NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2020

Making a Social Difference

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Contents Welcome!

I am extremely pleased to bring you the Summer 2020 issue of our newsletter, but I appreciate that it arrives at a time when we are all living and working in exceptional and

challenging times. To this end, we include an article directly relevant to the COVID-19 outbreak on staying well during periods of social isolation (see page 16). Of course the newsletter continues to highlight the notable activities and innovation involving staff and students over recent months in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University.Our aim of making a social difference is at the core of all our teaching, research and engagement with professionals and policy makers, both nationally and internationally. We aim to connect the Northern Ireland community with world leading experts and to share with the global audience the recognised excellence in Northern Ireland schools and agencies. In this issue I am particularly delighted to report that our collaboration with schools through the Shared Education programme has received royal recognition for its educational and social impact (see page 3).I hope you and your colleagues find something of interest in our newsletter. If you want to know more about any of our activities, please do get in touch. You can see more details on our courses and research at www.qub.ac.uk/ssesw. Most importantly, stay safe and well!

Professor Carl Bagley PhD FRSA Head of School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work

Royal Recognition for Shared Education Work....... 3

Student Profile - John Kenny .........................................4

Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders ......... 5

Lanzhou University Acadmics attend Leadership Course ................................................................................... 6

Barriers to Justice for Deaf People ..............................7

ARK 20th Anniversary ..................................................... 8

Staff Profile - Gemma Carney ...................................... 9

World Leading Expertise in Trauma ........................... 10

COVID-19 Handbook for Social Work Students Entering the Workforce ..................................................11

Immersive Technologies and Digital Health ............12

Empowering People with Mental Health Problems Through Physical Activity .............................................13

Five Nations Conference .............................................. 14

Building Disability Research Partnerships in Cambodia ........................................................................... 14

New Staff .............................................................................15

S.T.A.Y.W.E.L.L: Our Expert Guide to Wellbeing During Lockdown ...........................................................16

Staff Profile - Joe Duffy ...............................................18

Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma Presentation .......................................................................19

Study at the School ........................................................ 20

Visiting Scholars ................................................................21

Support for Abuse Victims with a Learning Disability ..............................................................................22

Connecting Local and Global Expertise ..................23

The production team for this issue of the newsletter was:

• Barbara Lynagh• Angela McMenamy

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Royal Recognition for Shared Education Work

The work of our Shared Education colleagues over more than a decade was recognised by a Queen’s Anniversary Prize, a national honours system marking outstanding achievement by universities. Professors Joanne Hughes and Tony Gallagher attended a presentation event at Buckingham Palace in February, with Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Greer (second right) and Pro-Chancellor Stephen Prenter (left).

Shared Education provides economic, social and educational benefits to children, schools and society through cross-denominational school collaboration. In 2007, Tony Gallagher established a pilot Shared Education programme with 12 schools working in collaborative networks. The programme now includes 700 schools and over 60,000 pupils in regular, shared classes with schools from different denominations.

Through its model of cross-sectoral school collaboration, using a strong academic research base, Shared Education is now core to education policy and practice in Northern Ireland and has been adopted by educators

and policymakers in other divided cities and countries like Jerusalem, Beirut, Los Angeles, Kosovo and North Macedonia.

Director of our internationally recognised Centre for Shared Education, Joanne Hughes, commented: ‘The Centre was established in 2012 to promote shared education as a mechanism for delivering reconciliation and educational benefits to all children. This mission is delivered through research, programme delivery and education and training. Its impact is being felt not only in Northern Ireland but across the world.’

Tony Gallagher said: ‘The School of SSESW has always maintained strong and positive relations with schools in Northern Ireland and these links provided the platform to develop Shared Education. This award is a tribute to the many hundreds of teachers and thousands of pupils who have helped make Shared Education work.’

For more information about Shared Education see www.qub.ac.uk/cse

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John Kenny is a student on our Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Science course, specializing in Biology.

I’m from Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland. I taught Maths and Science in Bolivia for three years before coming home in 2018 to get a teaching qualification. Through Irish medium, I taught in a primary school until June 2019 and then taught at an English as a Second Language Summer School in Dublin. I am the first of my family to go to Queen’s University.

Choosing the PGCE at Queen’s made sense. I would have been charged international fees in the Republic of Ireland, compared to standard fees at Queen’s. Timewise, it’s a one-year course in Queen’s but two years in the Republic. Rent and cost-of-living are very manageable in Belfast. Also, I was genuinely interested in experiencing a new city. Finances might have been a key reason for coming to Belfast but it’s only part of what’s keeping me so engaged.

