The Department of Education in NUI Maynooth is pleased to publish the first of a series of publications that commemorates the work of our colleagues and our graduates. The series was conceived as a way to mark the contributions of two members of the department on the occasion of their retirement. This publication marks the work of Dr. Gerry Jeffers. Colleagues and graduates were invited to contribute a short essay on a topic that related to the overall theme of the publication, a theme chosen to reflect the multifaceted work that Gerry has engaged with over the course of his career in education, not just in our department but in the education system as a whole. This collection allows others to dip into this world and to experience it through the writings of practitioners in the field of education.