly influenced by external bodies, particularly the EU and, to a lesser but significant degree, the OECD. It is further argued that the continuation of systematic evaluation is still dependent on external forces, since a commitment to evaluation as a tool of g…
Critical facilitators: External supports for self-evaluation and improvement in schools
From inspection to quality: Ways in which school inspection influences change 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…
Global messages from the edge of Europe the cause and effect of leadership and planning strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic
This paper provides an analysis of the leadership and planning strategies employed by school leaders during the Covid-19 Pandemic. It draws on a series of focus group interviews with school principals from all school types in Northern Ireland. Results derived from the study shows that despite the benefits of various modes of leadership such as distributed leadership and a consensus-based approach to educational provision that is increasingly prom…
Drivers for student and parent voice in school self-evaluation activities
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…
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Academic Selection: The Case of Northern Ireland
There has been much public discussion about church-controlled schools north and south and the potential issues involved if constitutional change was to occur. However, there has been far less debate about Northern
Challenges and opportunities for culturally responsive leadership in schools: Evidence from Four European countries
Whether voluntary or enforced, increasing patterns of migration have significantly impacted schools by making them linguistically, culturally, religiously and ethnically more diverse than ever before. This increasing diversity requires school leaders to put in place mechanisms to ensure equity of participation for migration background students. Dimmock and Walker (2005) believe that school leaders need to play a vital role in promoting and sustai…
Deconstructing the challenges and opportunities for blended learning in the post emergency learning era
This paper, as part of a European Commission-funded project entitled REBEL (Repurposing Education through Blended Learning), deconstructs school communities understanding of the challenges and opportunities for blended learning in the school sector in Ireland with perceptions shaped by experiences of enforced school closures during the pandemic. It provides an overview of five case studies in primary and post-primary schools in Ireland. The findi…
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…
School inspections: A rhetoric of quality or reality
This study aims to explore the perspectives of school inspectors and leaders on the quality of school inspection in four countries with different inspection systems: Dubai, Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan. The study also examines the general perceptions of school leaders and inspectors about the impact of quality assurance agencies on teaching and learning in these countries. Using semi-structured interviews of school leaders ( n = 28) and ins…
Middle leaders as policy translators: Prime actors in the enactment of policy
This paper picks up and elaborates on the conception of policy translators in schools – key actors in the enactment of policy. The qualitative data presented here highlight how it is often middle leaders doing high-profile policy work in schools, turning ideas into actions and bringing policy to life. As translators, they organise, manage, lead, plan, produce, inspire, persuade, and appease, and in doing so they translate policy into practice and…
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…
Political science (21 works) · Evaluation and Performance Assessment (19 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Psychology (17 works) · Educational Assessment and Improvement (16 works) · Public relations (15 works) · Pedagogy (13 works) · Computer Science (12 works) · Irish (10 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (10 works)