Academic, Lecturer, and Researcher in the Department of Adult and Community Education, Maynooth University, Ireland
Dr. Margaret Nugent is an academic, lecturer, and researcher in the Department of Adult and Community Education, Maynooth University, Ireland. For more than twenty-five years she has engaged extensively with communities in contention, coordinating community and political dialogue, supporting outreach engagement, and building partnership with civil society and community organisations in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Europe, and internationally. During that time, she has developed a pedagogy of peace that supports transformative dialogue. Her research and teaching interests are focused on the philosophy of education, inclusive education, critical and engaged adult education, and participatory research methodologies. Her specialism is in supporting peacebuilding initiatives, conflict intervention and mediation. Her contribution to the concept and practice of dialogue draws upon her doctoral research studies (Deepening Dialogue in Silent Spaces: Ireland’s Pedagogy of Peace (2014)), which explored the role of adult education in creating the conditions to facilitate transition from conflict to sustainable peace, ultimately securing the Good Friday/Belfast/Northern Ireland Peace Agreement (1998).