James O'Higgins Norman PC,

OStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

holds the UNESCO Chair on Tackling Bullying in Schools and Cyberspace at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

. He is the director of the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, and a member of the Government of Ireland Advisory Council on Online Safety.

Early life and education

O'Higgins Norman was born in Dublin, Ireland. He attended secondary school at St Kevin's College in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

. He holds a degree in Divinity from Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (1994), a Higher Diploma in Education from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

(1996) and a Master's degree in Education from the

National University of Ireland, Maynooth Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

(1999).

Career

In 2000, he took up a position as a lecturer in the

Mater Dei Institute of Education Mater Dei Institute of Education () was a linked college of Dublin City University from 1999 until its closure in 2016, located in Drumcondra, Dublin City, Ireland, near Croke Park, on the site of what was formerly Clonliffe College, the Rom ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, where he led research on pastoral care in second level schools. While there he authored the book entitled ''Ethos and Education in Ireland'' (2003) (New York: Peter Lang) in which he argued that the Catholic Church had a majority share in the control and management of schools in Ireland and that the church and state would need to reconsider this position in the light of the emerging diversity in Irish society. These views were upheld in 2006 when Archbishop Martin of Dublin called on the state to consider alternative patrons for schools and in 2011 when Ruairí Quinn, Minister for Education and Skills, established a special commission to examine how some schools could be transferred from the patronage of the Catholic Church to other bodies. In 2003, he was awarded a research grant to examine homophobic bullying in Irish second-level schools. Between 2004 and 2008 he published several reports and two books revealing the extent of the issue in Ireland. In 2005 he became an associate professor at the School of Education Studies in

where his research led to the launch in October 2006 of the "Making Our Schools Safe" campaign by the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. His work on bullying also informed debate in Dáil Éireann and was quoted in a session of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education. In May 2012 he was invited to participate in the National Anti-Bullying Forum sponsored by the Government of Ireland at the Department of Education and Skills. He also extended his work on bullying to include research on cyberbullying, and his research on bullying and education was published in journals including the ''British Journal of Educational Management, Administration and Leadership''. In 2010 he co-edited the ''International Handbook on Education for Spirituality, Care and Wellbeing'' (Netherlands: Springer). In addition to his publications he has also been consulted and deposed on issues related to equality and education. In 2012 he was awarded a research scholarship funded by the US State Department which allowed him to participate in research on alternatives to political violence in Boston College’s Irish Institute. In 2013 he became Director of the National Anti-Bullying Research Centre, formerly of Trinity College Dublin, which moved to Dublin City University following the retirement of its founder and first director Professor Mona O'Moore. In 2018 he was appointed as the UNESCO Chair on Tackling Bullying in Schools and Cyberbspace.

Public life

He is a former Catholic priest who supported victims and gave evidence to the commission into clerical abuse in the

Archdiocese of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ire ...

. As an academic at DCU he has contributed to education debates and has been consulted by the media as a spokesperson on educational and social issues. O'Higgins Norman has served with a number of school boards and voluntary organisations in the Dublin area. In 1986, he was awarded the Father Phelim McCabe Perpetual Endeavour Award for volunteering with local community services. In 1997, he was nominated by Archbishop Desmond Connell to the board of management of Jobstown Community College where he served as chairperson until 2004. He was later nominated by the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST) to the board of management of St. Vincent's CBS, Glasnevin, (2009-2012). He was also chairperson of Schools Across Borders (2010-2012), an

Irish Aid Irish Aid () is the Government of Ireland's official international development aid programme. Irish Aid is managed by the Development Co-Operation and Africa Division (DCAD) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). According to the OECD, Ire ...

funded NGO promoting better relations between young people in areas of conflict. From 2008 to 2014 he was a member of the board of

Clans of Ireland Clans of Ireland ( Irish: ''Finte na hÉireann'') is an Irish charity established to authenticate, represent and co-ordinate the activities of Irish clans. Founded in 1989, it has operated under the patronage of the President of Ireland since 2 ...

and in 2009 became its vice chairperson. In 2010 he was appointed to the Venerable Order of St. John and in 2012 he was appointed an honorary president of St. John Ambulance Castleknock Combined Division in Dublin.

Honours and awards

O'Higgins Norman has received several awards: *

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, Member of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem (MStJ). *

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, Officer of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem (OStJ). *

, Companion of the Order of Clans of Ireland (CIOM).

