Next Generation Leadership in Social Work Education: Expression of Interest to Participate in Research Study.
Dear Social Work Academic,
You are invited to participate in a study examining leadership development and sustainability in Social Work education in Australia. This study is funded by the Australian Council of the Heads of Schools of Social Work and is the first study of its kind in Australia. Long-term workforce capacity building and renewal are of increasing importance within Universities in light of an ageing workforce and immanent retirement of a significant proportion of senior academics in the next 5-10 years.
This research seeks to gather data on current leadership support and sustainability, succession planning and leadership development needs in Social Work education across Australia in order to develop a national strategy for ongoing leadership development.
You have been invited to participate in the research as you are employed as an ongoing, contract or casual academic in a Social Work program at an Australian university.
Participation
You can participate in the study in two ways and you are free to participate in either or both activities:
- You can participate in a phone/Skype or face to face interview with a researcher focused on current experiences and context for leaderships support and development. The interview will take between 45 minute and an hour and will be audio recorded.
- You can participate in a series of round table discussions which will be taking place at University campuses around Australia in October and November 2018. Round table discussions will comprise 8-12 academics from a range of Universities and will focus on developing ideas and processes for supporting future leadership in Social Work education. Round table discussions will be audio recorded.
Confidentiality and Consent
This research is being conducted with the approval of the University of Sydney Human Ethics Committee. Any information you contribute will be confidential and only researchers on the project (Associate Professor Amanda Howard, Professor Charlotte Williams and Dr Meaghan Katrak) will have access to research data. All data will be de-identified and reported anonymously. Nothing you say will be reported in a way which can identify you.
Prior to participating in the research, we will provide you with a detailed Participant Information Statement outlining all details regarding participation in the research, and your written consent will be sought.
If you would like to participate in the research or if you would like to discuss the research further, please contact the Chief Investigator, Dr Amanda Howard at amanda.howard@sydney.edu.au or on 0418863723 or Dr Meaghan Katrak at Meaghan.katrak@sydney.edu.au or 0438269879.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Amanda, Charlotte and Meaghan.