Dr Leah O’Toole

Biography
Dr Leah O’Toole is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education in Maynooth University, Ireland and Visiting Erskine Fellow in the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
With an academic background in Psychology, her research interests include early childhood education, particularly accessing the voices of the youngest children from birth, relational pedagogy, bioecological theory and working with parents and communities. She is the co-author of books including Introducing Bronfenbrenner, and Supporting positive behaviour in early childhood settings and primary schools, as well as a range of book chapters and journal articles related to these research interests. She is currently co-editing the Routledge International Handbook of Relational Pedagogy, due to be published in 2026.
Leah's work challenges neoliberal conceptualisations of early education and care (ECEC), and advocates for high quality ECEC based on relational, holistic and inclusive approaches, for example through the Erasmus+ funded projects THRIECE (Teaching for Holistic, Relational and Inclusive Early Childhood Education) and All Means All. She led the Consultation with babies, toddlers and young children to inform the updating of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (O'Toole et al., 2023; 2024). Her doctoral study investigated transitions in early childhood and parental involvement in children’s education, and she subsequently led a team commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and National Parents’ Council (NPC) to investigate experiences and practices around parental involvement in Ireland. She is the Programme Coordinator of the BA in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning in Maynooth University.
Research Interests
Research Projects
Book
Year | Publication | |
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2022 | Hayes, N., O'Toole, L. and Halpenny, A. M. (2022) Introducing Bronfenbrenner: A guide for practitioners and students in early years education (2nd edition). London: Routledge. | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. and Hayes, N. (2019) Supporting Positive Behaviour in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools: Relationships, Reciprocity and Reflective Practice. London: Routledge. | |
2019 | O’Toole, L., Kiely, J., McGillicuddy, D., O’Brien, E. and O’Keeffe, C. (2019) Parental involvement, engagement and partnership in their children's education during the primary school years. Dublin: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment / National Parents Council. [Link] | |
2017 | Hayes, N., O'Toole, L. and Halpenny, A. (2017) Introducing Bronfenbrenner: A guide for practitioners and students in early years education. London: Routledge. [Link] |
Book Chapter
Year | Publication | |
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2024 | Claire Regan and Leah O'Toole (2024) 'CAT in Education: Reflection on the spaces between the ‘cogs in the machine’' In: Working relationally with children and young people. Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex : Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd. | |
2024 | Dowling, G., McElheron, T., Hayes, N., Safstrom, CA and O'Toole, L. (2024) 'Considering the Publicness of Early Childhood Education and Care' In: Ireland's Education Yearbook 2024. Dublin : Education Matters. | |
2023 | Lynch, H. and O’Toole, L. (2023) 'Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Human Development' In: Theories, Models, and Concepts in Occupational Therapy: Foundations for Sustaining the Profession. New Jersey : Stack. | |
2023 | O’Toole, L., Dowling, G. and McElheron, T. (2023) 'A New Publicness for Early Childhood Education and Care in Ireland' In: The New Publicness of Education: Democratic Possibilities after the Critique of Neoliberalism. London : Routledge. | |
2023 | McCormack, M., Silke, A., Kearns, A., O’Toole, L., Stafford, P., Stokes, T., & Urban, M (2023) 'Pedagogies of hope. Exploring play opportunities for young children in an urban environment' In: Bloomsbury Handbook to Friedrich Froebel. London : Bloomsbury. | |
2023 | McCormack. M., Silke, A., Kearns, A., O'Toole, L., Stafford, P. Stokes, T. Urban, M. (2023) 'Pedagogies of hope: exploring play opportunities for young children in an urban environment' In: The Bloomsbury Handbook to Friedrich Froebel. London : Bloomsbury. [DOI] | |
2019 | O'Toole, L., Hayes, N. and Halpenny, A. (2019) 'Animating systems: The ecological value of considering Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of development' In: Ecologies for Learning and Practice: Emerging Ideas, Sightings and Possibilities. London : Routledge. | |
