External Examination, Validation, & Expert Evaluation

 


 

Conor is a highly experienced expert in matters related to Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Enhancement (QE) in higher education and research.

 

Conor experience across many facets of quality assurance and expert review  –  for example:

 

–  Serving on international panels assessing national funding proposals (e.g., Portugal’s Foundation for Science and Technology: FCT);

 

–  Chairing and membership of validation panels for the Irish state agency responsible for promoting the quality, integrity, and reputation of Ireland’s further and higher education system  –  Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI);

 

–  External Examiner for academic programmes;

 

–  External Examiner for doctoral theses.

 

 

External Validation and Expert Review

    • External Expert (Human Functioning) for the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: FCT): 2009 – present.

 

    • External Advisor for the validation of the joint ICEPE (Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe) / University of East London (UEL) MA programme: MA Special and Additional Learning Needs.

 

    • External Expert for Oscail in relation to the development of the programme documentation for their Psychology undergraduate programme.

 

    • External Reviewer for the Advanced Diploma in Professional Development (Adv. Dip. PD) Inclusive Education, a collaborative programme between the Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe (ICEPE) and The School of Education at Queen’s University Belfast.

 

    • Mid Life Review Panel for the Open University programmes: DSE212 Exploring Psychology, DXR222 Exploring Psychology Residential School [Project], and DZX222 Exploring Psychology [Online Project] programmes.

 

    • Validation Panel for the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) in respect of BA (Hons) Arts degree programme (Level 8: National Framework of Qualifications) proposed by Independent Colleges.

 

    • Evaluation Panel for the CertHE in Combined Social and Behavioural Sciences (a level 1 programme: equivalent to Year One of a Degree course) at the Portadown Campus of Southern Regional College, a Partner College of University of Ulster.

 

 


 

External Examiner: Programmes

    • External Examiner for Coventry University’s B.A. (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies (2015 – 2019).

 

    • External Examiner for Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) Recognised Undergraduate Degree in Psychology: National College of Ireland (2015 – 2018).

 

    • External Examiner for Postgraduate Certificate Special Education and Additional Needs / Postgraduate Diploma Special Education and Additional Needs / Masters in Arts Special Education and Additional Needs (including online): Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe (ICEPE) and the University of East London (2014 – 2017).

 

    • External Examiner for Masters in Coaching Practice: University College Cork (2013 – 2016).

 

    • External Examiner for Masters in Applied Psychology (Coaching): University College Cork (2013 – 2016).

 

    • External Examiner for Masters in Applied Psychology (Guidance Counselling): University College Cork (2012 – 2015) (2015 – 2018).

 

    • External Examiner for HETAC Level 6 programmes: International School of Business (2010 – 2012).

 

 


 

External Examiner: Research Degree

 

Bernadette Gregory (Ed.D.), Canterbury Christchurch University, England (2024).

Listening to their adult voices: two narratives of lived experience beyond the formal provision for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) in England.

 

Nicola Mannion (Ph.D.), Mary Immaculate College, Ireland (2024).

Making children visible: Using student voice to shape inclusive practice in mainstream post-primary schools in Ireland.

 

Esperanza Espino Peñate (Ph.D. (International)), University of Seville, Spain (2023).

Bullying and cyberbullying: Poly-involvement, stability, explanatory factors and situations of vulnerability.

 

Oonagh Steer (D.Phil.), University of Nottingham, England (2023).

Exploring the perception, interpretation, and role of humour in cyberbullying from the perspective of adolescents and emerging adults.

 

Malathy Krishnan (D.Phil.), University of Nottingham, England (2023).

Investigating Social Emotional Learning in children with Special Educational Needs in mainstream and special schools in Bengaluru, India.

 

Amal Mohamed Al Koos (D.Phil.), Ulster University, Northern Ireland (2023).

UAE education reform between the fourth industrial revolution and student-centric approach: Achievement and motivation, career aspiration and well-being.

 

Mark Gradwell (Ed.D.), Canterbury Christchurch University, England (2022).

An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of interprofessional education; An investigation of the experiences of pre-registration healthcare students.

 

Cillian Murphy (Ed.D.), DCU Institute of Education, Ireland (2022).

