Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Menu Search


Trinity College Dublin By using this website you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the Trinity cookie policy. For more information on cookies see our cookie policy.

      
Profile Photo

Dr. Gavin Murphy

Associate Professor (Education)
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Gavin Murphy

Associate Professor (Education)

 GAVIN.MURPHY@tcd.ie

 


Dr Gavin Murphy is an Associate Professor at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, where he acts as Professional Master of Education (PME) Registrar and leads the Leadership and Policy strand of the M.Ed. Prior to this, Gavin was a Teaching Fellow in Educational Leadership at the School of Education, University College Dublin and an Honorary (Visiting) Fellow at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. In both of these institutions his work focused on teaching and research connected to educational policy, reform and leadership, as well as work connected to initial and ongoing teacher education more broadly. Gavin also holds an M.Phil. in educational research from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, where he held a Cambridge European Scholarship from the Cambridge Trust. Gavin is also a qualified and experienced post-primary school languages teacher. Gavin's current teaching responsibilities include doctoral, M.Ed. (Leadership and Policy; M.Oid. san Oideachas Lán-Ghaeilge agus Gaeltachta), and PME programmes. Gavin has previously taught on Postgraduate Certificates in (a) 21st Century Teaching and Learning (b) Diversity and Inclusion in Further Education and Training programmes. During 2020/ 21, Gavin established the 'In Conversation With' pubic webinar series, hosting international experts in the field to talk about educational policy and leadership issues connected to contemporary themes from research, policy and practice. In September 2023, Gavin was a Chen Yidan Visiting Global Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and returned to HGSE as a Fulbright Irish Scholar in Spring 2024. Gavin was the founding Convenor of the Teacher Education and Development Research Group at the School of Education in late 2024. For an overview of Gavin's research interests, take a look at this short video:
  Education policy   Educational Leadership and Management   Professional education and development   Teacher Education
Project Title
 FoSTER: Frameworks of School-Support For Teachers' Engagement With/In Research
From
Nov 2021
To
Jul 2022
Summary
This research project seeks to understand the breath and scope of the ways that schools support teachers to engage with and in research in the UK and Ireland.
Funding Agency
Oxford University
Person Months
2
Project Title
 QUEER(Y)ING: Asking questions of teacher and school leader education for LGBTI+ youth and schooling
From
2019
To
2020
Summary
This project maps the provision of formal and informal evidence-based education through teacher and school leader education provision nationally. Its aims are: 1. to assist in the promotion of LGBTI+ inclusive schools and society; 2. to have equal, fair and just educational experiences for the LGBTI+ community in all schools; and 3. to realise Ireland's inclusive education policy context through professional learning opportunities, including the generation of a website for this purpose from an LGBTI+ perspective. It is a government-funded project and is connected to the National LGBTI+ Youth Strategy. This project is in collaboration with Dr Declan Fahie, School of Education, University College Dublin.
Funding Agency
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Project Title
 School leader preparation, development and identity in post-primary immersion schools
From
2018
To
2020
Summary
This small-scale project, funded by An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, explores the educational policy and leadership context of minority language immersion schooling in Ireland, eliciting the voices and experiences of a cohort of practising principals in both Gaeltacht and non-Gaeltacht areas.
Funding Agency
An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta
Project Title
 Capacity Building for LGBTI+ Inclusion in Teacher & School Leaders' Education
From
2020
To
2022
Summary
Funded by the Department of Justice. Collaborative capacity-building and research project with ShoutOut and teacher education and professional learning scholars.
Funding Agency
Department of Justice
Project Title
 Leading Trauma-Informed Practice in Schools
From
2023
To
2024
Summary
In collaboration with Prof Helen Stokes and Dr Pauline Thompson, Melbourne Graduate School of Education.
Funding Agency
University of Melbourne