2014 | Ryan, A. and O'Toole, L. (2014) 'Toward Integrated Learning: Linking Psychology, Sociology and School Experience in Initial Teacher Education' In: The Teacher of the 21st Century: Quality Education for Quality Teaching. Newcastle : Cambridge Scholars Publishing. |
Peer Reviewed Journal
Year | Publication | |
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2022 | Navarro J.L.; Stephens C.; Rodrigues B.C.; Walker I.A.; Cook O.; O'Toole L.; Hayes N.; Tudge J.R.H. (2022) 'Bored of the rings: Methodological and analytic approaches to operationalizing Bronfenbrenner's PPCT model in research practice'. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 14 (2):233-253. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2021 | Biesta G.; Heugh K.; Cervinkova H.; Rasiński L.; Osborne S.; Forde D.; Wrench A.; Carter J.; Säfström C.A.; Soong H.; O’Keeffe S.; Paige K.; Rigney L.I.; O’Toole L.; Hattam R.; Peters M.A.; Tesar M. (2021) 'Philosophy of education in a new key: publicness, social justice, and education; a South-North conversation'. Educational Philosophy and Theory, . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2021 | O’Toole L.; McClelland D.; Forde D.; O'Keeffe S.; Purdy N.; Säfström C.A.; Walsh T. (2021) 'Contested childhoods across borders and boundaries: Insights from curriculum provisions in Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in the 1920s'. British Educational Research Journal, 47 (4):1021-1038. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3708 [Full-Text] | |
2020 | O'Toole, L. (2020) 'Participant Action Research (PAR) for Early Childhood and Primary Education: The example of the THRIECE project'. Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji / Issues in Early Education, 49 (2):31-44. [Link] https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/pwe/article/view/4872 [Full-Text] | |
2019 | O’Toole, L., Regan, C. and Nowak-Lojewska, A. (2019) '‘To learn with’ as an alternative voice for children's education. Introduction to a European Project: Teaching for Holistic, Relational and Inclusive Early Childhood Education (THRIECE)'. KWARTALNIK PEDAGOGICZNY / PEDAGOGICAL QUARTERLY, 251 (1):175-182. [Link] [Full-Text] | |
2019 | Nowak-Lojewska, A., O’Toole, L., Regan, C. and Fereira, M. (2019) '‘To learn with’ in the view of holistic, relational and inclusive education'. KWARTALNIK PEDAGOGICZNY / PEDAGOGICAL QUARTERLY, 251 (1):151-162. [Link] [Full-Text] | |
2015 | O'Toole, L. (2015) 'Student-centred teaching in Initial Teacher Education'. International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education, 6 (1):2111-2119. | |
2014 | O'Toole, L. (2014) 'Cooperative learning in Initial Teacher Education: Student experiences'. Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji / Issues in Early Education, 25 (2):7-20. [Link] | |
2014 | O'Toole, L. (2014) 'A bioecological perspective on educational transition'. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 140 :121-127. [Full-Text] | |
2013 | O Breachain, A. and O'Toole, L. (2013) 'Pedagogy or Politics: Cyclical Trends in Literacy and Numeracy in Ireland and Beyond'. Irish Educational Studies, 32 (4):401-419. [Full-Text] |
Published Report
Year | Publication | |
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2025 | Walsh, G., Hayes, N., O'Toole, L., Doherty, A., McElheron, T., McClelland, D., Dowling, G., O'Reilly, C. and Tate, K. (2025) Perceptions of and practices towards achieving quality: voices of early childhood teachers on the island of Ireland (PERQ). SCoTENS: Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South, . | |
2024 | O’Toole, L., Ward, C., Walsh, G., Stokes, T., McCartney, S., Kelleher, F., Forde, D. Doherty, A. a (2024) and Winter, F. (2024) A consultation with babies, toddlers and young children to inform the updating of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009): Phase 2. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, . | |
2023 | O’Toole, L., Kerrins, L., Walsh, G., Doherty, A., Forde, D., Kelleher, F., Matson, S., McCartney, S., Stafford, P. and Stokes, T. (2023) A consultation with babies, toddlers and young children to inform the updating of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009). NCCA, . | |
2021 | Kiely, J. O’Toole, L. Haals-Brosnan, M., O’Brien, E. Z., O’Keeffe, C. and Dunne, C. (2021) Parental Involvement, Engagement and Partnership in Children’s Education during the Primary School Years: Final Report. Marino Institute of Education, . [Link] |
Other Journal
Year | Publication | |