The PGCE course is very well coordinated

and is constantly tweaked to improve our learner experience, based on feedback from previous students. The science department is a welcoming, supportive home providing practical, real world teaching content. I’ve found the course to be demanding, yet engaging. Lectures are relevant and helpful, with good supplemental reading lists.

The library is a fantastic environment – so well laid out and spacious, with very helpful staff. Students are afforded their own common room and kitchen in the School of SSESW and can use several great catering outlets across the campus. The gym is excellent – very modern and well kitted out. You walk through the park to get to it, past the botanical garden greenhouses and museum (which are free), so it makes for a lovely stroll between classes.

I’m loving the student experience at Queen’s. While learning a lot on my first school placement, I still found myself looking forward to rejoining lectures at university. The contact time with academics is in that sweet spot – not so much time that we feel stuck in class but not so much time on teaching placement on our own that we feel stranded and isolated. I’m lucky to have made a solid group of pals. The Students’ Union have helped me, from setting up a bank account, to getting a student card, to information services. The student bar does tasty, cheap meals. You can sign up to the free National Health Service. And that’s just scratching the surface of what’s on offer.

After graduation, the plan is to look for teaching posts in international locations or perhaps teach in Dublin. My partner is doing the equivalent course there. It’s been interesting to compare notes!

Student Profile - John Kenny

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Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders

The School of SSESW has introduced a new programme looking at Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders, offered at Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and Master’s levels.

It aims to enable professionals who are working in substance use, mental health and related fields to build on their existing knowledge and skills and to use them effectively across a range of sectors. It develops participants’ understanding of the theories informing substance use and how to translate these into effective practice, ultimately enriching the lives of individuals, families and communities.

The Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders programme has a pragmatic focus, enabling practitioners to learn about a range of multi-disciplinary assessment tools, methods of interventions and the necessary skills to work with substance use across numerous settings. Substance use problems permeate work with a range of service user groups, from the more obvious groups, i.e. working with substance

use and mental health, to working with children and families, learning disability offenders and older people. The programme develops practitioner confidence and skills in the complex areas of substance use and substance use disorders and is accredited by the Northern Ireland Professional in Practice Education and Training Partnership. Participants can study flexibly by working around their professional duties.

Dr Anne Campbell, Programme Director, said: ‘The Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders programme provides graduates from a range of social and health care professions with a variety of opportunities to develop their specific areas of learning and skills in practice. Increasingly, our graduates operate within teams which consist of workers from a range of professional backgrounds and there is a need to hone skills and knowledge which are relevant to the multi-disciplinary environment.’

For more information see our Course Finder: www.qub.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-taught/

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Lanzhou University Acadmics attend Leadership Course

Following completion of a short professional development course at Queen’s University, a group of senior academics from Lanzhou University in north western China presented members of Queen’s University staff with a 10 metre calligraphy book. The detailed and unique book was painted live in the beautiful Graduate School building in front of an audience that included School of SSESW colleagues Dr Joe Allen and Dr Aisling O’Boyle (Director of Internationalization). The work was created by one of the Lanzhou

colleagues, renowned artist and academic Professor Jianxin Xu.

The delegation from Lanzhou University were in Belfast in January to attend a two-week programme looking at themes around Educational Leadership and the Internationalization of Higher Education. The programme of study was organized and facilitated by academics from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW).

Through a series of lectures, workshops and group presentations, the programme enhanced the Lanzhou participants’ understanding of educational leadership and the challenges faced in contemporary higher educational institutions with regard to internationalization of their teaching, research and other activities.

During their visit to Queen’s, the delegation from Lanzhou University also engaged with a number of colleagues from across the three University faculties to identify and develop opportunities for future research and teaching collaborations.

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The British Deaf Association (BDA NI) and School of SSESW academic Dr Bronagh Byrne (centre) released a ground-breaking report in December on the barriers Deaf people face when trying to access justice in Northern Ireland. It follows a two year pilot project, managed by BDA NI in collaboration with SSESW and Syracuse University College of Law and Rowan University (both USA), involving interviews with judges, solicitors, barristers, prison officers and police officers.

