ProfessorValerie Harwood

Project Opportunities

Title: Community-led research

Summary of opportunity:

Connecting community and research We invite communities to articulate questions they would like investigated and stipulate how research should be conducted in ways that are of most benefit to them and do not inflict harm.

Opportunity synopsis:

We aim to work with people from local communities and carry out research collectively. Communities can then make claims on outcomes that are of benefit to them. Our approach reflects a growing recognition of the importance of codesign and service-user involvement in social, health and education policy and programs at the global, national and local level. We deploy and develop collaborative interdisciplinary research processes to address pressing and complex problems that mark modernity on a scale not previously encountered. Our aim is to transform traditional research through reorienting decision-making about what, how and where knowledge-building occurs. Home to academics and researchers from the University of Sydney, we welcome researchers in all disciplines from Australia and around the world. We are setting out to provide alternatives to top-down research processes, and to share the work produced through community-led approaches.

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Project Opportunities

Title: Sociology and Anthropology of Education

Summary of opportunity:

Valerie Harwood is a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology of Education. Valerie’s research is centred on a social and cultural analysis of participation in educational futures. This work involves learning about collaborative approaches and in-depth fieldwork on educational justice with young people, families and communities.

---------------Current Research Projects----------

Sparking Imagination Education: Transforming inequality in schools.

Prof Valerie Harwood, Prof Bronwyn Fredericks, A/Prof Cathie Burgess, A/Prof Katrina Thorpe, Dr Anthony McKnight, Dr Sam McMahon. Partners: AIME and Social Ventures Australia

Funded by ARC Linkage projects (LP200200755)

Navigating the Carceral Interface

This project acknowledges the overrepresentation of young Indigenous people in child protection and incarceration rates. It aims to address the gap in knowledge of how young Indigenous people experience the carceral system and document how Indigenous community organisations support and provide vital contributions to building safer more supportive communities, which is one of the targets of the Closing the Gap policy framework. This project will develop a theoretical model of a trauma- and culturally-informed response to improving experiences of young Indigenous people between the ages of 10–24 who come into contact with the carceral system, transferring the knowledge gained from the research back to Indigenous communities.

A/Prof Marlene Longbottom (DAATSIA),Prof Kathleen Clapham,Prof Bronwyn Fredericks,Dr Amanda Porter,Prof Valerie Harwood,Prof Janya McCalman,Prof Rebecca Ivers

A place-based model for Aboriginal community-led solutions.

This project aims to investigate the unique approaches used by Aboriginal community-controlled organisations to enable community ownership of holistic health and social programs in complex community settings. Focusing on a close analysis of regional south eastern NSW, the project will produce a robust theorisation of a place-based model for Aboriginal community-led solutions to health and social issues. This project will include mechanisms for the transfer and sharing of learnings to other locations, and the early engagement of key stakeholder groups to ensure the benefits from the project are accessible and widely disseminated. The project will also provide training and employment opportunities for Aboriginal people.

Prof Kathleen Clapham, Prof Dawn Bessarab, Prof Bronwyn Fredericks, Prof Kate Senior, Prof Valerie Harwood, Prof Helen Hasan, Prof Peter Kelly, A/Prof Marlene Longbottom

Funded by ARC Discovery Indigenous(IN190100026 )