Details Date
External Examiner, University College Cork 2021
External Examiner, University of Glasgow 2020
Education Studies Association of Ireland, Executive Committee 2022
Editorial Board Member, Quality Education for All 2023
National Representative for the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (ISATT) 2024
Oide Leadership - Programme Endorsement Panellist 2023
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Educational Administration and History 2024
External Examiner, Queen's University Belfast 2025
External Examiner, Ulster University 2025
Reviewer School Leadership and Management 2022
Board of Management, Post-Primary School 2020
Research Engagement Group, Teaching Council 2018
Reviewer International Journal of Leadership in Education 2020
Reviewer Journal of Educational Administration and History 2018
Reviewer Leadership and Policy in Schools 2021
Reviewer for Educational Management Administration and Leadership 2019
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Fluent Medium Fluent
Irish Fluent Fluent Fluent
Details Date From Date To
International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching 2024
International Congress of School Effectiveness and Improvement 2022
American Educational Research Association 2020 2024
University Council of Educational Administration 2018 2020
Education Studies Association of Ireland 2018 2024
Teacher Professional Development and Immersion Education:Spotlight on an Irish-medium teacher development programme in, editor(s)Brian Mooney , Education Matters | Ireland's Education Yearbook 2024, 2025, pp353 - 356, [Gavin Murphy], Notes: [https://irelandseducationyearbook.ie/downloads/IEYB2024/Irelands-Yearbook-of-Education-2024-Research-12.pdf], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  URL
Gavin Murphy, Developing Teachers, Developing Leaders: Relationships Between Research-Engagement, Leadership Development, and School Evaluation, Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational Possibilities: A Call to Action, Philadelphia, April 2024, edited by American Educational Research Association , 2024, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Helen Stokes, Gavin Murphy, Pauline Thomson, Leading trauma-informed professional learning: Insights from Australian and Irish schools, International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Dublin, January 2024, 2024, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Devitt, Ann, Banks, Joanne, Bray, Aibhin, Murphy, Gavin, Sanchez, Sergio, Sandoval, Marta, Mapping Evidence-Based Practices Within the Universal Design for Learning Framework, Interrogating Consequential Education Research in Pursuit of Truth, Chicago, United States, 13-16th April 2023, edited by American Educational Research Association , 2023, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy, Marco Snoek, Zoe Robertson, Collaborative Professional Learning and the Role of Universities, The Value of Diversity in Education and Educational Research , Glasgow, August , edited by European Conference of Educational Research , 2023, Conference Paper, ACCEPTED
Gavin Murphy, Joanne Banks, Distributed Leadership For Inclusive Middle Leadership Practice: Exploring Gaps, Challenges and Opportunities, The Value of Diversity in Education and Educational Research , Glasgow, August, edited by European Educational Research Association , 2023, Conference Paper, ACCEPTED
Michael Buckley, Gavin Murphy, Contemporary Roles of Chairpersons, Principals and Teachers on Boards of Management in Primary Schools in the Republic of Ireland , The Value of Diversity in Education and Educational Research , Glasgow, August, edited by European Conference of Educational Research , 2023, Conference Paper, ACCEPTED
Gavin Murphy and Dympna Devine, Sensemaking in and for times of crisis and change: Irish primary school principals and the Covid-19 pandemic, School Leadership and Management, 2023, Notes: [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13632434.2022.2164267], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Gavin Murphy and Melanie Ní Dhuinn, Pedagogical practices and partnerships promoting LGBTQ+ specific inclusion and diversity approaches in an initial teacher education programme module, Association for Teacher Education in Europe Winter Conference, Sestri Levante, Italy, April 2022, 2022, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy and Thomas Brennan, Enacting Distributed Leadership in the Republic of Ireland: Assessing Primary School Principals' Developmental Needs Using Constructive Developmental Theory, Education Studies Association of Ireland, Dublin , April 2022, 2022, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
  

