Dr Karen Holl, Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Social Policy, is committed to driving ethical and effective social work practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
Dr Holl’s PhD examined the socio-political factors that impact social work practice with Aboriginal Australians.
“I am interested in contemporary social work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and how practice might be navigated more effectively by non-Aboriginal social workers,” she says. “This is particularly important, given Australia’s history of invasion and colonisation, and the social work profession’s involvement in child removal.”
As part of her research, Dr Holl spoke to Aboriginal Australians about how non-Aboriginal social workers are navigating these challenges.
Participants highlighted several concerns, including a limited understanding among social workers of the continuing impacts of colonisation and child removal; the persistence of racist attitudes; and inconsistent demonstration of culturally safe practice.
“The findings are significant for both the profession and non-Aboriginal social workers. This research also points to the need to embed Indigenous history and knowledges in social work curricula, to teach students how to engage differently with Aboriginal Australians.”
To address this need, Dr Holl in now working with a group of Aboriginal workers on the development of a new subject for Master of Social Work students.
Anita Mobourne, one member of the group, is involved in the design and delivery of the new subject, which has a focus on ethical and effective social work practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
“Culture is a big space and learning about it can be scary for some people,” Anita says.
“Through this subject, we want to build student’s confidence and awareness of Aboriginal history and culture. We hope to increase their understanding of what colonisation has done and how has it impacted Aboriginal people, and give students an awareness of how they, as future social workers, sit in this space.”
“This is what reconciliation looks like. Education helps close the gap and helps us heal together as a nation.”
The goal, Dr Holl adds, is to make a meaningful difference to the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
“That's what it's all about, really. We want to positively influence social work students to support families better to achieve better outcomes.”
“We hope that, through this subject, we can support emerging social workers to practice with a greater understanding of history and on-going contemporary impacts and be better equipped to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in an ethical way.”
