Ep 52 Dr. Emer Ring

Prof Emer Ring is Dean of Early Childhood and Teacher Education at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Prof Ring leads and manages one of the largest education faculties in Ireland, which provides a wide range of programmes from early childhood to post-primary level at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. She is a Lecturer in the area of Early Years Education, Inclusion and Education Policy on the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Care and Education (BA ECCE) and the Bachelor of Education (BEd) programmes. Prof Ring’s previous experience includes Head of Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies (2011-2019). She engages in, and has led a wide range of national and international research in education related to early childhood, primary, post-primary, and special school contexts, including presenting at conferences and seminars and publishing widely. Prof Ring has also been District and Senior Department of Education Inspector with responsibility for inspection of education provision for children in early years,’ primary, post primary and special school settings (2001-2011), with a particular focus on special education. Her teaching experience spans the role of early years education and shared teacher of children with special educational needs (1981 – 2001). Prof Ring engages in supervision of students on practicum experiences and supervises a wide range of undergraduate and post-graduate research at Masters’ and PhD levels. Prof Ring led the design, development and evaluation of the multiple-award winning Leadership for INClusion in the Early Years (LINC) Programme focused on supporting inclusion in early childhood settings. She has extensive experience in the development of inclusion across the education system and has recently completed a publication for the National Council for Special Education focused on charting the development of special education in Ireland 1922-2022. Other publications include Leading Inclusion from the Inside Out: A Handbook for Parents and Early Childhood Teachers in Early Learning and Care, Primary and Special School Settings; Autism from the Inside Out: A Handbook for Parents, Early Childhood, Primary, Post-primary and Special School Settings and The Contemporary Relevance of John Dewey’s Theories on Teaching and Learning: Deweyan Perspectives on Standardization, Accountability, and Assessment in Education. Together with Dr Lisha O’Sullivan, Prof Ring is co-authoring a further publication for Peter Lang: Play from the Inside Out: A Handbook for Students, Teachers and Parents, which is due for publication in 2024.