The research now informs training, provided in conjunction with the project’s Deaf Advisory Group, for over 120 legal professionals and judges across Northern Ireland. This international project was made possible through the Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) programme and the National Lottery Community Fund.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that disabled people have the right to access justice effectively. Bronagh Byrne

Barriers to Justice for Deaf People

from our Disability Research Network said: ‘Our research shows that significant communication barriers remain for Deaf people in trying to access justice. This forces them into positions of vulnerability when rights should be foremost, e.g. reporting serious crime, individual arrest, trial or imprisonment. It is highly concerning that, given the current emphasis on citizenship and civic duty, sign language users are prevented from being full and equal citizens through their exclusion from jury service. This project has created space for discussion across the justice system on these important issues and we will address them through the project recommendations.’

A Deaf Advisory Group member said: ‘Having an input in the co-production of this report ensures it will impact on the lives of Deaf people. I believe it will raise awareness and ultimately lead to better service for all Deaf people in Northern Ireland.’

The report and resources are available at https://bda.org.uk/accesstojustice-bsl/

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ARK 20th Anniversary

This year marks the 20th anniversary of ARK, Northern Ireland’s social policy hub hosted by Queen’s University and Ulster University. At Queen’s, ARK is based in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW). It records the changing social and political landscape in Northern Ireland. ARK aims to increase the accessibility and use of academic data and research, to support critical policy debate and informed policy making. Researchers, policymakers, journalists, community and voluntary groups, pupils and teachers use ARK resources.

SSESW is the base for ARK’s three public attitudes surveys which record what people of all ages think about the issues that affect their lives. The survey data provide independent and robust evidence that feed into key government and local government policies. Survey results are available online, providing a vital resource for schools and NGOs. Other resources include research on ageing and the lifecourse, as well as Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).

A series of activities are marking the 20th anniversary and the impact of ARK. They began with a seminar at Queen’s in February entitled ‘Is the UK Stronger or Weaker after 20 Years of Devolution?’. Professor John Curtice (centre, University of Strathclyde and political commentator) assessed how the constitutional preferences and sense of national identity of people living in England, Scotland and Wales have evolved since devolution began in 1999.

Dr Katy Hayward (third left, SSESW) explored the changing patterns of devolution and identity in Northern Ireland during this time. Katy is a sought-after expert on Brexit, the Irish border and the peace process. Her presentation was based on data from ARK’s Northern Ireland Life and Times survey.

Details of ARK activities and events and videos of previous events are available at www.ark.ac.uk

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Dr Gemma Carney is a social gerontologist and Programme Director of our BA Social Policy. In 2019, she was awarded a Queen’s University Teaching Award in the Student-nominated category. She is a member of the executive committee of the British Society of Gerontology and the editorial board of Ageing & Society.

In hindsight, I owe much of my career trajectory to billionaire philanthropist Chuck Feeney, founder of Atlantic Philanthropies (AP). In 2007, sporting a new PhD in political science from Trinity College Dublin, I was working in Dublin and keen to change the world. Luckily, at that time, Feeney was investing heavily in Ireland, allowing people to forming alliances and work together to improve social policy.

After a serendipitous meeting in Dublin, I was employed by Michael O’Halloran, former Lord Mayor of Dublin, then CEO of the Irish Senior Citizens’ Parliament. I spent a year working at the Parliament with Michael and other impressive retirees such

as Sylvia Meehan (first Chief Executive of the Women’s Equality Agency), but I felt the pull of the library and became a postdoctoral researcher at the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (NUI Galway), again with funding from Feeney. Mentored by Professor Eamon O’Shea, I cut my teeth as a social gerontologist, publishing my first major paper and securing funding from the Irish Research Council.

By 2013, Paula Devine (SSESW) had secured AP funding to run the Ark Ageing Programme. Joining the School of SSESW in 2014 as a Social Policy lecturer and working with the Ark and Social Policy teams has been the most fascinating period of my career thus far.

We have run projects on everything from material culture to domestic violence, worked with colleagues across Queen’s and collaborated with the University of Southern California, Oxford and Cambridge. We established the Northern Ireland (NI) branch of the British Society of Gerontology, which has put NI on the UK gerontology map.

Ageing is now integral to the social policy curriculum and it has been a privilege to work with talented colleagues on my liberal arts course Questions for an Ageing World and Advanced Qualitative Research Methods at Master’s level.

The academic community at Queen’s and the local Belfast community have welcomed me and my family. My advice to younger idealists is ‘Just go for it - you never know where your billionaire philanthropist will appear from’.