Page 1 of 4
Gavin Murphy, Contemporary School Leadership in the Irish Context: What We've Learnt and What Lies Ahead, Boston College, 2 April 2024, 2024, Lynch School of Education and Irish Studies, Boston College, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy, Language and Literacy Instruction in Irish Policy and Practice Contexts, Literacy and Languages Speaker Series, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 10 April 2024, 2024, Prof. Catherine Snow and HGSE Ed.M. Literacy and Languages Concentration, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy, Joanne Banks, Distributed Leadership: Inclusive Culture and the Middle Leader, Education Scotland - Middle Leadership Development, Online, May, 2023, Education Scotland, Invited Talk, ACCEPTED
Gavin Murphy, Policy and practice of professional development in Ireland: Critically appraising contemporary issues from an educational leadership perspective, Masters in Educational Leadership and Learning, University of Edinburgh, March, 2023, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy, In Conversation With: Educational Policy and Leadership Experts | School Middle Leaders' Sensemaking of a Generally Outlined Reform, February , 2023, Online, Notes: [With Prof. Chen Schechter, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.], Meetings /Conferences Organised, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy, In Conversation With: Educational Policy and Leadership Experts | Quality Teaching and Quality Teaching Rounds. An Overview., February, 2023, Online, Notes: [With Prof. Jenny Gore, University of Newcastle, Australia], Meetings /Conferences Organised, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy, In Conversation With: Educational Policy and Leadership Experts | Evidence Use for Educational Improvement: Integrating data-informed decision-making and research-informed teaching, March, 2023, Online, Notes: [With Prof. Kim Schildkamp, University of Twente, The Netherlands and Prof. Chris Brown, University of Warwick.], Meetings /Conferences Organised, PUBLISHED
Gavin Murphy, In Conversation With: Educational Policy and Leadership Experts | Rethinking School Leaders' Work, March, 2023, Online, Notes: [With Dr Amanda Heffernan, University of Manchester], Meetings /Conferences Organised, PRESENTED
Murphy, G. and Brennan, T. , Leading evaluation for school and teacher development, Collective of Educational Leaders, University of Wollongong, Australia, Online, 1 June , 2022, Dr Kylie Lipscombe , Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Gavin Murphy, High-Leverage Practices - Refining and Reflecting on Pedagogical Practices for Real World Contexts, Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board Teach Meet, Online, October, 2022, Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board, Invited Talk, PRESENTED

  


Page 1 of 2
Award Date
Fellow, Trinity College Dublin 2025
Visiting Professor, University of Southampton, Southampton Education School. June 2024
Fulbright Irish Scholar, Harvard Graduate School of Education. 2023-24
Chen Yidan Global Visiting Fellow. Harvard Graduate School of Education. September 2023
Endeavour Research Fellowship, Australia Awards. Melbourne Graduate School of Education. 2018
Cambridge European Scholarship, Cambridge Trust. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. 2015
Gavin's research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of educational policy, leadership, and professional education and development. The overarching focus is on critically examining the formulation and implementation of educational reforms, facilitating research-informed change and improvement within schools, promoting educational quality and equity, and understanding how these elements manifest through leadership in applied, practical settings. Four key areas structure this agenda: 1. Professional Education and Adult Learning: Investigating the policies, programmes, and practices related to the education and ongoing professional learning of educators (teachers, school middle and senior leaders, and system leaders, such as those working in school inspection/ evaluation and in the provision of professional development). 2. Leadership of Educational Policy and Reform: Exploring the leadership and contextual factors influencing the success of educational policy implementation and reform efforts, both at the system level and within specific schools. Areas of emphasis include policies related to professional learning, school evaluation/improvement, and language/literacy development. 3. Research Engagement in Professional Practice: Examining the role of research, evidence, and data in informing professional education programs and enabling effective organisational/school leadership. Additionally, exploring how research engagement in professional practice as educators supports educational quality and equity, as well as collaborative professional enquiry and learning. 4. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Education: Investigating issues related to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion through educational policy formulation and leadership approaches, specifically culturally and linguistically responsive leadership, and LGBTQ+ inclusive leadership. Gavin welcomes enquiries from prospective students for D.Ed., Ph.D. and M.Ed. studies in these areas.