A/Prof Susan Gair - Research Portfolio

JCU > Research Portfolio > A/Prof Susan Gair

About

Core research interests of Adjunct Associate Professor Susan Gair are informed by a commitment to social justice, reconciliation, and improved social policy and social work practice. Her teaching and research interests are concerned with preparing the Australian social work workforce to meet real world challenges through practice inclusive of Indigenous knowledges and ways of working, critical reflection, integrity, respect, critical empathy and practice and research-based evidence. Research interests include child adoption policy and practice, exploring racism, and culturally-inclusive practice. Recent industry partnerships have explored optimising grandparents' contact with grandchildren after child protection concerns and intervention, and groundbreaking research on the impact of inadequate income on students' study success, in partnership with the Australian Association of Social Workers -AASW.

A/Prof Gair's leadership in her field is demonstrated with her research findings and publications informing national social policy. For example, Susan's research findings on student poverty informed national submissions by the AASW and St Vincent de Paul Society National Council to the Commonwealth Government highlighting the inadequate rate of Youth Allowance (2018) and submissions to the 2019 Senate Inquiry into the Newstart Allowance. She was called as an expert witness to the Commonwealth Inquiry into past forced adoptions, and regularly has been asked to give media comment in her areas of expertise.

A/Prof Gair presented research findings on student poverty to the European Social Work Research conference in Denmark in April, 2017. Findings from the poverty study also were presented (invited speaker) to ANZSWWER conference in Auckland. Findings from the 'Grandparents Matter' study were presented in Auckland, and at the ACWA conference, Sydney in 2018. A/Prof Gair recently discussed the Grand Challenges for Social Work with colleagues at the University of Washington and University of Southern California, USA (Aug, 2019). Her interests in creative research methods culminated in 'Sharing Qualitative Research: Showing Lived Experience and Community Narratives' published by Routledge. Her recent 2021 co-authored book (Palgrave) explores neoliberalism in higher education.

A/Prof Gair's other professional communications and engagements have included:

writing for 'The Conversation' where her articles have attracted over 60,000 readers.
facilitating writing groups for social work practitioners incl. Queensland Health.
facilitating women's writing groups in Nth Qld resulting in publications with Black Ink Press.
Member of Editorial Boards and Reviewer for national and international Journals.

Interests

Professional

EDITOR - Australian Social Work journal- current
Recent Management Committee member incl. Family Inclusion Network Townsville and Althea Projects.
Australian Association of Social Workers- National Accreditation Panels -Chair and member
Recent- Research Fellow with The Cairns Institute

Research

Optimising grandparents’ contact with grandchildren after child protection intervention to uphold important kin relationships. Findings published widely, and presented at national and international conferences
Exploring social work student poverty and its impact on study success. Findings presented to the 2017 European Social Work Research conference, Aalborg, Denmark.
Barriers to Indigenous students completing a social work degree including students' experiences on field placement- including racism. Findings published and presented.
Social work students’ engagement and reasoning on racism, empathy and activism. Findings presented at international forums including Anti-racism conference - University of Edinburgh; and Invited keynote address at Tel Hai College, Israel.
Consultancy: Effects of inter-country adoption on adoptees and future directions- commissioned by Australian Government Department of Social Services

Experience

2016 to 2021 - Research Fellow, The Cairns Institute
2014 to 2021 - Associate Professor, James Cook University (Townsville)
2015 - Research Consultant Contract, Dept. Social Services
2003 to 2013 - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
2012 - Research Consultant, Kith and Kin- Evaluation Artworks program (Townsville)
1997 to 2002 - Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
2001 - Research Consultant, Centrelink Evaluation- Young Parents Program (Townsville)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Honours

Awards

2005 - Denis Freney Scholarship- Women Writing Stories For Healing
2005 - Mercy Foundation Social Justice Award- For Advancing Social Justice for Indigenous People Through Education
2017 - JCU Learning and Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching that Embodies the Spirit of Reconciliation and Working in Partnership
2016 - Vice Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Leadership (Team Award)
2016 - Editorial Services Award-Journal of Australian and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research
2016 - Vice Chancellor's Award for Leadership in Reconciliation (Team Award)
2015 - Advisor of the Year Award, Advisory Panel Category (with A/Prof Debra Miles)

Memberships

1990 - Australian Association of Social Work

Other

2012 - Editorial Board member: Children Australia; Australian Social Work; Aotearoa New Zealand Journal of Social Work.
2000 - Reviewer for key national and international social work/social science journals incl: British Journal of Social Work; Australian Social Work; Qualitative Health Research; Social Work Education; Journal of Family Violence

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Gair S, Zuchowski I, Jebichi D, O'Reilly S, Rauwerda R and Savoru N (in press) At-risk youth peer researchers highlight safety and “the bonds you make with staff and peers”. Australian Social Work,
Savuro N, Gair S, Braidwood L, d'Emden C, O'Reilly S, Walsh E and Zuchowski I (2022) Using photography to voice young people's views about community and local service delivery. Australian Social Work, 75 (3). pp. 331-343
Gair S, Zuchowski I and Beddoe L (2021) Open access publishing: a key enabler to research impact, informed practice and social justice. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 22 (2). pp. 25-38
Savuro N, Gair S, Braidwood L, D'Emden C, O'Reilly S, Walsh E and Zuchowski I (2021) Using Photography to Capture Young People’s Views About Community and Local Service Delivery. Australian Social Work, 75 (3). pp. 331-343
Zuchowski I, Braidwood L, d'Emden C, Gair S, Heyeres M, Nicholls L, Savuro N and O'Reilly S (2021) The voices of “at risk” young people about services they received: a systematic literature review. Australian Social Work, 75 (1). pp. 76-95
Bennett K, Booth A, Gair S, Kibet R and Thorpe R (2020) Poverty is the problem – not parents: so tell me, child protection worker, how can you help? Children Australia, 45 (4). pp. 207-214
Savage D and Gair S (2020) Confronting the past so we do not disempower families in the present: reflections on use of a digitised case study. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 22 (1). pp. 23-33
Zuchowski I and Gair S (2020) Cultivating practice-based research: confidence, capacity and capabilities in the non-statutory child protection sector. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 22 (1).
Baglow L and Gair S (2019) Mature-aged social work students: challenges, study realities, and experiences of poverty. Australian Social Work, 72 (1). pp. 91-104
Baglow L and Gair S (2019) Australian social work students: balancing tertiary studies, paid work and poverty. Journal of Social Work, 19 (2). pp. 276-295
Gair S and Zuchowski I (2019) Grandparent carers, child protection practice, and the best interests of children: a case study. Australian Social Work, 72 (3). pp. 299-311

Books

Gair S, Hager T and Herzog O (2021) Compliance and Resistance Within Neoliberal Academia: biographical stories, collective voices. Palgrave Pivot, Switzerland

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 84+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Susan Gair from 2000 onwards.

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Completed

Beyond Teenage Motherhood: Navigating Life Stages and Issues of Identity into Adulthood (2023, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
Once there was a time when?: Re-imagining regional women?s lives using historical fiction, family stories and artefacts. (2021, PhD , Advisor Mentor)
Exploring the introduction of mandatory accreditation: the lived experiences of Australian early childhood workers (2021, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Exploring social work practice responses to domestic violence against women (2022, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Data

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.