Published works

''Peer-Reviewed Journals'' * O'Higgins Norman, J., Goldrick, M. 2012. Reducing Academic Isolation in Favour of Learning Relationships Through a Virtual Classroom. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 4, * O'Higgins Norman, J.,Connolly, J. 2011. Mimetic Theory and Scapegoating in the Age of Cyberbullying:The Case of Phoebe Prince. Pastoral Care in Education, 29, 4. * O'Higgins Norman, J., McNamara, G. 2010. Conflicts of Ethos: Issues of Equality in Faith Based Schools. Educational Management Administration and Leadership. (London: Sage). * O'Higgins Norman, J.Goldrick, M.,Harrison, K. 2009. Pedagogy for Diversity: Mediating Between Tradition and Equality in Schools. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 14, 4. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2009. Straight Talking: Explorations on Homosexuality and Homophobia in Secondary Schools in Ireland. Sex Education, 9, 4. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2009. Still Catching up: Schools, Sexual Orientation and Homophobia in Ireland. Sexuality And Culture, 13, 1, pp1–16. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2008. Equality in the Provision of Social Personal and Health Education in the Republic of Ireland: The Case of Homophobic Bullying? Pastoral Care in Education, 26, 2, pp69–81. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2006. Homophobia: A Final Frontier for Tolerance in Religious Education. Journal of Religious Education, 54, 3, pp43–48. * O'Higgins Norman J. 2005. Homophobic Bullying in Irish Second-Level Schools. Guideline - Newsletter of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, pp15–17. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2003. Teacher Professionalism: The Pastoral Dimension. Oideas, 50, Spring, pp66–78. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2002. The School Around the Corner is Not Still the Same: The Need for Pastoral Care in Schools. Search, 25:3, * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2002. Educational Underachievement: The Contribution of Pastoral Care. Irish Educational Studies, 21:1, Spring, pp33–45. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2000. Ethos and the Catholic School. Oideas, 47, Spring, pp66–79. * O'Higgins Norman, J. 1999. Discipline For Learning. The Furrow, Maynooth. ''Selected Books/Reports'' * O'Higgins Norman, J., Education Matters, Readings in Pastoral Care for School Chaplains, Guidance Counsellors and Teachers. Dublin, Veritas, 2014. * O'Higgins Norman, J., Goldrick, M., Harrison, K. (2010) Identifying Good Practice in Addressing Homophobic Bullying in Second-Level Schools. Dublin: The Equality Authority. * O'Higgins Norman, J. et al. 2009. The International Handbook on Education for Spirituality, Care and Wellbeing. Dordrect: Springer. * O'Higgins Norman, J. Homophobic Bullying in Irish Secondary Education, Palo Alto, California, Academica Press, 2008. * O'Higgins Norman, J. Straight Talk: Researching Gay & Lesbian Issues in the School Curriculum, The Centre for Educational Evaluation, DCU, 2006. * O'Higgins Norman, J. A Survey of Teachers on Homophobic Bullying in Irish Second-Level Schools, Dublin City University, 2005. * O'Higgins Norman, J (ed.) At the Heart of Education, School Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care, Dublin: Veritas, 2004. * O'Higgins Norman, James. Ethos and Education in Ireland, New York: Peter Lang, 2003. ''Selected Chapters'' * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2011. Sociology of Education. B. Walsh. Education Studies. Dublin. Gill and McMillan. * O'Higgins Norman, J., Hall, E. 2009. Violence and Conflict in Schools: Negotiating Pathways to Wellbeing, International Handbook on Education for Spirituality, Care and Wellbeing. (Dordrect: Springer). * O'Higgins Norman, J., King, P. 2007. Evaluating the Impact of a State Religious Education Syllabus for the Religious Education Teacher and the School Chaplain. International Handbook of the Religious, Spiritual and Moral Dimensions in Education (Dordrect: Springer). * O'Higgins Norman, J. 2003. Pastoral Care in Schools: The Role of the School Principal, Chaplain, Guidance Counsellor and Teachers. Re-imagining The Catholic School (Dublin: Veritas).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohiggins Norman, James 1968 births Date of birth missing (living people) People from Glasnevin 20th-century Irish people People from Ballygall Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Alumni of Maynooth University Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education Academics of Dublin City University Irish social scientists 21st-century Irish people Living people Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts