In The Picture — 10 October 2022

MEd International Dimension

St Mary’s has had a long-standing association with the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. In July 2022 a tremendous opportunity was provided for a group of our MEd students who were invited to attend the UMass Lowell Doctoral Summer Residency. Those participating were Conor Turley, Josh Hall, Maeve Wright, Sarah Warnock and Siobhan McNeice and the group was accompanied by Dr Martin Hagan. Our students spent five days on campus working in seminars and workshops alongside American students, learning about school leadership and inclusive practice.

As part of the programme, Maeve Wright participated in a panel discussion with five other American students and educators, discussing issues of inclusion and diversity from their different perspectives. Another highlight was a talk provided by Dr Peter Piazza, Director of School Quality Measures for the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment. Peter’s work is oriented towards understanding how public education can best prepare citizens for thoughtful participation in a multicultural democracy and he provided an insightful talk on the issue of school segregation and the Boston desegregation busing crisis.

The cultural dimension of the programme involved excursions related to the history and culture of the Lowell region and included visits to the historic canals, cemetery and boot factory and a talk on the indigenous Native American Community in the region.

There was also a lively and enjoyable social aspect to the visit. Along with sampling the local restaurant scene, there was a quiz night and an evening of salsa dancing for those still with energy to expend.

In total, the programme provided an affirming experience for all, as exemplified by these comments:

“Another thing that has really resonated with me over the past two days has been the idea of how important the language that we use is, and how it, can shape teacher attitudes and school culture. For example in one of the presentations the researcher referred to children who were beginning to learn English as ‘emerging bilinguals’ as she felt this framed their proficiency in their first language in a positive light rather than highlighting the absence of English language as a deficit. This is particularly interesting to me as it is something that I’ve been looking at within my own school over the past year.” 

“…it was interesting to note the similarities between the challenges that teachers are facing here and some of the issues that are being encountered in schools in Northern Ireland.”

“It was a worthwhile and interesting experience to sit in other students' hearings yesterday and today. It was a sharing process, where critical analysis and reflection were delivered in order to improve the process. I note how honest and candid this process was.”

“Built-in social time has also been crucially important for the five of us, I feel. Enjoying meals together and learning more about our different schools in Ireland but also that of others.”

“After today’s residency I have a better understanding of how important the work they are doing is in their schools and districts. Approaching my own dissertation it was a great learning curve as to whether any of their ideas could even inform my choice of dissertation as they highlighted many educational issues which I did not consider but that are definitely present back home.”