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Biography
Aideen Cassidy is currently Assistant Professor in the Institute of Education DCU in the school of Policy and Practice. Her research interests are primarily within the area of educational disadvantage, interventions to improve early school leaving and improve the life chances of those impacted by poverty, teacher training and literacy.
She started her teaching career in DEIS schools in Finglas - Dublin and Jobstown in Tallaght in the early 80s when unemployment was over 80% in these areas. She was an assistant principal and co-ordinator of the SEN Department. She was also adult literacy co-ordinator in Finglas over this time.
After 14 years there she took up a position in the Curriculum Development Unit as National Co-ordinator of the Junior Certificate School Programme, a programme designed and developed to support students who were potential early school leavers. Working in over 200 DEIS schools nationwide during which time she provided professional development across the Junior Cycle to the staff in each school with the team of RDOs and researchers. She also developed the JCSP literacy strategy which was part of the National Literacy strategy and put in place the JCSP Library project where state of the art libraries were established and expert librarians put in place in 30 schools to support the literacy strategy. A bespoke librarian training programme was put in place. The impact of the project was researched and the outcomes very positive. The project continues to thrive and be funded.
Aideen wrote several teacher resource books and support materials for teachers on literacy across the curriculum. Over this period Aideen conducted her EdD studies in Maynooth focusing in on the impact the JCSP literacy strategy on literacy levels of the 2nd level students. In 2011 she took up the position of principal in Beneavin De La Salle College, an all boys DEIS school in Finglas and was there for 11 years until she joined DCU in 2022.