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Biography

Dr Mairéad Hurley is a lecturer in the School of Education, and co-convenor of the Science & Society research group. Her research interests lie at the intersection of science communication, education, and public engagement, with a particular interest in research and practice in non-formal learning environments that connect the STEM disciplines with the arts. She is increasingly focusing her work on issues of climate justice, democracy and global citizenship education, through her role as Principal Investigator of the €2.4M Horizon Europe, UKRI & SERI project LEVERS, and as lead for Trinity College Dublin's participation in the Critical ChangeLab project, led by the University of Oulu. Prior to joining the School of Education, she was Head of Research & Learning in Science Gallery Dublin, where she led the €3M European Commission funded SySTEM 2020 project, which mapped informal science learning in 22 countries. She holds a PhD in astronomy (Dublin City University), a Professional Diploma in Education (University College Dublin) and a B.Sc in Physics & Astronomy (National University of Ireland, Galway)

Research Tags

Non-formal Science Education SCIENCE COMMUNICATION Science Education science teacher education STEAM Education STEM EDUCATION

Research Projects

Project Title

LEVERS: Learning Ventures for Climate Justice

From

01/03/2023

28/02/2026

Summary

The LEVERS project has been awarded €2.4M from the European Commission, UKRI & SERI to investigate the potential of localised learning ecosystems to support community climate responses in nine countries: Ireland, the UK, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, and Cyprus. The project researches the implementation of a transdisciplinary, lifelong-learning approach to science education in diverse settings across Europe, addressing the complex challenge of the climate and environmental crisis.

Funding Agency

European Commission [+UKRI + SERI]

Programme

Horizon Europe

Project Type

Coordination and Support Action

Person Months

247

Project Title

Critical ChangeLab [DEMOCRACY MEETS ARTS: CRITICAL CHANGE LABS FOR BUILDING DEMOCRATIC CULTURES THROUGH CREATIVE AND NARRATIVE PRACTICES]

From

01/04/2023

31/03/2026

Summary

DEMOCRACY MEETS ARTS: CRITICAL CHANGE LABS FOR BUILDING DEMOCRATIC CULTURES THROUGH CREATIVE AND NARRATIVE PRACTICES The overall goal of the Critical ChangeLab project is to strengthen democracy in Europe by creating and implementing a flexible model of democratic pedagogy using a bottom-up approach that empowers young people to `own" everyday democracy and engage in direct action towards justice-oriented transformations. The Model is created following a participatory process with youth, educators, and other stakeholders, using Participatory Action Research (PAR) and participatory evaluation. The Critical ChangeLab project aims to build a resilient European democracy by reinvigorating the relationship between youth and democracy through civic interventions in which young people envision alternative futures for (shared) European democracy, and act on that. The project aims to create a flexible Critical ChangeLab Model for Democratic Pedagogy in and through learning environments. In the model, learning environments implement Critical ChangeLabs, which draw on creative and critical practices for supporting youth-led civic interventions. These interventions tackle societal challenges that are close and relevant for youth. To address these challenges, youth are invited to explore the past-present-future of a given situation, rethinking democratic systems, and making justice-oriented transformations. The target groups for the project and the Critical ChangeLabs are 11-18-year-old youth in formal and non-formal learning environments, but the Labs will also include civil society organisations and industry, and citizens in co-creation activities. The aim is to grow young people's transformative agency by supporting them to make a difference in their close environments and co-build democracy. The Critical ChangeLab Model will be created and implemented in collaboration with stakeholders " youth, educators, civil society organisations and industry and citizens in nine partner countries including Ireland " in three cycles of research, drawing on participatory design and action research traditions in its working as well as in creative and narrative practices. Critical ChangeLab will also contribute to European democracy education via teacher education and professional development actions. The Model and the research outputs will generate robust evidence for democratic curriculum development.

