Carol Ann OSiorain
Dr
Carol-Ann is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education. She is a both a Montessori trained teacher and a Primary qualified teacher registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland. She is a passionate educator and researcher. She has taught across all levels of early years and primary education, with extensive experience in special and inclusive teaching and learning. Her research and experience in promoting inclusion in education and society and her expertise in early childhood and primary education brings a critical and contemporary vision to teaching and learning in ITE. Carol-Ann's research interests are: The inter-relationships between cultural, language and communication, identity and belonging and the role of education in the development of intercultural competencies in early childhood. Special education and inclusion; a continuum of play; children’s personal play worlds; the importance of real-life play experiences; the role of family play experiences; intergenerational play/fun and the development of humour in early play. Playful teaching and learning in early childhood (playful inclusive pedagogy, transformative pedagogy); early literacy and numeracy; autism and neurodivergent challenges including rare diseases. The teaching of early communication, language and mathematics through play for children with autism in early intervention and primary classrooms.
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | (2024) 'Redesigning our Approaches: Giving it a go from the get-go, Reaching with your teaching' In: Adopting a UDL attitude within academia. London : Routledge. [DOI] | |
| 2022 | O’Síoráin, C. A., Carr-fanning, K. & McGuckin, C. (2022) 'Well That’s another Fine Mess You Got Me Into: The Jargon of Research' In: Thinking Critically and Ethically about Research for Education. London : Routledge. [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Mc Guckin, C., O’Síoráin, C. A. (2021) 'The Professional Self and Diverse Learning Needs' In: Why Do Teachers Need to Know About Diverse Learning Needs?. London : Bloomsbury. |
Research Interests
Carol-Ann is an active researcher with specific interests in early intervention, autism teaching and learning, early play, play-based inclusive practice and pedagogy (playful learning experiences), the Bio-ecological Systems Theory, Family Systems Theory, the role and importance of parents in education, initial and continuing teacher education. She has successfully designed, organised, and conducted research in these areas and has published in peer-reviewed journals, books and educational magazines. She is a change agent with a goal to bring high quality research evidence to the field of early childhood education and care, early intervention, and inclusive teaching.