Dr. Chelsea Whittaker
Assistant Professor, Education
Biography
Chelsea Whittaker is an Assistant Professor in Further Education and Training and Inclusion within the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. She is a qualified primary school educator originally from Cape Town, South Africa. She holds degrees in the fields of Education and Psychology from the University of Cape Town and University of South Africa, and most recently completed her M.Ed. and PhD at Trinity College Dublin. She holds a deep commitment to social justice and community well-being and has a keen interest in research which examines issues of language, identity, multilingualism, language policy and practice, diversity and inclusion.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Chelsea Whittaker, Including all? Rethinking homework practices in multilingual contexts in Ireland., Language & Education, 2025
Joanne Banks and Chelsea Whittaker, School-based assessment frameworks within inclusive school systems: A review of international good practice, 2024
Ann Devitt and Chelsea Whittaker, Evaluation of the Kinia-Suas Remote Reading Buddy Program 2021, Dublin, TCD, September, 2021
Chelsea Whittaker, Dynamic Multilingual Identities: Interactions between language-in-education policy and family language policy., IRAAL Conference 2024, University College Cork, 15th & 16th November
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Ann Devitt, Mary Quirke, Chelsea Whittaker, Catherine O'Reilly and Conor McGuckin, A Review of ESOL Provision in Further Education and Training in Ireland, 2025
Chelsea Whittaker, Migrant Children's Experiences of Learning English as an Additional Language in Irish Primary Schools., Trinity College Dublin, 2019
Research Expertise
Description
Chelsea Whittaker is a sociolinguist and educator whose research is driven by a strong commitment to social justice, inclusion, and community well-being. Her work explores the intersections of language, migration, diversity, and education, with a particular focus on the experiences of migrant learners. Her MEd research, "Migrant Children's Experiences of Learning English as an Additional Language in Irish Primary Schools", examined how young learners navigate language acquisition in new educational settings. Building on this, her PhD, "Dynamic Multilingual Identities: A Linguistic Ethnography Exploring Identity, Multilingualism, and Language Policy in Primary School-Aged Migrant Learners and Their Families in Ireland", delved into the complex and evolving linguistic identities of migrant children and their families within the Irish education system. Chelsea's research interests include language policy and practice, family language policy, and ESOL research-particularly within the Further Education and Training (FET) sector. She is a member of the Language Use and Multilingualism in Education Research Group (LUMIERE) and currently serves as a programme coordinator on the DIFET Qualifications Framework programme. With expertise in Applied Linguistics, Education, and Psychology, Chelsea combines advanced research skills with a commitment to impactful, practice-oriented scholarship. She actively contributes to research aiming to shape policy and practice, fostering collaboration, and advancing research that promotes equity and inclusion in education.Recognition
Awards and Honours
TCD Postgraduate Teaching Awards 2023-24- Runner Up