Staff Profile - Gemma Carney

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World Leading Expertise in Trauma

School of SSESW academic Dr Michael Duffy is a world leading expert on trauma who has advised trauma teams dealing with the aftermath of atrocities in New York, London, Norway and Manchester. He worked with BBC Northern Ireland on creating a documentary (which was broadcast in February) about the impact on four individuals of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a memory disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.

Someone with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder often relives the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks, and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt.

The programme PTSD - Stress of the Past

met four individuals who suffered traumatic experiences. With their permission, the programme expertly and sensitively revealed how these episodes affected their lives and their families. It showed footage of some of them undergoing trauma focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, a method used to treat PTSD, which can help the individual to manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave.

Michael Duffy, who took the sessions with the programme’s subjects, explained: ‘It’s [PTSD] actually a memory related disorder. It is a problem with memory being disjointed, of memory not being updated and therefore even though the trauma happened years ago it can still terrorise people today as if it is happening over and over again.’

The therapy sessions featured in the programme revealed the intimate and harrowing journey of recovery that individuals had to undertake. This included Hanora Raflewski, a survivor of the Omagh bomb who was 15 years old when it exploded in 1998. The film also featured: police officer Stuart who was at the scene of the Omagh bomb and talks about the painful effect it had on him and how he is dealing with it; Claire (whose identity was concealed) who talked about being raped by different men on separate occasions; and Mark McCormick who witnessed the attack on Westminster Bridge in March 2017 in which six people were killed and nearly 50 injured.

You can read more about Michael Duffy’s work at https://bit.ly/3aJuG0G and about studying Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at http://bit.ly/2SMwu3l

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Dr Michael Duffy has co-produced a handbook for the Final Year Social Work students from Queen’s University and Ulster University who are graduating early to boost the healthcare workforce and its response to COVID-19. Entitled Preparing for Practice: Psychological Considerations during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the handbook is a collaboration with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Health and Social Care Board. Michael contributed to similar handbooks, with Dr Ciaran Mulholland and colleagues in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, for medical students and junior doctors working with the pandemic. The medical students’ handbook was circulated to all 32 medical schools in the UK. Similar handbooks are underway for nursing students and Allied Health Professionals.

They outline the potential psychological impact of the current situation on students joining the system at this time. There are suggestions on how to manage their own health and wellbeing, whilst acknowledging the significant contribution new social

workers and health professionals are making to the workforce.Michael Duffy has been interviewed by various news media about the potential psychological impact on new health professionals of joining the work force now. He commented: ‘For the doctors, nurses and all the healthcare workers on the front line of this pandemic, the psychological effects will, in some ways, resemble the aftermath of a single large-scale event like the Omagh bomb. There should be support available for healthcare staff thanks to new trauma networks established in every health trust but workers still need to feel safe. It is vitally important to provide high quality protective equipment for frontline staff. A sense of safety and security will help staff cope better psychologically with the demands of the job. Most staff will come through this pandemic without enduring mental health problems but all should be told that it is legitimate to take psychological help if needed and it is also important that they are provided with psychological help that is evidence based.’

COVID-19 Handbook for Social Work Students Entering the Workforce

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Immersive Technologies and Digital Health

The Immersive Technologies and Digital Mental Health Network is an interdisciplinary partnership of academics, practitioners and technology companies focusing on therapeutic and pedagogical advances in mental health and social care through digital means. Hosted in SSESW, a particular focus of the network is to increase the accessibility and capacity of immersive technologies among social science researchers, educators and practitioners. Immersive and digital technologies have shown value as both therapeutic and educational tools and some of the current projects attached to the network are detailed below:

I AM AWARE – This Wellcome Trust funded project, led by SSESW colleagues Dr John Moriarty and Dr Trisha Forbes in partnership with the mental health charity AWARE NI, is developing a digital platform designed to improve workplace well-being. It is being tested in two large organisations in Northern Ireland following a successful pilot in First Trust Bank.

VR Classroom – A cutting edge Virtual Reality experience to help teenagers on the autism spectrum focus better in class, this interactive, gamified, creative product simulates the classroom environment and enables children to engage with and respond to a ‘virtual teacher’. This project is led by Dr Nichola Booth (SSESW), Brendan McCourt (NewRed TV) and Professor Mickey Keenan (Ulster University).

Immersive 360 Video for Health and Social Care training sees the development of 360 video simulations to train social work students, nurses and midwives. Project leads Dr Paul Best (SSESW) and David Trainor received funding from Future Screens NI to develop novel approaches designed to make 360 video more interactive. Collaborators include Janine Stockdale, Matt Birch, Carolyn Blair, Hanna Slatte, Michael McKnight, Paul Murphy and Franziska Schroeder.

