Dr. Grace Cardiff

Grace is an Assistant Professor of PE in the School of Arts Education and Movement, DCU Institute of Education. Her research focuses on student voice practices in primary physical education, Meaningful PE, and the role of reflection in supporting student voice. 

Grace is a qualified primary school teacher and has experience teaching across various class levels in mainstream school settings. She has also taught in a public school in the United States. In addition to her work as a primary school teacher, she have delivered modules on the BA (Honours) Degree in Early Childhood Education through the Lifelong Learning programme in SETU Carlow and on the Masters of Education (Literacy Education) programme in Frostburg State University, Maryland.  

In 2017, Grace earned a Master of Education (Literacy Education) from Frostburg State University, Maryland, USA, and became a certified Reading Specialist in the state of Maryland. Building on her interest in student voice, she began her PhD in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Déirdre Ní Chróinín and Dr. Richard Bowles (Mary Immaculate College) and Prof. Tim Fletcher (Brock University). She successfully completed her PhD in 2024, with her thesis examining student voice as a pedagogical approach within primary physical education.

Grace actively collaborates with teachers and academics nationally and internationally through various research initiatives. She has established partnerships with lecturers in primary physical education at Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Maynooth University (MU) and Marino Institute of Education (MIE). Through her involvement in the Erasmus-funded CHAMP PE project, she has worked alongside teacher educators across Europe and has presented to physical education teachers in Spain, Norway, North Macedonia, and Denmark. Additionally, she worked closely with primary teachers and students to support the integration of student voice practices into everyday PE practice, as part of an IRC New Foundations project. In collaboration with the Irish Primary PE Association (IPPEA), she has developed and created resources to support teachers enactment of student voice practices, which are available freely on the IPPEA website.