Robin Harvey

Profile

Robin Harvey, B. Social Sciences in Social Work, RMIT; M. Social Work (Hons.) CSU.

Robin is currently a lecturer in the online Master of Gerontology program at Charles Sturt University, based on Albury campus. She has taught gerontology to multidisciplinary cohorts of students from nursing, allied health, human and community services and medical professions since 2005 and was also Gerontology Course Coordinator from 2007 – 2013 and Gerontology Course Director 2015 –  June, 2017. Robin’s Master of Social Work (Hons.) thesis explored gerontology education in the local and Australian contexts.

Robin trained as a social worker at RMIT, graduating in 1978, and gained extensive experience in various fields of practice before focussing on work with older people since 1998. In that year, she joined the Older Person’s Mental Health service in North East Victoria and worked with them in clinical and mental health promotion roles until 2006.

Her academic career began with sessional lecturing and tutorial roles with La Trobe University in Wodonga in the social work and gerontology courses from the 1990’s through to 2004 before joining Charles Sturt University as lecturer in 2005 and Course Coordinator/ Lecturer in 2007.

Teaching

Robin teaches in the following areas:

• Ageing and Professional Practice (at undergraduate and postgraduate levels)
• Social determinants of health and ageing
• Ageing and mental health issues
• Contemporary Issues in Gerontology
• Ageing and social policy

Research

Robin's research interests are in the following areas:

• Gerontology teaching and curriculum development for health practice
• Academic teaching as professional practice
• Mental health promotion in ageing
• Climate change and health in ageing
• Education for sustainability in health practice

Recent Research

2017: Better Parks for People Project, Dr Rosemary Black, Institute for Land, Water and Society, CSU; Dr Rachel Whitsed, Institute for Land, Water and Society, CSU; Dr. Alexandra Knight, School of Environmental Sciences, CSU; Robin Harvey, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, CSU.

Memberships

Vice President, Australian Association of Gerontology, Victorian Division

Founding co-convenor of the national Ageing, Workforce and Education Special Interest Group (AWESIG) of the AAG.

Publications

Masterman-Smith, H., Sheahan, M., Dunphy, J. and Harvey, R. 2010 Health Education for Sustainability: A Higher Education Curriculum Handbook, Charles Sturt University, Albury, December.

Harvey, R. and Masterman-Smith, H. 2013 The under-development of gerontology education in Australia. In Annual Conference of the Australian Sociological Association: Reflections, Intersections and Aspirations, 50 years of Australian Sociology. Monash University, Caulfield, 25-28 November.

Harvey, R. (2014). The Coming of age: An academic’s autoethnographic examination of gerontology education. Academic Thesis for fulfilment of Master of Social Work (Hons.) 2014.