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Dr Ron Smith

Lecturer in Education

Room 02.007
18 College Green
School of Education
Queen's University Belfast

Tel: + 44 (0)28 9097 5902
Fax: +44 (0)28 9097 5066
Email: ron.smith@qub.ac.uk

Leadership Roles

  • Course Coordinator: M. Ed Inclusion and Special Needs Education
  • PGCE Coordinator for Special Needs Education and Inclusion
  • Member of the School of Education’s Research Ethics Committee.

Modules Taught

  • EDU 7082 : Contemporary Policy, Issues and Debates in Inclusion and Special Needs Education
  • EDU 7104: Learning: Theory and Practice
  • EDU 7115: The Theory and Practice of Teaching Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities
  • EDU 7083: Children and Young People in “At-Risk” Circumstances
  • EDD 9057: Educational Special Needs: Partnerships for Inclusion.

Research Interests

Dr Smith’s research interests address topics of: special/ additional needs education and disability; exclusion and inclusion in educational contexts; social constructionist, narrative and discursive thinking applied to issues of diversity and social justice in education; transformative approaches to school improvement for peace; inclusive teacher education; inclusive leadership in education.  His current research is concerned with developing new approaches to Teacher Education for Inclusion and developing the concept of Inclusive Pedagogy as an approach to special needs education that is distinguished from earlier concepts of special and inclusive education.

Selected Research and Development Projects

  • Beginning Teachers and Tutoring Reading in the Post-Primary School - The Better Reading Project. Principal Investigator with Dr Jackie Lambe, University of Ulster (£50, 000)
  • The PGCE in Main Subject with Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Pilot Programme (MAINSEN:  £158,580).   Joint project manager with Dr Jackie Lambe, University of Ulster
  • Professional Development for Post-Primary SEN teachers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Co-Investigator with:  Marin Barry (UCD), Professor Sheelagh Drudy (UCD), Dr Eileen Winter (ICEPE), Elizabeth O’Gorman (UCD) (£10,000)
  • Creating Inclusive Learning Environments in Irish Schools:  An Ethnographic Study. Co-investigator with: Dr Michael Shevlin (TCD) and Dr Eileen Winter (ICEPE) (£45,000).
  • Bringing School Communities Together to Promote Education for Diversity.  Co-investigator with: Dr Simon Lichman (The Centre for Creativity in Education and Cultural Heritage, Jerusalem); Professor Keith Sullivan (NUI Galway) (£10,000).

 

Selected Publications

Books

  • Smith. R.A.L., Loreman, T., Deppeler, J, M., and Forlin, C. (submitted) (eds) Global Perspectives on TransformativeTeacher Education for Inclusion. Publisher TBA.

Book Chapters

  • Smith R.A.L. (in Preparation). Special Education Today in the United Kingdom.  Chapter 13 in Anthony F. Rotatori (St. Xavier University)., Jeffrey P. Bakken (Bradley University)., Festus E. Obiakor (The City College of New York)., Sandra Burkhardt (St. Xavier University) and Umesh Sharma ( Monash University). Advances in Special Education Volume 27: Special Education: An International Perspective. Bingley, UK:  Emerald Books.
  • Smith  R.A.L and Long, L. (2013). Northern Irish Student’s Views:  Using Vocabularies of Hope to Transform the Educational Experiences of Student’s identified as Having Pronounced Literacy Difficulties.  In, Phyllis Jones and Anne Mickleson (Eds) Infusing Insider Perspectives into Inclusive Teacher Learning: Potentials and Challenges. Abbington, UK:  Routledge.
  • Smith. R.A.L and Neill, J.E (2007). Peace Stories and Peacebuilding:  Bringing Narrative Thinking to School Improvement for Peace in Northern Ireland. In, Francisco Cota Fagundes and Irene Maria F. Blayer, Oral and Written Narratives and Cultural Identity: Interdisciplinary Approaches. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

Journal Articles

  • Smith, R.A.L.and McCully, A. (2013). Organisational Self-Evaluation and Teacher Education for Community Relations in a Transforming Society?  European Journal of Teacher Education, 1-26. (DOI: 10.1080/02619768.2012.757302). Available at  http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/STZBEH7heWKScKNTIQXn/full
  • Lambe, J. E., McNair, V. and Smith  R.A.L. (2013). Special Educational Needs, e-Learning and the Reflective e-Portfolio: Implications for Developing and Assessing Competence in Pre-Service Education. Journal of Education and Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy. 39, (2), 181-196.
  • Long, L., McPhillips, T., Shevlin,  M. and Smith R.A.L. (2012).  Utilising Creative Methodologies to Elicit the Views of Yong Learners with Additional Needs in Literacy. Support for Learning 22, (1), 20-29
  • Barr, S. and Smith R.A.L (2009). Towards Educational Inclusion in a Transforming Society: Some Lessons from Community Relations and Special Needs Education in Northern Ireland.  International Journal of Inclusive Education 13, (2), 211-230.
  • Smith R.A.L. and Barr, S. (2008). Towards Educational Inclusion in a Contested Society: from Critical Analysis to Creative Action. International Journal of Inclusive Education. 12,(4), 401-422.
  • Smith. R.A.L. & Neill, J.E. (2006). Developing Frameworks for School Self-Evaluation: with Reference to Improving School Effectiveness for Peace in Northern Ireland. Improving Schools. 9 (2),153-174.
  • Smith. R.A.L. & Neill, J.E. (2005). Examining the Possibilities of School Improvement for Peace in Northern Ireland from a Narrative Perspective. The Journal of Transformative Education. 3,(1). 6-32.

Research Reports

  • Bell, D., Bradley, E., Dennison, J., Duke, S., Elliott, E., Johnston, N., Lowry, D. and Smith R.A.L. (2012).  Essays on Inclusive Pedagogy (Vol1 ). School of Education, Queen’s University, Belfast.
  • O’Gorman, E., Drudy, S., Winter, E., Smith, R.A.L. and Barry, M (2009). Professional Development for Post-Primary Special Educational Needs (SEN). Teachers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: A Report for the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). Armagh: The Centre for Cross Border Studies.
  • Smith. R.A.L. and Sullivan, K. (2008). Bringing School Communities Together to Promote Education for Diversity. A Report for the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). Armagh: The Centre for Cross Border Studies.
  • Shevlin, M., Winter, E. and Smith R.A.L. (2008).  Creating Inclusive Learning Environments in Irish Schools: An Ethnographic Study. Dublin: NCSE.