Funding Agency

European Commission

Programme

Horizon Europe

Project Type

Research and Innovation Action

Person Months

373

Representations

Details	Date
Member: Expert Advisory Board for Education and Public Engagement at CÚRAM, SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices.	2021

Publications and other Research Outputs

Roche, J., Hurley, M., Jensen, E. A., Massarani, L., Russo, P., & Taylor, A., GlobalSCAPE: successes and failures in connecting with science communicators around the world, Journal of Science Communication, 23, (4), 2024, p1 - 13, Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text DOI URL

Mairéad Hurley, Book Review: Why We Teach Science (and Why We Should), Public Understanding of Science, 2024, Review Article, PUBLISHED DOI

Mairéad Hurley & Caitlin White, Exploring Critical Literacies for Global Citizenship Education, Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) 2023, Honolulu, HI, USA, 8-11th Nov, 2023, 2023, Conference Paper, PRESENTED

Marianne Achiam, Mairéad Hurley, Laura Conner, Sabrina Vitting- Seerup, Arts-based approaches to science communication and education, Public Communication of Science & Technology Conference 2023, Rotterdam, 11-14 Apr 2023, 2023, Conference Paper, PRESENTED

Roche, J., Barber, G. L., Bell, L., Brown, A., Crean, S., Darling, O., Fahy, A., Healy, S., Heffernan, T., Hurley, M., Kearns, A., Lima, A., McAteer, L., McConville, A., Mwakitalu, A., Neil, E. Q., Smyth, F., Taylor, A., Ussher, S., Wedderburn, A., White, C., & Zouboulakis, K., Interrogating illusions of progress: citizen science, science communication, and a call for inclusive reform, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, (1269816), 2023, p1 - 6, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1269816], Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text DOI URL

Hurley, M, & Roche, J., RISING Strong: Sustainability through Art, Science, and Collective Community Action, Sustainability, 15, (20), 2023, p14800 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text DOI URL

Roche, J., Jensen, E. A., Jensen, A. M., Bell, L., Hurley, M., Taylor, A., Boissenin, C., Chase, J., Cherouvis, S., Dunne, K., Kashmina, J., Massarani, L., Planchard, J., Russo, P., & Smyth, F., Bridging citizen science and science communication: insights from a global study of science communicators, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, (1259422), 2023, p1 - 9, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1259422], Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text DOI URL

Mairéad Hurley, Deirdre Butler, Eilish McLoughlin, STEM Teacher Professional Learning Through Immersive STEM Learning Placements in Industry: a Systematic Literature Review, Journal for STEM Education Research, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text URL

Debruyne, Christophe, Grehan, Laura, Hurley, Mairéad, Kearns, Anne, O'Neill, Ciaran, One year of DALIDA Data Literacy Workshops for Adults: A Report, ACM, 2022, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED DOI

Hurley, M., Rhinehart, A., Bell, P., Brown, A., Price, N., & Roche, J., Designing for future action: How STEAM programming can support youth engagement in community changemaking projects, Connected Science Learning, 4, (1), 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED DOI

Page 1 of 3

Mairéad Hurley, Debunked: Data Literacy For Adults Evaluation Report, ADAPT, the SFI Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology , January 2023, 2023, Report, PUBLISHED

Darling, O., Hurley, M., Grehan, L., Kearns, A, A Data Literate Ireland: The Case for a Whole-of-Government Approach to Data Literacy Skills Development in Ireland, December, 2022, Report, PUBLISHED

Hurley, Mairéad & Colclough, Mary, RISING: Findings from a Creative Climate Action Programme, 2022, Trinity College Dublin, 2022, Report, PUBLISHED

Zolotonosa, M., and Hurley, M., Reshaping science learning: Findings and recommendations from SySTEM 2020, Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, 2021, Notes: [Relevant to Irish and European STEM education policy.], Report, PUBLISHED

Hurley, M., Butler., D., McLoughlin E., Immersive STEM Learning Experiences to Shape Shared Futures, Dublin, Dublin City University, November, 2021, Notes: [Relevant to national STEM Education Policy (2017-2026)], Report, PUBLISHED

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

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Dr. Mairéad Hurley