Dr Suzanne O’Keeffe

Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education

Lecturer / Assistant Professor

School of Education
3rd
326
(01) 474 7404
Biography

Biography

Dr. Suzanne O'Keeffe
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4344-2488
Suzanne O’Keeffe is Assistant Professor of Education in the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Maynooth University, Ireland.

Suzanne earned the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland in 2016 specialising in gender and masculinities in education. Suzanne is currently studying for the award Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Teaching, Learning and Assessment (PDHETL) (60ECTS). In addition, Suzanne regularly engages in continuous professional development such as completing the European Academy's Proposal Writing for Research and Innovation Projects (2023). 

In 2022, Suzanne was selected for a scholarship for the Erasmus+ All means all! Workshop in Brixen, Italy where she collaborated and researched with global academics and advocates. Suzanne is an author of the capstone chapter emerging from that collaboration titled, Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and the potential to transform young lives (Forthcoming). In 2021-2022, Suzanne was awarded funding from MUSSI (co-PI), Higher Education Authority (Institutional lead), the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Maynooth University (PI), and the Teaching Council (2021, institutional lead, and 2017, PI) for her research in the areas of gender, relationships and sexuality education. In 2019, Suzanne was a project team member in a SCoTENS funded project titled Contested Childhoods across Borders and Boundaries. The project was a collaboration between Maynooth University and Stranmillis University College, Belfast.

In 2023, Suzanne completed the Universal Design for Learning Badge, a professional development course that promotes inclusivity and equity while also 'future-proofing' higher education teaching. In 2021, Suzanne was awarded a Teaching Hero Award, a student-led award to celebrate the best of Ireland's higher education teachers. In 2015, Suzanne was awarded the MIC Postgraduate Award for her doctoral research.   
 
Suzanne has over a decade of multifaceted experience in education ranging from higher education to primary education that allows her to bring a unique and pedagogically informed perspective to her teaching. 

Suzanne's current research interests include childhood and innocence, the power of silence, relationships and sexuality education and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). 

Suzanne is engaged with outreach projects including one that explores the merits of homework with a large rural primary school. 

Most recent publications include:
O'Keeffe, S. (2025). Do you need lessons in love? 
O'Keeffe, S. (2024). Childhood and InnocenceA Look to the Future: Researching Childhood and Youth. 
O'Keeffe, S. and Titley, A. (2024). Children as Active Citizens. 
Peer reviewed:
O'Keeffe, S. (2023). New Modes of Marginalisation: Teachers’ Ways of Knowing Themselves. In Säfström, C.A. & Biesta, G. (Eds). The New Publicness of Education: Democratic Possibilities after the Critique of Neo-Liberalism. London / NY: Routledge
O'Keeffe, S. (2022). Masculinities and Teaching in Primary Schools. Palgrave Studies in Gender and Education. Available online at: bfm:978-3-030-93994-6/1 (springer.com) 



Research Publications Professional Teaching Collaborators