The overall aim of the Structured PhD Programme is to facilitate the students in making an original contribution to the knowledge base in the field of adult and community education through research. It meets the needs of practitioners in the field of adult and community education.

 

The Department of Adult and Community Education is firmly committed to equality and social justice. We believe that education is a fundamental human right and collaborative, critical adult education has the power to transform individuals and change society for the better. We have the leading centre for research on adult education in Ireland, and have built an excellent international reputation for our work on further education, higher education, adult guidance, community development and transformative learning. Our research interests and projects concern critical pedagogy, access and equality in adult and higher education, adult guidance and counselling, community education, critical policy studies, transformative learning and active citizenship.  We actively support innovative and creative methodological approaches to research with a strong focus on participatory approaches.