Dr Suzanne O’Keeffe

    Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education

    Lecturer / Assistant Professor

    School of Education
    SE326
    (01) 474 7404

    Biography

    Dr. Suzanne O'Keeffe lectures in Sociology of Education and S.P.H.E.  Suzanne has over ten years teaching experience in mainstream primary school classrooms and graduated with a PhD in the field of Education from Mary Immaculate College (MIC) Limerick in 2016.  Her doctoral studies examines the daily experiences of male primary school teachers.  She is the recipient of the MIC Postgraduate Award 2015 and the John Coolahan Research Support Framework Bursary 2017 (Teaching Council).  Suzanne has published in national and international peer-reviewed academic journals and has presented her work in Braga (Portugal), Cambridge (UK), Kraków (Poland), New York (USA) and in many locations around Ireland.  Suzanne acts as a regular reviewer for many educational journals.

    Current engagement with funding:
    Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South (SCoTENS) Seed Funding (2019). Support received for a collaborative research-based initiative. 

    Most recent publications include:
    O’ Keeffe, S. & Skerritt, C. (2020) Exploring teacher identity using poststructural tools, International Journal of Research & Method in Education, DOI: 10.1080/1743727X.2020.1753691

    O’Keeffe, S.     (2020). ‘Recruiting and Educating the Best Teachers using Empowering Research Designs’, in Madalińska-Michalak, J. et al. (eds). Recruiting and Educating the Best Teachers - Policy, Professionalism and Pedagogy. Singapore: Springer (Forthcoming)

    O'Keeffe, S. (2019). Using a Voice-Centred Relational Method of Data Analysis to Study Male Teachers’ Daily Experiences, SAGE Datasets [Online]: http://methods.sagepub.com/dataset/voice-centred-relational-male-teachers

    Ring, E., O' Sullivan, L., O'Keeffe, S., Ferris, F. and Wall, E. (2019). 'Transforming the Lives of Early Childhood Teachers, Autistic Children and their Families: Findings and Recommendations from an Evaluation of a Programme of Continuing Professional Development'. The Adult Learner, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1223446.pdf








    Research Interests

    Care Theory; Education; Feminist Research Designs; Gender and Gender Role Expectations; Masculinities.

    Research Projects

      Project Role Funding Body / Program Description Start Date End Date Award (€)
    Contested Childhoods across Borders and Boundaries: A North-South Comparative Study Collaborator / Researcher / 01-JUN-19 30-JUN-20

    Book Chapters

      Year Publication
    2020 'Quality Teachers and Quality Teacher Education Exploring Wellbeing, Gender and Job Satisfaction'
    O'Keeffe, S. (2020) 'Quality Teachers and Quality Teacher Education Exploring Wellbeing, Gender and Job Satisfaction' In: Joanna Madalińska-Michalak (eds). Studies on Quality Teachers and Quality In-service Teacher Education. Warsaw: Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE) Publications. [DOI] [Details]

    Peer Reviewed Journals

      Year Publication
    2020 'Exploring teacher identity using poststructural tools'
    O'Keeffe, S;Skerritt, C (2020) 'Exploring teacher identity using poststructural tools'. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, [DOI] [Details]
    2019 'Transforming the Lives of Early Childhood Teachers, Autistic Children and their Families: Findings and Recommendations from an Evaluation of a Programme of Continuing Professional Development'
    Ring, E.; O'Sullivan, L.; O'Keeffe, S.; Ferris, F. and Wall, E. (2019) 'Transforming the Lives of Early Childhood Teachers, Autistic Children and their Families: Findings and Recommendations from an Evaluation of a Programme of Continuing Professional Development'. The Adult Learner, [full-text] [Details]
    2018 'Experiences of care labour, gender and work for men who teach young children'
    O'Keeffe, S (2018) 'Experiences of care labour, gender and work for men who teach young children'. Palgrave Communications, 4 [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2018 'Gendered positionality among Irish male primary teachers: the staff room as a site of performative masculinity'
    O'Keeffe S.;Deegan J. (2018) 'Gendered positionality among Irish male primary teachers: the staff room as a site of performative masculinity'. Irish Educational Studies, 37 (3):373-389 [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2016 'What are male teachers’ understandings of masculinities?—An exploration of sex, gender and bodies in Irish primary schools'
    O'Keeffe S. (2016) 'What are male teachers’ understandings of masculinities?—An exploration of sex, gender and bodies in Irish primary schools'. Palgrave Communications, 2 [DOI] [full-text] [Details]

    Other Journals

      Year Publication
    2017 'How do you teach like a man?'
    O'Keeffe, S. (2017) 'How do you teach like a man?' Irish National Teachers Organisation Magazine, (168) :52-53. [full-text] [Details]
    2014 'Why the decline in male primary school teachers?'
    O'Keeffe, S. (2014) 'Why the decline in male primary school teachers?' Irish National Teachers Organisation Magazine, (148) :43-44. [full-text] [Details]

    Conference Publications

      Year Publication
    2017 HOW DO YOU TEACH LIK E A MAN? POLITICS AN D PERCEPTIONS OF MEN WORKING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN
    O'Keeffe, S. (2017) HOW DO YOU TEACH LIK E A MAN? POLITICS AN D PERCEPTIONS OF MEN WORKING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN . In: Dr. Ramandeep Kaur Chhina eds. Academic International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies and Education London, , pp.6-13 [Details]

