Joe O'Hara

Joe O’Hara is Full Professor of Education at the DCU Institute of Education, Director of EQI – The Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection, and Affiliate Faculty Member at the Centre for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He is Past President of both the Educational Studies Association of Ireland and the European Educational Research Association, and a former Head of the School of Education Studies at DCU.

His research focuses on evaluation,inspection and quality assurance, with particular attention to cultural diversity, early school leaving, and underachievement. He has served on the Teaching Council of Ireland, the Advisory Board of EUNICE, and is a Founding Director of the Irish Evaluation Network. He is currently President of the European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities and President-Elect of the World Educational Research Association.

Keynote:

Three Decades of Inspection and School Self-Evaluation in Ireland: Insights and Impacts from EQI Research

This presentation examines the parallel evolution of school inspection and school self-evaluation (SSE) in Ireland, drawing on thirty years of research by the Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection (EQI) at Dublin City University. Since the early 1990s, EQI has played an important role in shaping the theoretical, policy, and operational dimensions of evaluation in Irish education, contributing significantly to both national reform and international discourse.

The paper traces key developments in the Irish inspection system and the formalisation of SSE—from early pilot initiatives to their integration within Whole-School Evaluation (WSE), school development planning, and the Looking at Our Schools (LAOS) quality framework. LAOS, in particular, has served as a shared reference point for both internal evaluation and external inspection, fostering alignment between school-led improvement and system-level accountability.

Drawing on longitudinal studies, mixed-methods research, and policy analyses, the presentation explores how inspection and SSE have interacted to influence professional agency, leadership practices, cultural responsiveness , the role of organisational ethos and the strategic use of data. While the use of both qualitative and quantitative data has become more embedded in schools, challenges persist in developing evaluative capacity, ensuring coherence, and balancing improvement with accountability.

Framed within broader European and international perspectives, the presentation concludes by identifying implications for policy, leadership development, and research. It reaffirms a sustained national and sectoral commitment to advancing educational quality and equity through rigorous evaluation, critical inquiry, and system learning.