UCET Northern Ireland Forum
Chair: Professor Patricia Eaton (Stranmillis University College)
UCET(NI) began its life as an independent body - the Northern Ireland Universities' Council for Teacher Education (NIUCTE), which was established in 1998 with the following remit:
- to present a professional higher education voice on matters affecting teacher education in Northern Ireland.
- to provide a higher education consultation body to which governmental and other bodies may refer in relation to teacher education in Northern Ireland.
The membership consisted of a nominee from each of the five university sector institutions engaged in teacher education in NI:
- St. Mary's University College
- Stranmillis University College
- The Open University (NI)
- Queen's University, Belfast
- The University of Ulster
UCET(NI) meets formally three times in each academic year as part of the national cycle of UCET meetings. Its chair is ex-officio a member of the UCET Executive Forum. It has sought to lobby Government, in the context of the new devolved structures established in Northern Ireland in 1999, on a range of teacher education issues.
Chair
Professor Patricia Eaton is the Director of Teaching and Learning at Stranmillis University College and has extensive experience in teaching and teacher education. Her degree and PhD were in Pure Mathematics and she taught mathematics in a post-primary school before joining the staff of Stranmillis University College where she has taught on undergraduate initial teacher education and postgraduate degree programmes and has also held a number of leadership roles. She has a research profile in the fields of mathematics, mathematics education, diversity and community relations and teacher development, from Initial Teacher Education through career-long professional learning. She is a Chartered Mathematician and Chartered Scientist, a member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, a member of the Mathematics Association, a Fellow of the Leadership Foundation and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.