Social Work Education and Professional Development

The social work and professional development research stream explores innovative teaching and field placement practices and the shaping of professional identity within education and qualified practice through ongoing professional development. With a strong focus on inclusive pedagogy and responsiveness to contemporary workforce challenges in social work and human services, our research offers a vibrant space for reimagining how social work students and practitioners are educated, supported, and prepared for impactful practice across their careers.

Scholarly Activities

Bernadette hosts The Social Work Café podcast, which is a light-hearted education series fuelled by coffee and conversation. Here are recent episodes with Katrina and Fredrik:

What is Social Work? Katrina Gersbach

What is the Social Work Perspective of Mental Health? Fredrik Velander

Sample of Recent Publications

Duncombe, R., Russ, E., Gersbach, K., Halton, C., Jeffries, P., Whitaker, L., Short, M., Redshaw, S., (2024). Democratizing online social work education: addressing othering. In J. Przeperski & R. Baikady (Eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Social Work Teaching (pp.391 – 412), Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-International-Handbook-of-Social-Work-Teaching/Przeperski-Baikady/p/book/9781032727592

Morris, B., Petrakis, M., Lue, J., Velander, F., Rocca, A., Clark, C., Deacon, E., Smith, F., & Whitaker, L. (2025). Transformative mental health social work practice: What, when, and with whom do we learn? Research on Social Work Practice, 1-9. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315251394279

Prevett, A., Gersbach, K., Clatworthy, D., Dkhar, D., White, T., Short, M., & Rush, E. (2025). In the thick of it: A candid look at the lived experience of online PhDs with publications or creative works. Australian Educational Researcher, 52(3), 2705-2729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-025-00832-6

Short, M., Russ, E., Petrakis, M., Walters, C., Gersbach, K., Lambert, C., Rush, E., Duncombe, R., & Reimer, L. (Eds.) (2026). Co-operative inquiry: Making research inclusive and accessible. Policy Press.

Short, M., Gersbach, K., Rush, E., Velander, F., Clatworthy, D., Xie, G., & Redshaw, S. (2025). Using a kindness approach for defining key terms: A student-led, strengths focused and active-learning online activity. In M. Jarldorn, & C. Hudson (Eds.), Tutorial ideas for educators on the run: Innovative and engaging teaching activities (1st ed., pp. 149-157). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4349-3_17

Social Work Student Research Placements

We supervise social work students undertaking research placements. Here are a selection of recent publications that have emerged from placement activities:

Moorhead, B., Otani, K., Bowles, W., Baginsky, M., Bell, K., Ivory, N., Mackenzie, H., & Savaya, R. (2025). Toward a definition of professional identity for social work: Findings from a scoping review. British Journal of Social Work, 55(2), 877-896. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae197

Moorhead, B., Bell, K., Baginsky, M., Bowles, W., Otani, K., Ivory, N., Mackenzie, H., & Savaya, R. (2026). Mechanisms that impact the experience and sustainability of the professional identity of social workers. European Journal of Social Work: the forum for the social work professional, 29(2), 411-423. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2025.2505230

Robb, L., Moorhead, B., Cox, K., Murphy, O., Tlais, M., & Gersbach, K. (2026). Silence hurts: A scoping review of workplace bullying of social work students on practice placement. Social Work Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2026.2659806

Research Supervision

We supervise and co-publish with honours, masters, graduate certificate research and doctorate students. Here are a selection of recent publications:

Bell, K., Moorhead, B., McNamara, J., & Bowles, W. (2026). Transformative social work and epistemic justice. In E. Lee, A. Greenblatt, & R. Hu (Eds.), Epistemic injustice and resistance in social work: Rethinking social justice in practice, education, and research Routledge.

Jones, K., & Moorhead, B. (2025). A feminist analysis of narratives about adult survivors of child sexual abuse in Australian peer-reviewed literature. International Social Work, 1-15. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728251386051

Okimura, N., & Moorhead, B. (2026). Do you see us, social work: Lived experience of Australian young widows. Australian Social Work, 79(3), 353-365. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2025.2517609