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Dr Margot Rawsthorne

PhD(Sydney)

Convenor Social Work & Policy Studies

Senior Lecturer, Community Development

Faculty Coordinator, Postgraduate Coursework

Convenor, Master of Policy Studies

Email:

Phone: +61 2 9351  6341

Fax: +61 2 9351 3783

Building.Room: A35.730

Research interests

Social structures, inequalities and social justice

  • Social change

Social work and social policy

  • Counselling, welfare and community services
  • Social policy

Professional biography

Dr. Margot Rawsthorne lectures in Community Development at the University of Sydney. She worked for 15 years in south western Sydney in non-government agencies. Her research focuses on the experience of inequality, particularly shaped by gender, location and sexuality. Margot's current research projects focus on lesbian parents, rural young people, Aboriginal women and culturally diverse young women.

She has a strong commitment to supporting the developing research capacity of the non-government sector. Over recent years she has collaborated on a number of small research projects with agencies such as Liverpool Women's Health Centre, Joan Harrisons Support Services for Women, the Welfare Rights Centre and the P&C Federation of NSW. This research collaboration aims to ensure the relevance and usefulness of academic research and scholarship.

 


Awards

  • Faculty of Education and Social Work Teaching Excellence Award 2003


Professional and community roles

  • Member, Glebe Community Development Project steering committee

  • Co-founder, NSW Community Development Network, a branch of the International Association of Community Development


Current projects

  • Longitudinal study of rural young people's health and wellbeing (jointly with Rural Health units).
  • Evaluation and development of Glebe Community Development project.
  • Research into the experiences of people facing prosecution for alleged social security fraud in collaboration with the Welfare Rights Centre

Current research students

Project title Degree Research student
An analysis of psychiatric trauma theory relating to adolescent girls who have experienced abuse. PhD Emma Tseris
The clinical quality of counselling and psychotherapy services available to adult survivors of child sexual abuse in NSW:survivors’ personal experience of the quality of therapeutic treatment and the therapeutic relationship provided by clinicians in public and private practice and clinicians’ perceptions of their own expertise. DSW Rose Vala

Selected publications

Books

  • Rawsthorne, M. & Howard, A. (2011). Working with communities: Critical perspectives. Champaign, Illinois.: Common Ground Publishing.

Book chapters

  • Rawsthorne, M. (2011). Parental participation in schools. In Bottrell, D. & Goodwin, S. (Ed.), Schools, communities and social inclusion (pp. 158–172), South Yarra: Palgrave Mcmillan.
  • Laing, L. & Rawsthorne, M. (2011). Research skills for practitioners. In O'Hara, A. & Pockett, R. (Ed.), Skills for Human Service Practice. Working with individuals, groups and communities. 2nd edition. (2nd ed., pp. 326–338), Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2010). Mother Impossible: The experience of lesbian parents . In Goodwin, S. & Huppatz, K. (eds.) (Ed.), The Good Mother (pp. 195–213), Sydney: University of Sydney Press.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2008). Violence against women in rural settings . In Barbara Fawcett and Fran Waugh (Eds.), Addressing Violence, Abuse and Oppression: Debates and Challenges (Vol. 1, pp. 93–105), New York London: Routledge.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2008). Beyond the Sandstone: research partnerships between the community welfare sector and universities. In Bottrell D and Meagher G (Eds.), Communities and change: selected papers (Vol. 1, pp. 285–302), Sydney: Sydney University Press.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2006). Unemployment at 29-year low: Why unemployment still matters. In Serr K (Ed.), Thinking about Poverty (Vol. 1, pp. 92–106), Sydney: The Federation Press.

Journal articles

  • Rawsthorne, M. (2012). How long in the wilderness? Australian lesbian parents and social policy reform . Critical Social Policy. DOI:10.1177/0261018312457857.
  • Cooper Robbins, S., Rawsthorne, M., Paxton, K., Hawke, C., Skinner, R. and Steinbeck, K. (2012). 'You can help people': Adolescents' views on engaging young people in longitudinal research. Journal of research on adolescence, 22(1), 8–13. DOI:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00759.x
  • Rawsthorne, M. & Costello, M. (2010). Cleaning the sink: Exploring the experiences of Australian lesbian parents reconciling work/family responsibilities. Community, Work & Family , 13(2), 19–24.
  • Rawsthorne, M. and Hoffman, S. (2010). Supporting safe and healthy relationship choices: A peer education approach. Women Against Violence, (22), 28–40.
  • Rawsthorne, M., Hoffman, S. & Kilpatrick, E. (2010). Women Educating Each Other... Women in Safe and Equal Relationships. Women in Welfare Education, 9, 13–27.
  • Rawsthorne, M., Hillman, W. & Healy, K. (2009). Families on the fringe: mental health implications of the movement of young families to non-metropolitan areas. Rural Society Journal, 19(4), 306–317.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2009). Same-sex couples in the 2006 Census: Countering symbolic exclusion. Advances in Social Work & Welfare Education, 11(1), 71–88.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2009). Just like other parents? Supporting lesbian-parented families . Australian Social Work, 62(1), 45–60.
  • Rawsthorne, M, Shaver, S. (2008). Government/non-government relations: the impact of contractual reporting and accountability requirements on non-government organisations under previous arrangements in the Family and Community Services portfolio. Australian Social Policy Journal, 7, 141–155.
  • Rawsthorne, M, Vinson, T. (2007). 'The Most Liveable Place in Australia': The role of social indicators in realising the vision. New Community Quarterly, 5(4), 3–10.
  • De Pree-Raghavan, A, Rawsthorne, M. (2007). Putting community development at the centre: 'teaching' community development in a social work program. New Community Quarterly, 5(2), 32–36.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2006). Instability among low income families. Just Policy, 40, 25–33.
  • Rawsthorne, M. (2005). Community development activities in the context of contracting. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 40(2), 227–240.

Conference papers

  • Rawsthorne, M. (2009). Creating inclusive rural communities: Grass roots perspectives on the opportunities and challenges . In Australian Social Policy Conference 2009 An Inclusive Society? Practicalities and Possibilities . University of NSW, 8-10 July 2009.
  • Rawsthorne, M, Christian, F. (2005). Government/community sector compacts: real engagement?. In D. Gardiner and K. Scott (pp. 1–20). Queensland, 14-17 Aug 2005.

Other

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