S2 Episode Nine: Highlights episode

In this episode Dr. Melanie Ní Dhuinn revisits the eight episodes released in the first half of season two. She highlights key discussions from the first eight episodes of Season Two and recaps on topics covered, including interviews with ten experts on various education-related sociological issues. Key points include the challenges of full inclusion in education, reimagining education for marginalized youth, and the integration of social justice in teaching. The podcast also explores the role of emotion in teaching, the Ubuntu network's promotion of global citizenship, and the importance of trusting teachers to make informed decisions. Additionally, the impact of generative AI on education and the Sociology of food are discussed. In Episode One “All Means all but does it?” with Professor Joanne Banks they discuss a myriad of inclusion related issues and concepts and talked about what Joanne says can be quite a polarised well and a polarised debate when we discuss the concept of full inclusion and whether our education systems are actually working to ensure that every child and student has access to an inclusive education system or not. Staying with the theme of inclusion in Episode 2 with Professor Michael Shevlin they discuss how we can reimagine education for marginalised young people. Michael describes how there has been enormous progress in terms of legislation and in terms of understanding within the field of inclusive education but he stresses how it is so important that we continue to re-interpret what inclusion means. In Episode 3 Melanie talks to Professor Jackie Boivin and Professor Sheena Rancher from Bridgewater State University in an episode titled “Irish Classrooms Opening American Minds to New Aspects of Social Justice. This episode was inspired by a study visit by Dr. Boivin and Dr Rancher to Ireland in May 2024 which they made with a group of their teacher candidates to Marino Institute of Education and St Mary’s University College Belfast. In Episode 4 Professor Gerry Jeffers introduces the idea of “Schools as sites of tensions and contradiction” and how schools play a paradoxical role from nurturing academic excellence to addressing social justice and the functionalist expectation of schools to fulfil multiple roles in society. In Episode Five with Dr. Roland Tormey they discuss the concept of learning as an emotional practice and the role of emotion in the sociology of education and we also focus on how aspects of the sociology of education are evident when working with student engineers (with whom Roland currently works) and student teachers. In Episode Six, Melanie talks to Dr. Joanne O’Flaherty and Deirdre Hogan from the Ubuntu network. Joanne and Deirdre’s episode explores Ubuntu Voices: Exploring possible futures for Global Citizenship Education. We discuss the Ubuntu Network, funded by Irish Aid and how it promotes global citizenship in post-primary teacher education. In Episode Seven in an episode called “Trusting Teachers to make informed decisions to best meet the needs of their learners” Dr. Michael Hallissy explains how he believes that we need to trust teachers to make decisions and how far too often, we are trying to enforce practices but the teacher in their classroom is best placed. In the final of the first eight episodes Dr. Michelle Share discusses the Sociology of Food and the importance of the context in which food is eaten, including family meals and school dining experiences. They chat about the cultural capital aspect of food and how it can be classist and about differences in food provision between different socio-economic groups. Tune in to hear more!