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2020 | Leah O'Toole (2020) 'Relationships, reciprocity and reflective practice in challenging times' Early Pedagogy, Summer 2020 . [Full-Text] | |
2014 | O Breachain A. and O'Toole, L. (2014) 'Literacy and numeracy: Are we on the right track?' In Touch, 141 :54-55. |
Conference Publication
Year | Publication | |
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2020 | Maja Haals-Brosnan, Emma O'Brien and Leah O'Toole (2020) National Early Years Research Day Proceedings, 63 . In: Early Childhood Ireland eds. Supporting children’s home learning environment through partnerships with parents–findings from a national study Dublin, [Link] | |
2017 | O'Toole, L. (2017) The Future of Education Conference A bioecological perspective on parental involvement in their children’s education [Full-Text] | |
2016 | O'Toole, L and Hayes, N. (2016) The Future of Education Conference A bioecological perspective on educational transition: Experiences of Children, Parents and Teachers [Full-Text] |
Conference Contribution
Year | Publication | |
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2024 | Leah O'Toole (2024) Policy Forum for Ireland Consulting with babies, toddlers and young children on updating Aistear: A case study of young children’s participation in policy-making Dublin, . | |
2024 | Leah O'Toole (2024) Relation Centered Education Network International Conference A slow, relational pedagogy for early childhood education and care: the consultation with babies, toddlers and young children to inform the updating of Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework for Ireland Queen Maude University, Trondheim, Norway, . | |
2023 | Leah O'Toole (2023) Children’s Research Network Pedagogical and Early Education Research Student (PEERS) Conference Listening to Children: The interconnections between good research and good pedagogy Dublin, . | |
2023 | Leah O'Toole (2023) Relation Centered Education Network International Conference Leveraging the power of relationships for accessing the voices of babies, toddlers and young children University of East London, . | |
2023 | O'Toole, L. and Forde, D. (2023) Fostering social, cultural and political sustainability by listening to the voices of babies, toddle OMEP Ireland Annual Conference, Ireland 2023 Limerick, . | |
2023 | Stokes, T. and O'Toole, L. (2023) Children's Research Network Conference The Future is Ours: Making Provision for Outdoor Play in Dublin City University College Dublin, . | |
2023 | Anders Safstrom, C.; O'Toole, L.; Forde, D.; OKeefe, S. Walsh, T. (2023) Contested Childhoods Across Borders and Boundaries Scotens Stranmillis University, . | |
2022 | Lynch, Á. and O'Toole, L. (2022) Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) Annual Conference Back to the Future- Reconnecting partnerships with your parents is the “lightening rod” to better futures for the children in your school! Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland, . | |
2022 | Säfström, C. A. and O'Toole, L. (2022) Contested Childhoods in Education Sligo School Project Symposium Sligo, 21/05/2022-. | |
2022 | O'Toole, L. (2022) The Ethics of Research with Babies, Toddlers and Young Children National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Annual Research Day Portlaois, 25/05/2022-. | |
2021 | O'Toole, L. and Regan, C. (2021) Australian Association for Research in Education Conference Contesting constructions of children and childhood through Relational Reflective Practice Virtual / Australia, . | |
2021 | Leah O'Toole, Claire Regan and Nóirín Hayes (2021) Relation Centered Education Network Annual Conference Conference presentation Virtual, . | |
2020 | Leah O'Toole (2020) Early Childhood Ireland Research Symposium Early Childhood Ireland Research Symposium Virtual, 19/10/2020-21/10/2020. | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. (2019) European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Conference Teaching for Holistic, Relational and Inclusive Early Childhood Education (THRIECE) Thessaloniki, Greece, . | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. (2019) Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) Conference Parental involvement, partnership and engagement in their children’s education during the primary school years Sligo, Ireland, . | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. (2019) Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) Conference Teaching for Holistic, Relational and Inclusive Early Childhood Education (THRIECE) Sligo, Ireland, . | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. (2019) Desafiar prática Profissionais na Infância: