Research team: Dr Suzanne O’Keefe, Dr Patricia Kennon, Dr Alison Stapleton, Áine Hurley, Caroline Brogan, and Sonia Rennicks
Report by: Dr Suzanne O’Keefe and Dr Patricia Kennon
This project takes as its starting point the wellbeing of student teachers, which may benefit both student teachers and the primary-school pupils they teach in future. Guided by the Department of Education’s mission to promote the wellbeing of children and young people (DES, 2019; NCCA, 2024), this project focused on the mental health and wellbeing of student teachers in an initial teacher education (ITE) setting in Ireland. This project explores how agencies and institutions can provide better mental health support for student teachers. It also addresses student teachers’ unique needs as they navigate the challenges of their dual identities and responsibilities as both
students and future primary teachers.