The role of Disability Service staff in supporting students with dyslexia in Irish higher education institutions: a mixed methods study.

 

Sarah Brock (Ph.D.), Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland (2021).

An examination of an area-based approach to supporting emotional and behavioural difficulties in early childhood: A community response.

 

Roisin Devenney (Ph.D.), Maynooth University, Ireland (2021).

Exploring perspectives of school refusal in second-level education in Ireland.

 

Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi (Ph.D.), Ulster University, Northern Ireland (2023).

Development and reform of technical and vocational education in the UAE: The role and vision of the UAE leadership.

 

Lloyd Hughes (Ed.D.), Canterbury Christ Church University, England (2020).

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the ecological interface between teacher and disruptive student.

 

Brian Devitt (Ph.D.), University of Limerick, Ireland (2019).

Exploring the influence of Irish post primary teachers’ profession on their perceived stress.

 

Warren Symes (Ed.D.), Canterbury Christ Church University, England (2019).

Personalised learning in gifted education: Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of challenge in mathematics.

 

Clara O’Byrne (Ph.D.), University of Limerick, Ireland (2018).

“Being special”: Intellectual disability, stigma and special education.

 

Niels Jacob (Ph.D.), Open University of the Netherlands, The Netherlands (2015).

Online Pestkoppenstoppen: Development and evaluation of an online computer-tailored intervention for low-educated cyberbullying victims.

 

Theresa Cleary (Ph.D.), University of Ulster, Northern Ireland (2013).

Music performance anxiety in children within the context of practical music exams.

 

Justin Rami (Ph.D.), Dublin City University, Ireland (2012).

The influence of Europe’s education policies on the development of learning & assessment in the context of a higher education Institution in Ireland.

 

Margaret Denny (Ph.D.), University College Cork, Ireland (2008).

Exploring how teaching for multiple intelligence using a multiple intelligence teaching approach affected student achievement in an undergraduate nursing education programme in Ireland.

 


 

Internal Examiner: Research Degree

 

Richard Hogan (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2023).

The lived experience of teachers working inclusively in the modern classroom, a systemic approach.

 

Joan McGrath (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2021).

Curriculum, accreditation and transition pathways; pupils with intellectual disability in special schools (Ireland).

 

Vivian Rath (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2020).

The social engagement experiences of disabled students in higher education in Ireland.

 

Sereen Talal Bakri (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2018).

Reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities / learning disabilities: Perspectives of university faculty, staff, and students.

 

Ashling Ryan Mangan (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2018).

“It’ll always be a part of him but it’s not going to define him”: Parental incarceration and the academic lives of primary and pre-school children in Ireland, pathways to resilience or maladaptation?

 

Colin McElroy (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2018).

The spectrum of inclusive practice for pupils with Autism attending mainstream primary schools.

 

Carol-Ann O’Síoráin (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2018).

An enquiry into the literacy practices of pupils with autism in mainstream primary settings in the Republic of Ireland.

 

Jeremiah Lynch (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2017).

Hell in Connaught: Surviving St. Joseph’s Industrial School, Letterfrack, Co. Galway.

 

Karen Mahony (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2016).

Pupils as change agents: an Irish conceptualisation of children’s participation in decision-making and governance in primary school.

 

Jolanta Burke (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2015).

Measuring well-being of adolescents displaying cyber aggression.

 

Silvia Gallagher (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2015).

A cross-cultural investigation of online community newcomer behaviour.

 

Paul Condell (D.Ed.), Trinity College Dublin (2015).

Inclusion at ground level in Further Education: Are students with disabilities and Specific Learning Difficulties being supported by inclusive practices in Further Education?

 

Michele Joan Dunleavy-Lavin (D.Ed.), Trinity College Dublin (2013).

The inclusion of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in mainstream primary schools in Ireland.

 

Patricia Mc Carthy (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2013).

Expectations you encounter: The educational experiences and transition choices / opportunities of blind / vision impaired people in the Republic of Ireland.

 

Genevieve Murray (Ph.D.), Trinity College Dublin (2013).

Teacher-on-teacher workplace bullying in the post-primary sector of the Irish education system.