tara ćirić

“Do Ya Get Me?”: Young People, Education and Residential Care

Funder: Research Ireland

This research offers the first inquiry into the nature and experience of post-primary education in residential care since the establishment of the contemporary Irish child welfare service in 2014. Cognisant of the neglect of young people’s voice and their situated knowledge, this research sets the analysis by young people of the education and care systems and of their experiences on an equal footing with other key stakeholder groups from policy and professional spheres.

The title of the research “Do ya get me?” captures the desire to be heard, to be listened to, and to matter.

It mobilises the concepts of epistemic injustice and stigma power to offer a framework for both understanding and ensuring epistemic diversity and a holistic view of the complex relation of education and care, whilst remaining vigilant regarding the risks of epistemic exploitation. Methodologically, it develops a carefully calibrated approach to youth participatory research that defines the terms of participation in an ongoing manner in collaboration with young people both during the research process and in the dissemination of the research.  

“The Lifecycle of a Lecture: Reflections & Materials of Irish GCE Teaching

Funder: UBUNTU Network

Teaching is hard. And weird. And scary! And fun.

We found it especially hard/weird/scary/fun when we started embracing lecturing about personal experiences, issues that we felt implicated in and emotionally tied to. Like the climate crisis, or migration and asylum seeking.

This website is about talking about this experience, our reflections on our pedagogies, affective experiences as well as our students reflections on our lectures.

Improving educational experiences and outcomes for children, adolescents and young adults with cancer and other chronic health conditions

Funder: Childhood Cancer Ireland

This project seeks to improve educational experiences and outcomes for children and adolescents treated for cancer. In collaboration with Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, this phase examined barriers to school re-entry, participation and achievement from parent and teacher perspectives. Early findings indicate that parents want clearer guidance for school return, stronger communication between medical and education teams, and practical tools to support transitions. Teachers show strong commitment to student wellbeing but report frustration at limited training, inconsistent communication and policy constraints. Student teachers stressed the need for inputs as part of their teacher training programmes.  

This research has a societal impact. By focusing on thriving rather than survival alone, this work addresses systemic gaps and lays foundations for a sustainable educational support service in Ireland for childhood cancer survivors. Planning has  begun for the next phase, to gather the voices of childhood cancer survivors directly. 

School Avoidance Inquiry with Limerick Child & Youth Family Services

Funder: Healthy Ireland & LImerick CYPSC

The study, conducted in Limerick, Ireland, was concerned with participants’ lived experiences of school attendance problems including their experiences of themselves, of their interactions and relationships, and of the complex patterns that co-arise between themselves and the larger systemic context. Four cohorts of participants were purposively sampled: 1) educators 2) allied professionals, 3) parents, and 4) young people. 

The findings indicated that successful resolution of SAPs depends on the creation of an inclusive, responsive, and flexible mainstream education system, that can meet the needs of diverse learners within a fully resourced continuum of support model. In addition, alternative education pathways were considered vital. This study reaffirms the importance of creating space for interagency collaboration and for forging strong relationships characterised by compassion, trust and mutuality, at all levels – between children and young people, parents/carers, colleagues, educators and professionals in other organisations. A special focus is required to help address inordinate structural barriers faced by disenfranchised groups (including the Traveller community in the Irish context).