Educação holística, relacional e inclusiva Participant action research in the THRIECE project Porto. Portugal, . [Full-Text] | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. (2019) OMEP Ireland Annual Conference: Relationship Matters and What Matters in Early Years Relationships The importance of home-school relationships in the early years of children’s education Cork Institute of Education, . | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. (2019) A bioecological perspective on outdoor play Outdoor play provides opportunities for development not available by any other means. Therefore inequitable access to outdoor play can be perceived as a social justice issue, and this is theorised in this paper through the lens of bioecological theory Maynooth University, . | |
2019 | Kiely, J. and O'Toole, L. (2019) National Parents Council Primary Education Conference 2019, Tomorrow’s World: Parents supporting children’s futures Parents’ involvement in their children’s education in primary school Dublin, Ireland, . | |
2019 | O'Toole, L. (2019) THRIECE (Teaching for Holistic, Relational and Inclusive Early Childhood Education) THRIECE (Teaching for Holistic, Relational and Inclusive Early Childhood Education) Gdansk, Poland, . | |
2017 | O'Toole, L. and Mhic Mhathuna, M. (2017) Multilingualism in the Early Years International Conference, 18th-19th May, 2017. Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland The implications of multi-lingualism for parental involvement in children’s educational transitions Dublin Ireland, . | |
2016 | O'Toole, L. (2016) ECER (European Conference on Educational Research), 22nd – 26th August 2016. University College Dublin, Ireland Invited discussant for the “Compensatory Pathways for Early School Leavers: Findings from the RESL.eu Project” Symposium Dublin Ireland, . | |
2016 | O'Toole, L., McDaid, R. and Ryan, A. (2016) Dialogue across education and humanities conference, 22nd-24th June 2016. St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland Assessment of combined foundation discipline content on an initial teacher education programme: Student-lecturer interdisciplinary dialoguing of theories to practices Dublin Ireland, . | |
2016 | O'Toole, L. (2016) 26th EECERA (European Early Childhood Education Research Association) Annual Conference ‘Happiness, Relationships, Emotion and Deep Level Learning’ 31st August – 3rd September 2016. Dublin, Ireland The power of 'process': The role of relationships in supporting positive educational transitions Dublin, . | |
2015 | O'Toole, L and Hayes, N. (2015) Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) Annual National Conference, ‘Educational Research and Practice in Times of Transition: Looking to the Future’, 9th – 11th April 2015. Carton House and Educational transition in bio-ecological perspective: The key role of relationships Carton House, Kildare, Ireland, . | |
2015 | Ryan, A., O'Toole, L. and Purdy, N, (2015) SCoTENS, 21-22 October, 2014. Enniskillen, Ireland “Welcome to this one hour lecture on . . . Constructivism . . . (!)”: Rhetoric Or Reality? A Consideration of the Theory/Practice Nexus and its Implications for Approaches to Teacher Education Enniskillen, . | |
2015 | O'Toole, L and Hayes, N. (2015) RECE International Conference, ‘Narratives of Difference: Translations, Transgressions and Transformations’, 27th-31st October, 2015. Blanchardstown Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland The baby and the bathwater: Integrating theoretical stances to enhance children’s experiences of educational transitions Dublin Ireland, . | |
2014 | O'Toole, L. (2014) London International Conference on Education (LICE), 10th-12th November 2014. London, England ‘Freedom to learn’ in Initial Teacher Education. (Awarded best poster) London, . | |
2013 | O'Toole, L. (2013) World Conference on Psychology and Sociology, 27th-29th November 2013. Brussels, Belgium A Bioecological Perspective on Educational Transition Brussels, . | |
2013 | O'Toole, L. and O Breachain, A. (2013) Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) Annual National Conference, 21st-23rd March, 2013. Limerick, Ireland Going round and round with the 3 R’s: International experiences of standardised testing and league tables: Implications for educational policy in Ireland Limerick, . | |
2013 | Ryan, A. and O'Toole, L. (2013) Association for Teacher Education in Europe Spring Conference: Teacher of the 21st Century, Quality Education for Quality Teaching, 10th-12th May 2013 Riga, Latvia Towards Integrated Learning: Linking Psychology, Sociology and School Experience in Initial Teacher Education Riga, . |