Dr Hyacinth Udah ~ Lecturer, Teaching Specialist

Hyacinth Udah is a Lecturer in Social Work and Human Services, and currently works in the College of Arts, Society and Education at James Cook University (JCU), Bebegu Yumba Campus in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Before moving into the academia, Hyacinth worked as a teacher, editor, counsellor, social worker, and student’s success coach. He moved to Australia for further education and earned his Ph.D. in Sociology and Welfare from Griffith University. He has also a Master of Social Work degree from the Australian Catholic University, plus a Bachelor of Theology, 1st Class (Pontifical Urban University Rome), and Bachelor of Philosophy, 1st Class (Imo State University).

His teaching ethos is to support students to become lifelong evidenced based learners, problem solvers and outstanding practitioners. While teaching is a passion for him, he is also a community change agent, and an active researcher. His research projects are embedded in the interdisciplinary, overlapping, core research areas of critical social work, migration, critical race and whiteness, mental health, and wellbeing, focusing on equity and social justice for enabling transformative social change.

Since his doctoral research, he has been working predominantly on a long-term agenda for building practice-based evidence for interventions that improve wellbeing and integration of individuals, children, and families, including migrants, and refugees from culturally and linguistically diverse populations to reach their potential. He has expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods. 

Hyacinth is committed to social justice, inclusion, and human rights, which are the principles that inform and guide his teaching and research scholarship. He has a social justice heart for all and works towards attaining social justice and human rights for individuals, families, and communities in a local and global context. 

His latest research project titled “COVID-19 and mental well-being of international students in North Queensland” is examining the experience of life and learning, as well as mental wellbeing and coping strategies of international students in North Queensland during COVID 19 crisis. The findings will help formulate recommendations on how international students can be supported in crisis situations and improve their wellbeing, life, and retention in the tropics.

Teaching

• WS2510: Interpersonal Practice (Level 2; TSV)
• WS2512: Organisational Practice (Level 2; TSV)
• WS3027: Social Welfare Practice with Children and Families (Level 3; TSV)
• WS5005: Social Policy Analysis (Level 5; TSV)
• WS5103: Community Development (Level 5; TSV)

Interests

Research

• Critical social work
• Migration and social work
• Whiteness, critical race, and ethnicity
• Migrant and refugee settlement and integration
• Health, mental health, and wellbeing of minorities
• Indigenous studies and community development
• Coloniality, decoloniality, and transformation

Teaching

• Equity, social justice, and social change
• Human rights, and advocacy
• Social policy, and welfare
• Strengths-based and anti-oppressive practice
• Multicultural and inclusive practice
• Whiteness, critical race theory, and ethnicity
• History and community development
• Organisational practice
• Decoloniality, post coloniality, anti-colonial practice
• Research methodology and methods

Research Disciplines

• Social Work (1607)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Community Service (9401)
• Public Health (9204)
• Education and Training Systems (9305)

Awards

• 2016 - International Sociological Association Scholarship Fund

Memberships

• 2016 - International Sociological Association
• 2012 - Australian Association of Social Workers

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU.

Journal Articles

• Francis A and Udah H (2020) Coronavirus and Ruby Princess crew in Australia: a call for increased macro level social work. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 14 (6), pp. 166-181.
• Gimba S, Harris P, Saito A, Udah H, Martin A and Wheeler A (2020) The modules of mental health programs implemented in schools in low- and middle-income countries: findings from a systematic literature review. BMC Public Health, 20, Article: 1581, DOI:10.1186/s12889-020-09713-2.
• Udah H (in press) Negotiating the challenges of everyday life: the African immigrant experience in Queensland, Australia. African Identities, , DOI:10.1080/14725843.2020.1792272.