Social change
Societies change over time, so the experiences and relationships of groups and individuals change too. These changes can be studied by the techniques of documentary history or statistical analysis, and by contemporary research methods such as life-history interviewing. In the study of social change in education, how institutions such as schools are created and transformed is a particular focus of research. In the study of change in social work and policy studies fields, how social policies, interventions and movements deliberately and inadvertently affect the distribution of power and resources and the social position of different kinds of people are central, as is understanding the role of individual and collective action to promote or resist change.
Researchers in this area include:
| Dr Rose Amazan | Sessional Lecturer Keywords: African Higher Education, Educational Development, Female Skilled migration/mobility, Knowledge transfer |
| Dr Dorothy Bottrell | Senior Lecturer, Teaching and Learning; Co-ordinator B.Ed (Secondary) Honours; Honorary Senior Lecturer Keywords: resilience, schools and communities, youth work, social justice, juvenile justice, social policy |
| Dr Jon Callow | Lecturer, English Education K–6, undergraduate and graduate-entry programs; Coordinator, BEd(Primary) honours; Program Director, MTeach(Primary) Keywords: visual literacy, literacy, pedagogy, equity, technology |
| Honorary Lecturer Elizabeth Cassity | ARC Research Associate; Lecturer, Comparative and International Education; Honorary Lecturer Keywords: Comparative Education, Education Policy, International Development, Foreign Aid, Equity, Education Contexts |
| Professor Raewyn Connell | University Chair Keywords: world social science, global power structure, corporate masculinities, neocolonialism, teachers |
| Professor Barbara Fawcett | Professor, Social Work and Policy Studies Keywords: postmodern feminisms, mental health, disability, participatory action research |
| Dr Kelly Freebody | Lecturer, Drama, English, Teaching and Learning; Combined Degrees Coordinator Keywords: Social justice, drama, literacy, ethnomethodology, socio-economic status |
| Associate Professor Susan Goodwin | Associate Professor; Associate Dean, Research; Acting Associate Director Doctoral Division |
| Associate Professor Deb Hayes | Associate Professor, School Leadership, Management and School Partnership; Director, Education I-IV Program |
| Professor Jude Irwin | Professor of Social Work and Social Justice, Social Work and Policy Studies |
| Ms Mary Lane | Honorary Senior Lecturer in Social Work Keywords: Social work practice and education, community development and activism, social work and peace, social work and social movements |
| Dr Alex McCormick | Sessional Lecturer and Tutor; Lecturer; Research Assistant; Equity Working Group Coordinator; Postdoctoral Fellow Keywords: Education for All, Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, Global Social Policy, Norm Transfer, Critical Discourse Analysis |
| Dr Ruth Phillips | Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Policy Studies; Associate Director, Division of Doctoral Studies; BSW Honours Coordinator |
| Dr Margot Rawsthorne | Senior Lecturer, Community Development; Faculty Coordinator, Postgraduate Coursework; Convenor, Master of Policy Studies; Convenor Social Work & Policy Studies |
| Dr Ilektra Spandagou | Senior Lecturer, Inclusive Education Keywords: Inclusive education, social policy and social inclusion, disability studies, attitudes towards disability and inclusive education |
| Professor Anthony Welch | Professor of Education Keywords: international higher education, Australian education, comparative and international education, education and social policy, education and equality |
| Dr Arathi Sriprakash | Lecturer, Sociology of Education & International and Comparative Education Keywords: socio-cultural diversity, pro-poor development, policy translations, ethnographic methodologies |