You can sign up to the network at https://bit.ly/33zb1yE

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Empowering People with Mental Health Problems Through Physical Activity

Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) funded a study on improving physical activity for people with severe and enduring mental health problems. The project team included our Disability Research Network, in collaboration with people with lived experience of mental health problems, Mental Health Foundation, Praxis Care, Platinum Training Institute, Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke and the Northern, South Eastern and Western Recovery Colleges. The research aimed to:

• Increase knowledge about what works to engage people with severe and enduring mental health problems in sustained physical activity to a level that improves and protects their physical health.

• Identify the facilitators and opportunities that help engage and empower people with severe mental health problems in physical activity.

• Explore the current barriers to physical activity.

Trained co-researchers with lived experience of mental health problems worked on all stages of the project, including programme design, interviewing participants, data analysis and disseminating findings. Quantitative data was also collected on the health and lifestyles of participants. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were used to explore the barriers and facilitators to physical activity and the impact of the programme developed by the project.

The study found that physical activity benefits people’s physical and mental health and plays an important role in the social aspect of people’s lives. It showed that those with mental health problems care about their physical health and, with access to the right kind of help, can be supported and encouraged to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives.

For further information on this study see http://bit.ly/37S1J1m

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In February, SSESW academic Lesley Emerson welcomed to Belfast the annual conference of the Five Nations Network, a Council of Europe regional network providing a unique forum for collaboration in education for citizenship in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Lesley is the Northern Ireland Lead for the Network. Entitled Building Democratic Culture in School - empowering teachers as defenders of democracy, the conference brought together teacher educators, teachers and other educational stakeholders to discuss innovative practice.

Local practitioners had an opportunity to share expertise and current projects. Amanda McNamee (Lagan College) outlined their approach to inclusion and how citizenship underpins their ethos, values and curriculum. Martine Mulhern (St Cecilia’s) shared the College’s work on being a School

of Sanctuary. John McCloskey (Shimna Integrated) introduced delegates to his student-led work on religious diversity. Martin Ferguson (Ashfield Girls) shared how network funding had supported his work on oracy in the curriculum. Previous projects were showcased, including Ann Magowan’s (Our Lady and St Patrick’s) development of deliberation and action through citizenship education.

The conference also had an international focus. Kari Kivinen from Helsinki French-Finnis School talked about developing a democratic culture in schools and led a workshop on Social Media and Young People. Delegates heard insights on homework, accountability, the importance of equality and the joy of learning in the Finnish education system from Kristina Kaihari (Finnish National Agency for Education).

Five Nations Conference

In January, an interdisciplinary group of Queen’s academics, led by SSESW colleague Dr Alan Maddock, facilitated research workshops on disability and mental health in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia. The team included representation from social work, psychiatry, social policy and psychology. The workshops aimed to identify the priority mental health and disability needs of Cambodian people from the perspective of local stakeholders, including local government, academics, policy makers and NGOs in both sites in Cambodia.

The workshops developed a successful collaboration between the Queen’s team

and the local Cambodian stakeholders. Together they developed priority actionable research projects, with a view to helping the Cambodian governmental departments and NGOs meet the needs of people with disabilities and/or mental health issues.

The group also looked at future collaborative research projects on a range of themes. Collaboration plans are underway, with the hope that long term research partnerships can be established between Queen’s University and the Cambodian stakeholders and that funding can be secured to implement the research priorities identified and the projects developed.

Building Disability Research Partnerships in Cambodia

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New Staff

We are delighted to welcome to the School of SSESW new academic colleagues (left to right) Dr Mel Engman, Dr Sultan Turkan and Dr Alan Maddock.

Mel Engman: ‘As an applied linguist descended from European settlers in the USA, I’m intrigued by the role of language in maintaining or disrupting systems of oppression. My recent research on heritage and Indigenous language education involved collaborating with Native American communities on language reclamation through developing digital tools, family language camps, bilingual storybooks and a language curriculum driven by traditional seasonal practices like gathering wild rice and tapping maple trees. I teach Language Awareness and Language Learning on our MSc TESOL and value the multilingual and multicultural perspectives that local and international students bring to class.’

