I'm Alison Gilliland and I currently work as a senior official in the Irish National Teachers' Organisation or the I.N.T.O. as it's commonly known. The INTO is a trade union for primary teachers in Ireland and for primary and secondary teachers in Northern Ireland. We have 33,000 members across both jurisdictions. I am located in the main office in Dublin. My main responsibility is INTO Learning which develops and delivers member professional development and learning including e learning. We run a variety of face to face and on-line courses, seminars, workshops and discussion evenings and networks. We also produce resource and training dvds and conduct research projects exploring new pedagogical approaches in primary schools. My other responsibilities include solidarity and human rights issues and union liaison representative for atypical groups.
I am a former primary school teacher and a former English as an Additional Language teacher. Upon graduation I emigrated to Spain and taught English there for 6 years. On returning home I taught another 6 years in a primary school in a socio-economically disadvantaged community in Dublin where I experienced the challenges and opportunities of such communities first hand. This experience showed me the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty, unemployment and underachievement. From there I moved to work in an Educate Together Primary School. Educate Together Schools are multidenominational schools, unlike the majority of most Irish primary school which are denominational. There is a strong emphasis in Educate Together Schools on equality and respect for difference. In practical terms this is achieved through the teaching of a well grounded ethical core curriculum that explores our different cultures and religions, social justice issues and human rights.
I completed my MSc in DCU in 2008. My research focused on a partnership approach to lifelong learning. I very much enjoyed researching this area as it is one of my core interests. I’ve recently completed a diploma in Business and Life Coaching mainly to enhance my people management skills and interactions with members.