IRAACE
IRAACE EVENT: 24TH APRIL
The Irish Research Association for Adult and Community Education is holding a research networking event on the morning of Friday, 24th April 2009 in National College of Ireland, Mayor Street, IFSC. This event will provide an opportunity for anyone interested in research in the areas of adult and community education to discuss their work and meet others currently researching, or wishing to commence research.
We are pleased to confirm the keynote speaker will be Ian Martin. Ian is an Honorary Fellow in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Edinburgh, where he was until recently Reader in Adult and Community Education in the Department of Higher and Community Education. His speech will address the gaps in doing research in Adult and Community Education.
The event will also provide an opportunity for attendees to have their say in the role of IRAACE and what direction the organization should go in the future Check the IRAACE website for further information!
LAUNCH of IRAACE website www.iraace.ie
On 14th November 2008, Iraace launched its brand new website! Visit it!
In November 2008 IRAACE hosted a Research Conference entitled
"Making it Matter"
The conference aimed to address the relationship between research and policy, and how research can effectively influence policy.
The purpose of the conference was to provide a platform for those working in adult education to "showcase" their work and experiences. Workshops were held in an informal environment, with movement between workshops encouraged to make the most of the experience.
Agenda:
10:00 Registration/Tea and Coffee
10:30 Opening Speech by Kerry Lawless, Research Manager of NALA.
10:40 Keynote Address by Mark Morgan, NT MSC PhD Psychology in St Patrick's College Drumcondra.
Title: Research and Policy: A Global, National and Local Perspective.
11:30 Workshops:
11:30 Men and Lifelong Learning, Setting the Research Agenda. Kay MacKeogh.
11:30 Researching Excluded men's lifelong literacy needs, Kerry Lawless and Rob Mark.
11:45 Guidance and Older Learners, A case study.Lucy Hearne.
11:45 Women Learning Literacy, Nuala Barr.
12:00 Developing Strategies to Engage Traveller Men, a local Approach. John Evoy, Wexford VEC.
12:15 Integrating Literacy: A holistic approach to teaching and assessment methodologies. Liz McSkeane
12:00 Education Provision with Older Traveller Learners, Ciaran O'Mathuna.
12:50 Closing Address by Rob Mark of Queen's University.
1:00 Lunch.
Handover of Secretariat of IRAACE
AONTAS shares the secretariat of IRAACE with NALA, the National Adult Literacy Agency. Having completed a 12 month period from April 2007 to April 2008 providing support to the Development Committee of IRAACE, AONTAS has handed responsibility over to NALA for the next 12 months. For further information on the work of IRAACE and up coming events please contact:
Tina Byrne, Research Officer, NALA
Tel: 01 855 4332 or visit http://www.nala.ie/index.cfm/section/events/ext/iraace_11_2008
First IRAACE Event of 2008 a Great Success!
GET THE REPORT!click here
The Irish Research Association for Adult and Community Education (IRAACE), of which
AONTAS is a key member, held its first event of 2008 in the Royal Dublin Hotel, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 on April 4th. The half day morning event, which was well attended, offered delegates the opportunity to network with other researchers, to discuss current projects and to showcase their latest research. The event was opened by Berni Brady, Director of AONTAS, who welcomed delegates and gave a brief background and overview of the work of IRAACE since its inception in 2005. This introduction was followed by an edifying presentation on 'How to Do Research and Use Research Findings', by guest speaker Lyn Tett, Professor of Lifelong Learning and Community Education in the Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Professor Tett's presentation was very well received by all. To view the presentation in full click here.
Speed Networking Workshops
Following on from this, delegates participated in one of five themed workshops. These workshops included 'Policy Issues Emerging 
from Research', 'Widening Participation and Access', 'Literacy', 'Community based Research' and 'Supporting Researchers in Third Level'. Delegates were given the opportunity to network with other participants in the workshop, using the 'speed-dating' format, which allows each participant to spend 5 minutes networking with another participant in the group, before moving down the line to the next participant. This process is repeated until every member of the group has had an opportunity to speak to one another. Feedback from delegates on the speed-networking format has been very positive. "I found it very informative and useful." "The speed-dating was a good way of sharing ideas."
Future Plans
The final phase of the workshops involved a group discussion to identify the main themes emerging. The Development Committee of IRAACE will use the themes identified in each of the workshops for the future work and direction of IRAACE. The themes are described in detail in the event report available above.
