Services & Information

Staff Details

Departments

Music

School Partnerships

Short Description

As School Experience Co-ordinator at St Mary's University College, my role is to manage and develop the Professional Development and School Experience modules within the College's undergraduate teacher education programmes.

I also teach Music in the Primary Classroom courses to both BEd students and PGCE students as well as contributing to Subject Application, History and Technique and Style courses for students who take a specialism in Primary Teaching with Music.

Committee Membership

Internally, I lead the Schools Team and Chair the Schools Partnership Committee. In addition, I am a member of the following committees and working groups:

• Academic Board
• Academic Council
• Assessment Working Group
• BEd Programme Team
• Curriculum Studies Course Team
• International Working Group
• PGCE Course Team
• Professional Development and School Experience Course Team (Chair)
• Schools Partnership Committee (Chair)
• BEd SSCC
• Student Support Team

Other Relevant Information:

I have been involved in the North/South Student Teacher Exchange Programme facilitated by the Centre for Cross Border Studies over the last 19 years.

I have acted as an external panel member for Teaching Council (Ireland) reviews both at the pilot phase (2010-11) and more recently completing reviews of concurrent, Bachelor of Education, (2012-13) and consecutive, Professional Master of Education (2014) programmes.

I have been a member of University College Dublin's accreditation review panel for the Church of Ireland College of Education B.Ed. programme (2015).

As a cello player, I also teach on a part-time basis as an orchestral tutor for the City of Belfast School of Music.

External examining:

• 2016-current: University of the West of Scotland
• 2011-2014: Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
• 2008-2012: St. Patrick's College Drumcondra, Dublin

Current Research

Research Interests

My current research draws on Pierre Bourdieu's signature concepts of habitus and field explore student teachers' perceptions of social class and academic selection in education in Northern Ireland. I am also interested in the development of student teachers' professional learning.

Conference presentations and publications

Cree, D. and Connolly, C. (2019) 'Student teachers with specific needs: a changing landscape', paper presented at the Teacher Education Advancement Network Conference, 9th May 2019, Aston University, Birmingham,

Connolly, C. (2016) 'Recognising Misrecognition', paper presented at 'From the margins' symposium for New Researchers in Philosophy of Education, Queen's University Belfast, 7th October.

Connolly, C., Eason, G., Farrar, M., Ní Aingléis, B., O’Connor, G., O Connaill, N., O’ Neill, S., and Slevin, P. (2014), Supporting the Role of the Supervising Tutor on School Placement, Armagh: SCOTENS.

Connolly, C. and Ní Aingléis, B. (2013), 'Teacher educator narratives in school placement – ecologies of practice and policy', paper presented at Integration, Innovation and Improvement - the Professional Identity of Teacher Educators, European Union Presidency Conference, Dublin, 18th February.

Please use the Staff Directory if you wish to contact another member of staff.