Social work researchers praised for international collaboration

A three-year transnational collaboration involving three Charles Sturt University researchers was recognised with an award from the Australian and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research (ANZSWWER) organisation last year. Doctors Nicola Ivory and Monica Short, along with research officer Emma Pascoe, received the award in acknowledgment of three published, student-led, rural-focused cooperative inquiry research projects. These projects investigated: (i) experiences of social work students undertaking a remote research-based placement during a pandemic, (ii) the perspectives of Australian and Irish social work on the impact of rural disadvantage on accessing services, and (iii) social work educational competency in disaster management.

As part of this collaboration, a total of 17 students from Australia and Ireland were able to lead their own social work research using the cooperative inquiry research method, with full support from academic staff. The students connected through the International Network of Co-operative Inquirers (INCInq), which is led by Dr Short and includes all three researchers as members. The collaborators also presented at an international conference and published their experiences.