At CDI, our commitment extends to interpreting, translating, and sharing our knowledge. A vital aspect of this endeavour involves sharing our insights and discoveries with the academic community. Below, we present a selection of articles and journal submissions that reflect our ongoing contributions.
Resources
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Support Pathways for Children with Additional Needs is a comprehensive overview of services available and how to access them, for parents and carers who have children with additional needs and for professionals.
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Restorative Practices Case Studies
Discover the Power of Restorative Practices
Explore our latest collection of real-life case studies showing how Restorative Practices are transforming communities, schools, and workplaces. These inspiring stories highlight the impact of empathy, accountability, and connection in building safer, stronger relationships. -
5th & 6th Class: Wellbeing with Restorative Practices
Imagine a classroom where children learn to breathe with purpose, communicate with compassion, and understand the power of personal growth. Our Wellbeing with Restorative Practices courses aren’t just another lesson—they’re a transformative experience designed to equip students with essential life skills.
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Restorative Practices Junior Cycle Wellbeing Learning Units
Friendship Champions and Friendship Masters are two free, 10-hour courses designed for teachers to use with 1st and 2nd year students as part of the school’s well-being curriculum. These courses help students develop restorative practices, values, and skills to build stronger relationships and resolve conflict. Each course includes a detailed teacher handbook and a student journal to support learning and application in school, at home, and in the community. They also support four key Junior Cycle skills: Managing Myself, Working With Others, Staying Well, and Communicating.
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This updated Quality Assurance Framework is an important contribution to developing capacity, systems, and infrastructure that support restorative practice’s growth, evolution, and sustainability.
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This review aims to inform the selection of such an intervention in the Tallaght region.
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This review provides an overview and comparison of the different delivery mechanism options currently available for delivering general, scalable, youth-focused psychological support to adolescents.
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A photovoice project by Dr Maria Quinlan and Patrick Bolger detailing the experiences of homeless families.
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A handbook based on the archiving of documents associated with CDI and in the process, establishing best practices in qualitative data archiving.
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A Framework for Ensuring Adherence to Best Practice Standards in Delivering Restorative Practices by Dr. Kieran O’Dwyer.
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Written by Dr. Brid McGrath and Robin Hanan, this toolkit sets out the processes, legislation, and best practices that can guide you in archiving data.
Journal Articles
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Authors: Catarina Leitão, Jefrey Shumba.
Providing support to parents in the early years can enhance their engagement in children’s lives. In Ireland, research on parenting support has been limited, highlighting the relevance of reviewing the interventions available. The objective of this study was to provide an overview of parent- and child-focused policies and research-supported parenting interventions for families with children up to six years old in Ireland. First, the Irish context is described in terms of comparative statistics, and parent- and child-focused policies and services. Second, research-supported parenting interventions are analysed in terms of characteristics and potential to support families at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The identified interventions included elements that have been considered to be effective in parenting support, such as a focus on prevention, addressing more than one area of need, easily accessible services, and continuity between universal and targeted provision. These elements are discussed in the context of Ireland. -
Author: Catarina Leitão
Providing support to parents in the early years can enhance their engagement in children’s lives. In Ireland, research on parenting support has been limited, highlighting the relevance of reviewing the interventions available. The objective of this study was to provide an overview of parent- and child-focused policies and research-supported parenting interventions for families with children up to six years old in Ireland. First, the Irish context is described in terms of comparative statistics, and parent- and child-focused policies and services. Second, research-supported parenting interventions are analysed in terms of characteristics and potential to support families at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The identified interventions included elements that have been considered to be effective in parenting support, such as a focus on prevention, addressing more than one area of need, easily accessible services, and continuity between universal and targeted provision. These elements are discussed in the context of Ireland.
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Peer research has the potential to increase community engagement in research and improve understanding of the data coproduced.
However, there is a dearth of research on how to effectively conduct peer research with parents. The current study aimed to collect the views and experiences of parents who were peer researchers in the evaluation of a parenting support intervention. Four parents participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed via thematic analysis. Results indicated that peer research tasks were perceived as becoming easier with practice. Benefits of peer research included increased awareness of the organisation’s work, enjoyment of the process, exposure to learning new things, and continued networks among peer researchers. Facilitating factors for peer research included the availability and accessibility of the organisation’s support, and opportunities for knowledge and information sharing among peer researchers. Main challenges experienced related to the training provided, previous experience in qualitative research, coding difficulties, and procedures regarding the organisation of the peer research process. Parents also shared ways of improving the peer research process in the future regarding structures to support the coordinating researcher and continued involvement of the same pool of peer researchers, given the acquired experience. Studying the peer research process has the potential to increase the understanding of peer researchers’ needs, preferences, and resources, and to inform research aimed at supporting families.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted families’ socio-emotional well-being. Understanding the experiences of families from diverse socio-economic backgrounds can help identify their specific needs and resources during this time. This research aimed to explore the perspectives and experiences of families in the Republic of Ireland, including those in disadvantaged areas.
In Study 1, 168 parents of children under six shared their experiences through an online questionnaire, revealing common concerns such as social isolation, negative impacts on emotional well-being, and uncertainty about the future, alongside some positive changes in family time. These experiences were linked to factors like parents’ age, employment, and family income.
In Study 2, focus group discussions with 50 children (aged 8-17), 17 parents, and 20 service providers highlighted challenges related to online education, food poverty, and children’s socio-emotional health.
Overall, the findings underscore the need for measures to support families’ socio-emotional well-being, address educational inequalities, and ensure economic and employment security.
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Author: Quinn, M
A non-research perspective on sharing data. Archiving Evaluation Data Children’s Research Digest, Volume 4, Issue 3 -
Authors: Casey, C., McNally, S., O’Keeffe, A., and Quinn, M.
This article first appeared in The Irish Review of Community Economic Development Law and Policy, Volume 2, Issue 1, June 2013, pp. 63–70, published by the Northside Community Law and Mediation Centre. -
Author: Casey, C.
This article was published by the Edward Kennedy Institute, Maynooth University, in their Journal of Mediation and Applied Conflict Analysis, Issue 1, Volume 1, January 2014. -
Authors: McNally, S. & Smith, G.
This article first appeared in An Leanbh Óg: The OMEP Ireland Journal of Early Childhood Studies, Volume 7, April 2013, pp. 119–127.
An Leanbh Óg is edited by Rosaleen Murphy, Patricia Radley, and Anna Ridgway. It is published by the Irish committee of OMEP, l’Organisation Mondiale pour l’Education Préscolaire/The World Organisation for Early Childhood Education. -
Becoming a new parent is a significant change that can be both rewarding and challenging. It’s normal to feel unsure at times and to experience a range of emotions from joy to confusion. Reflect on the type of parent you want to be and consider what support you might need. If you have a partner, discuss how a baby will change your lives and how you can support each other.
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Authors: Kelly, M., and Reid, A-M.
This is an article published in the Reading Association of Ireland journal.