Professor Linda Clarke:

I will refer to the strategic cross-Border relationship between St. Angela’s College and the school of education, University of Ulster. The two institutions have engaged in significant formal and informal collaboration in respect of both teaching and research at an individual academic and institutional level throughout the past two decades. Collaborative work has taken place in the area of ITE of religious education teachers. In the mid-1990s St Angela’s College, through funding from the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, formed a partnership with the school of education. This project involved student teachers from both institutions and promoted dialogue, understanding and reconciliation between educators from the Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions within Ireland.

In 2005 the two institutions were key partners in the establishment of a cross-Border collaborative initiative funded under the European Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border region of Ireland - Peace II. The purpose of the initiative was to enable teachers, educational psychologists and other professionals from the Border counties to build on peace and stability by coming together and exchanging experiences and models of best practice. Arising from this, these participants formed three North-South cluster groups and based their joint programmes of work in the key areas of autism, dyslexia and marginalised youth. Academic staff members in the special educational needs team at St. Angela's College and colleagues from the school of education were involved in the steering committee for this project and in all three cluster groups.

The project has proved to be a worthwhile example of a shared vision, collaboration and partnership. Through its forum for mutual sharing of experience and expertise, useful resource packs were produced for schools in each of the three key areas.

Both institutions have been active members and participants in the Standing Conference of Teacher Education North and South, SCoTENS, since its foundation in 2002. Through participation in a number of SCoTENS funded research projects, the college and the school of education at the University of Ulster have developed research projects aimed at sharing good practice and developing strategies in teaching and learning on an all-island basis. These links facilitate a research informed approach to aspects of teacher education and the potential for future research projects with a larger critical mass of expertise.

The institutions share the common unique specialism of teacher education for home economics. St. Angela’s College is the sole provider of home economics teacher education in the South of Ireland and the school of education in the University of Ulster is the sole provider of the PGCE in home economics education in Northern Ireland. Through cross-Border collaboration between home economists in both institutions, a funded SCoTENS all-island research project on primary school teachers’ experiences of teaching about healthy eating as part of the curriculum was conducted and published in 2012. Furthermore, initial discussions are under way to progress staff and student exchanges and research initiatives in the areas of home economics education, diet, health and well-being and culinary skills.

St. Angela’s College and the school of education at the University of Ulster are taking a major step forward in the promotion of cross-Border collaboration by formalising their relationship for future strategic developments. We are pleased to advise the committee that we have signed a memorandum of understanding which establishes a framework for a cross-Border collaborative teaching, learning and research relationship between both institutions. Specifically, the outputs of this agreement may include establishing funding to support student and staff mobility programmes for student teachers and teacher educators; enhanced shared delivery of programmes in initial teacher education; and development of a strategic programme of collaborative research and dissemination of findings in teacher education in both institutions.