This book describes an initiative that has proved effective in keeping more young people from dropping out of education, training or employment. The authors present case studies based on in-depth interviews with participants from five widely divergent European countries--the UK, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ireland--which illustrate the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the barriers to implementing iPads in a primary school setting. The participants in this study included four subject specialist teachers and an ICT coordinator. To gather their views on the use of iPads as instructional tools in the classroom, semi-structured interviews were conducted and teachers' diaries…

Europe's knowledge economies need high-level skills, the capacity to innovate and to support democratic societies. In this perspective, the main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of higher education and how this is promoted in various countries in Europe and beyond. The evidence, conclusions and…

The country case studies are part of the empirical data collected for the "Promoting the Relevance of Higher Education" project. Before presenting the case studies, this introductory chapter describes how the 8 case studies were selected, the case study methodology, and provides an overview of the interviewed organisations and experts.…

Widening participation programmes aim to increase the progression of students from low socio-economic status (SES) groups to higher education. This research proposes that the human capabilities approach is a good justice-based framework within which to consider the social and cultural capital processes that impact upon the educational capabilities…

This study explored the benefits of using preferred interests to model social skills in a peer-mentored environment for students with special educational needs (SEN). Research suggests that in order for true inclusion to take place, students must participate socially with their peers, outside the classroom space. However, funding and availability…

Teacher professional learning is widely accepted as a mediating factor for enhancing student outcomes. While many teachers across the world engage in professional development (PD) to enhance their professional learning, what is less evident is how to support that learning to result in change following teacher PD. Acknowledging that not all teacher…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical perspective on the international evidence on promoting young people's social and emotional well-being in schools. The challenges of integrating evidence-based interventions within schools are discussed and the need for innovative approaches to research and practice are considered in order…

This study sought to identify preservice teachers' perceptions of their student teaching abroad experience and its effectiveness in preparing them to be globally competent educators upon completion of their student teaching as well as two years after. Findings indicate that they perceive their experience to have been both advantageous and…

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published a second edition of "Harnessing the Potential of ICTs: Literacy and Numeracy Programmes Using Radio, TV, Mobile Phones, Tablets and Computers." This compilation of case studies from all world regions presents promising literacy and numeracy programmes that use information and…

Mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones have entered education and started being used by teachers and learners for studying. This evidence-based case study focuses on the enhancement of a syllabus with BYOD classes and the role it played in boosting motivation and classroom engagement. It shows how to enhance a syllabus for Intermediate…

This research looks at the role of graduate placement programmes in bridging the gap between higher education and the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. The research design and methodology used in this study was exploratory, in-depth and qualitative in nature. The research took the form of a multiple case study and focused on seven…

This article discusses an assessment and deselection project of the modern print book collections in the John Paul II Library, National University of Ireland Maynooth. Following a contextual introduction and literature review, the article outlines the methodology, presents and discusses the results, and concludes with lessons learned. Although…

Over the past decade, there has been greater attention placed on the potential value of peer support models, particularly in school contexts. This paper uses the case study of an Irish school-based peer mentoring programme to identify the added value that peer led models of social support for children and young people offer in a school setting.…

Does teacher professional development make a difference? How do we know? While researchers and policy-makers acknowledge that teacher professional development (PD) needs to be assessed and evaluated, there is often little clarity as to how this can be achieved. Evaluation of teacher PD by schools has been described as the weak link in the PD chain…