Experiences of PhD candidates and early- to mid-career researchers/academics; (Physical Education) Teacher Education; Instructional alignment; Curriculum and Assessment; Curriculum and Instructional Models; Self-study; Young people and physical education / sport; Ethnography

Current research postgraduate supervision: 5 PhD and 1 Research Masters Research postgraduate supervision to completion: 20 PhD and 6 Research Masters

Ann MacPhail is the Associate Vice President Doctoral College at the University of Limerick. Ann joined the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences in September 2002 and was the Head of the Department from August 2012 to August 2017. Ann was Assistant Dean Research for the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences from September 2019 to January 2023.

Prior to joining the department, Ann was a Research Associate at Loughborough University for three years. She has a B.Ed (First Class Honours) Physical Education Degree from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh and a Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow. 

Ann received the Association of Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP) Lifetime Achievement Fellowship Award in March 2015 which recognizes scholarly excellence in research and professional practice in physical education, physical activity and sport pedagogy across the lifespan.

She was invited to deliver the Scholar Lecture British Education Research Association (BERA) Physical Education Sport Pedagogy (PESP) Special Interest Group, September 2016 in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy research community.

Ann was inducted into the International Fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology in October 2020 for her continuing and outstanding contributions to the field of kinesiology and demonstrated competence in Kinesiology. 

Ann is the inaugural Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy for Sustainable Development at UL from March 2024. This is an internationally highly regarded achievement that comes with a significant level of prestige. International and multi-organisations partners include University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), University of Johannesburg (South Africa), University of Campinas (Brazil) and UNESCO Chair in Childhood and Youth Well-Being, Education and Society (Chile). An objective of the Chairholder is to establish an international and sustainable network across academia, civil society, local communities, practitioners and policymakers that builds stakeholder capacity in physical education and sport pedagogy for sustainable development.

Ann was awarded a Honorary Doctorate at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden in May 2024 in recognition of her status as one of the internationally leading researchers in sports pedagogy and sports didactic research having made significant contributions to the physical education of children and youth through both research and educational efforts.

Ann is Associate Editor for the journal Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.

Ann has published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, 30 book chapters, 5 books and supervised 20 PhD completions. Further information on her scholarly outputs are available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ann_Macphail

Ann is Co-Director of the Physical Education, Physical Activity and Youth Sport Research Centre (PE-PAYS) Ireland at the University of Limerick.