Engaging with Social Work: A Critical Introduction

MacFarlane, Selma: - Selma Macfarlane, BSW, Ph.D. has been involved in social work education for over twenty-five years, mainly at Deakin University, Geelong. Originally from northern California, she grew up in a time and place characterised by social activism and alternative world views. Coming to Australia in her early twenties, she studied social work as a mature age student and mother concerned about social inequality and the ways in which people's lives were shaped by wider social structures, systems and discourse. Her Ph.D. dissertation explored people's experiences in a therapeutic community aimed at supporting individuals in their mental health journeys. In the academic world, Selma has developed curricula across BSW and MSW courses, taught and published across diverse subject areas, worked with students and colleagues in research and field education programs and continued to learn and think about the meaning and practice of critical social work.