Staff

Cormac Forkan

Lecturer

Programme Coordinator – BA Youth and Family Studies (GY120)

PhD NUI Galway
MA (Sociology) NUI Maynooth
BA (Hons – Sociology and Geography) NUI Maynooth

Office: Room 28, St. Angela's College, Lough Gill, Sligo
Telephone: 00 353 71 9195544
Email: cormac.forkannuigalway.ie

Member of the Children, Youth and Families Research Cluster (the Child and Family Research Centre)

Profile

Cormac is the Programme Coordinator for the BA Youth and Family Studies (GY120), a three-year degree offered by NUI Galway in conjunction with St. Angela’s College, Sligo. As well as lecturing on this programme, he also provides inputs to the MA in Community Development, the MA in Family Support and to the Structured Ph.D. Programme at the School of Political Science and Sociology.

He has been a staff member of the Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway since 2005 and has acted as the lead researcher on a number of significant national research Projects. Prior to joining NUI Galway, Cormac lectured in the Waterford Institute of Technology on the Applied Social Studies Course (Social Care). He started his professional career as a Youth Worker for Foróige, the National Youth Development Organisation.

Teaching

BA1
Understanding Politics and Society
Trajectories of Social and Political Change
Introduction to Youth and Family Studies
Tutorials

BA2
Classical Social Thought
Understanding Family and Society
Quantitative Research Methods
Youth Development Seminars

Various inputs to the MA Family Support, MA Community Development and Structured Ph.D. Programme

Research Interests

Cormac is a member of the Children, Youth and Families Research Cluster within the School of Political Science and Sociology and an active researcher in the Child and Family Research Centre.  His primary research interests are in the areas of youth work and adolescent development, social support and evidence-based practice for community-based youth and family interventions.

To further these interests, Cormac has led a number of evaluations of community based interventions for families and young people (e.g. Springboard Family Support Project in Sligo, Educational Action Research Project, Athlone).  He has also led research commissioned by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on Youth Cafés in Ireland.

Selected Publications

Peer Reviewed Journals

Forkan, C. (2008). ’Building the Perceived Social Support of Adolescents Via The Classroom’, In: LEARN (Irish Learning Support Association)

Forkan, C. (2006) ’Traveller Children and Education: Progress and Problems’, In: Youth Studies Ireland Vol. 1 No.1

Research Reports

Forkan, C., Canavan, J., Dolan, P., Bradley, C., Brady, B., Carty, C., Coen, L., Devaney, C., Kearns, N., Kenny, A., Merriman, B. and O’Regan, C. (2010) Youth Cafés in Ireland - A Best Practice Guide. Dublin: Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Forkan, C., Canavan, J., Devaney, C. and Dolan, P. (2010). Youth Café Toolkit - How to set-up and Run a Youth Café in Ireland. Dublin: Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Forkan, C. (2009). An Evaluation of the Educational Action Research Project (EAR), Athlone. Galway: Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway, in association with ACT, Athlone.

Forkan, C. (2008). An Evaluation of the Sligo Springboard Resource House Project: Galway: Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway, in association with the HSE (North West)

Conference Papers

Forkan, C. (2010) ’Building evidence on how to support adolescent development through longitudinal social support monitoring’. Presented at the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA), Vilnius, 12th-15th May 2010

Forkan, C. (2010) ’Youth Cafés in Ireland – A Best Practice Guide and Toolkit’. Presentation delivered as part of official launch of research commissioned by the OMCYA on Youth Cafés in Ireland. Dublin City Library Archive, Pearse St. 12th April 2010

Forkan, C. (2009) ’Tracking Social Support Outcomes as a means of Generating Evidence-Based Practice in Youth and Family Support Work’. Paper presented at the ISSP Conference, NUI Galway 1st-2nd December 2009

Forkan, C. (2009) ’A Best Practice Guide for Youth Cafés in Ireland’. Paper presented at a Youth Café Conference, Organised by Limerick Youth Service 15th December, 2009 – Thomand Park, Limerick.

Forkan, C. (2008) ’Tracking Mechanisms, Early School Leavers and Post-Primary Education’ (May 2008 - Paper presented at the Sociological Association of Ireland – Annual Conference, NUI Galway.

Supervision of Research

Cormac has supervised the following research students between 2007-2010:

Donohue, M. (2007) An Examination of ways Young People can contribute their views and opinions in services that are relevant to them. Masters Thesis as part of the MA in Family Support, NUI Galway

Costello, G. (2007) Protecting Children. The link between Social Workers and Primary Schools. Masters Thesis as part of the Masters in Social Work, NUIG

Coen, M. (2007) An Examination of a Playgroup in a Direct Provision Accommodation Centre in Galway City. Masters Thesis as part of the MA in Community Development, NUIG

Tuohy, O. (2008) Evaluating Lifestart Group Parenting Programmes: Exploring the potential of using a self-efficacy measurement tool. Masters Thesis as part of the MA in Family Support, NUI Galway

Trayers, M. (2008) Parenting Under Stress. An Exploration of the Factors Affecting Travellers Capacity to Parent. Masters Thesis as part of the Masters in Social Work, NUIG.

Doherty, S. (2009) Family Support Meetings – An Exploratory Study of Parent’s and Social Worker’s Experience. Masters Thesis as part of the MA in Family Support, NUI Galway

Rooney, P. (2009) The Invisible Men. An Exploratory Study of Social Exclusion and its Impacts on Mental Health for Men in North Leitrim. Masters Thesis as part of the Masters in Social Work, NUIG.

Reilly, S. (2009) Can Social Support Facilitate the Integration process? An Exploratory Study of the Social Support and Integration Experiences of Migrant Workers in Galway City. Masters Thesis as part of the MA in Community Development, NUIG

Conway, P. (2010) A Place for Everyone. Community Participation in a Family Resource Centre. Masters Thesis as part of the MA in Community Development, NUIG

Sheeran, H. (2010) Exploring the Role of Social Workers in Primary Care Health Promotion. Masters Thesis as part of the Masters in Social Work, NUIG.

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