    Conference Contributions

      Year Publication
    2021 'Bodily Boundaries: Irish male primary school teachers’ understandings of their gendered positionality in contemporary primary schools’ .
    O'Keeffe, S. (2021) 'Bodily Boundaries: Irish male primary school teachers’ understandings of their gendered positionality in contemporary primary schools’ . [Oral Presentation], Sociological Association of Ireland: ATOMISED SOLIDARITIES: TOGETHER / APART 2021, Online [Details]
    2019 ESAI Conference 2019.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2019) ESAI Conference 2019. [Oral Presentation], Education in Times of Change, Choice and Challenge, Radisson Blu Hotel, Sligo, Ireland , 11-APR-19 - 13-APR-19 [Details]
    2019 TEPE Conference 2019.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2019) TEPE Conference 2019. [Oral Presentation], QUALITY TEACHERS AND QUALITY TEACHER EDUCATION: RESEARCH, POLICY AND PRACTICE, Poland , 16-MAY-19 - 18-MAY-19 [Details]
    2018 2018 TEPE Conference.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2018) 2018 TEPE Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Recruiting and Educating the Best Teachers: Policy, Professionalism and Pedagogy’, Braga, Portugal , 17-MAY-18 - 19-MAY-18 [Details]
    2018 2018 AERA Annual Meeting.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2018) 2018 AERA Annual Meeting. [Oral Presentation], 'The Dreams, Possibilities, and Necessity of Public Education', New York, USA , 13-APR-18 - 17-APR-18 [Details]
    2017 2017 ESAI Conference.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2017) 2017 ESAI Conference. [Oral Presentation], Tidy Binaries vs. Prolific Paradigms: The Reimagining of Teacher Education Research, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland , 20-APR-17 - 22-APR-17 [Details]
    2017 6th Annual Research Conference.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2017) 6th Annual Research Conference. [Oral Presentation], Do opposites subtract? Connecting Irish male teachers' voices to school innovation and change, Kilkenny Education Centre, Kilkenny, Ireland , 14-OCT-17 - 14-OCT-17 [Details]
    2017 2017 TEPE Conference.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2017) 2017 TEPE Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Education for All: Issues for Teacher Education’, Limerick, Ireland , 18-MAY-17 - 20-MAY-17 [Details]
    2016 2016 ESAI Conference.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2016) 2016 ESAI Conference. [Oral Presentation], From Hero to Zero: Male Teachers Navigate the Modern Irish Educational Landscape, Raddison Blu Hotel, Galway, Ireland , 31-MAR-16 - 02-APR-16 [Details]
    2015 4th Annual Limerick Postgraduate Research Conference.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2015) 4th Annual Limerick Postgraduate Research Conference. [Oral Presentation], Why the decline of male teachers in Irish primary schools?, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland , 28-MAY-15 - 28-MAY-15 [Details]

    Published Reports

      Year Publication
    2019 An Evaluation of 'Teach Me As I Am' Early Years Programme.
    Ring, E.; O'Sullivan, L.; O'Keeffe, S.; Ferris, F. and Wall, E. (2019) An Evaluation of 'Teach Me As I Am' Early Years Programme. Centre for Early-Childhood Research at Mary Immaculate College (CERAMIC) Limerick, Limerick. [Details]

    Educational Article

      Year Publication
    2020 How to teach children about feminism.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2020) How to teach children about feminism. Online at: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/1123/1179902-how-to-teach-children-about-feminism/: Educational Article [Details]

    Case

      Year Publication
    2019 Using a Voice-Centred Relational Method of Data Analysis to Study Male Teachers’ Daily Experiences.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2019) Using a Voice-Centred Relational Method of Data Analysis to Study Male Teachers’ Daily Experiences. London: Case [DOI] [Details]
    2017 The Interview As Method: Doing Feminist Research.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2017) The Interview As Method: Doing Feminist Research. London: Case [Details]
    2018 The Interview and Social Relations: Exploring How Gender Shapes the Research Process.
    O'Keeffe, S. (2018) The Interview and Social Relations: Exploring How Gender Shapes the Research Process. London: Case [DOI] [Details]

    Honours and Awards

      Year Title Awarding Body
    2017 John Coolahan Research Support Framework Teaching Council of Ireland
    2015 MIC Postgraduate Award University of Limerick (Mary Immaculate College)

    Professional Associations

      Association Function From / To
    Sociological Association of Ireland (SAI) Member /
    International Sociological Association Member 01-JUN-20 / 31-DEC-23
    American Educational Research Association (AERA) Member /
    The Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI) Member /

    Committees

      Committee Function From / To
    Research and Ethics Committee Member 2018 / 2020
    Departmental Doctoral Programme Committee Committee member /
    Faculty of Social Science Ethics Committee Nominee for the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education 2019 / 2021

    Employment

      Employer Position From / To
    Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick Part-time lecturer 03-OCT-16 / 28-SEP-18

    Education

      Year Institution Qualification Subject
    2017 University of Cambridge: Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) Certificate of Participation An introduction to international development: understanding contemporary issues and themes
    2021 Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley Certification of participation The Science of Happiness

    Languages

      Language Reading Writing Speaking
    Irish-Gaeilge Functional Functional Functional
    English Fluent Fluent Fluent

    Outreach Activities

      Description

    This project, Leadership Clusters Initiative for Schools, is an initiative of the Department of Education and Skills and is being co-ordinated by the Centre for School Leadership (CSL). My role is to build the school's networks and to support their initiatives.

    Other Activities

      Description

    Reviewer of academic education journals

    Teaching Interests

    Sociology of Education 
    Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education
    Education Department 

    Social, Political and Health Education (S.P.H.E.)
    Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education

    Personal and Professional Student Teacher Learning (P.P.S.T.L.)
    Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education

    Behaviour Management workshops
    Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education