Sultan Turkan: ‘As a language educator, I research bilingualism/multilingualism and its affordances for teaching heritage and

additional languages. I am fascinated by language and its influence on identities, society and cultural landscapes. I studied applied linguistics in Texas and a PhD at the University of Arizona in teaching and teacher education with a focus on immigrant children. It is energizing to explore at Queen’s the linguistic and cultural resources of bilinguals/multilinguals, helping teachers to lean in and relate to these resources.’

Alan Maddock: ‘I worked in Dublin as a mental health social worker for homeless people and later as a youth mental health social worker. My PhD (Trinity College Dublin 2019) researched whether mindfulness meditation improves psoriasis, anxiety, depression and psychological wellbeing (it does). My main research interests are mental health and homelessness. I teach across our Social Work degree and lead the Social Work in Context module. It gives students a critical overview of social work approaches to working with individuals, groups and communities, with a focus on understanding and reducing oppression.

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Social distancing measures isolating us from those we care about can leave some feeling lonely, anxious or depressed. Senior Lecturer Dr Karen Winter has over 16 years’ experience as a social worker and team manager working on the frontline in child protection services in Northern Ireland.

Whether you are isolating alone or juggling work and childcare, the lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is a challenging time for everyone with a surge in demand for services provided by anxiety charities. Karen says the most important coping mechanism we can utilise is hope. To help you keep that hope on track, she has drawn up this S.T.A.Y W.E.L.L guide to mental health with top tips on how to cope during lockdown.

Stay virtually connectedIn the age of fake news, staying in touch online with those we know and trust is vital. These interactions keep us grounded. This is especially important in a context where it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the information (and the misinformation) available on social media.

Rather than being click-baited down a Facebook rabbit hole of unreliable information, turn to trusted sources for support.

Stay connected with the people, communities and groups whose comments and contributions you find helpful, interesting, inspiring and uplifting. This can provide hope and helps to maintain a rounded perspective of our situation and our circumstances.

Take advantage of exerciseIf you can, get outside. Daily exercise lowers anxiety, improves mood and has a number of proven physical health benefits. It is vital to our wellbeing.

Ask for help if you need itWe have a tendency, when asked if we are OK, to say ‘Yes, fine’, as a coping mechanism because we don’t want to talk about our feelings and expose our anger or upset. However, when you bottle up your feelings, you are not just doing yourself a disservice but you are closing down an opportunity for others who may be suffering to confide in you. Don’t suffer in silence. If you need help, ask loudly and persistently.

S.T.A.Y.W.E.L.L: Our Expert Guide to Wellbeing During Lockdown

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Yield to the current challenging circumstancesComplaining about lockdown and itching and fretting to get back to your former life can exacerbate stress and anxiety. Instead, slow down, accept it and stay safe. The lockdown is here. It is not going away. Lean into it.

Work on your to do listWhile social media might be awash with people becoming accomplished bakers, musicians, athletes and gardeners, you don’t have to overachieve during lockdown in order to feel a sense of accomplishment. It’s better to set achievable goals and tick something off each day.

Express your feelingsIf it’s a bad day, it’s a bad day, let your feelings out. Don’t hold back, we are humans not robots. In order to process your feelings, you need to figure out what you are feeling and why.

We can express our feelings in a range of ways: begin by identifying and labelling your feelings. Speak out the feeling to yourself ‘I feel sad’, ‘I feel angry’, ‘I feel lonely’ etc. Identify what specifically is making you sad, angry. Acknowledge where you can and where you can’t change things that contribute to your feelings. Act on any actions that can help change things. Try not to internalise stress, uncomfortable and negative feelings and avoid relying on behaviours that internalise your feelings. These may end in you feeling guilty, developing self-loathing and a self-destructive cycle may develop.

Learn something newLearning new things can help keep you

active, occupied, energised and may give you a new outlook, experience, a sense of accomplishment and pride. It can also help distract you.

Don’t compare yourself to others on social media: just because someone else has found the time to develop a multitude of new skills, doesn’t mean it is right for you. This may lead to feelings of failure. Your list should be bespoke and reflect your personal circumstances.

Look around youAs well as looking inward at how you are feeling, remember to check in on those around you. Lift up someone else by sending them some form of encouragement, be it food, money, clothes, other essentials, offers of help or kind words. We all need encouragement.

It is important that we give of ourselves to others no matter how small that giving might appear. It could comprise an email, an offer of help or other forms of assistance. Lifting up others creates new conversations, new types of connection and enables us to see others in new ways.

Read more about how Queen’s is supporting society during the COVID-19 pandemic at:www.qub.ac.uk/coronavirus/.

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Senior Lecturer Dr Joe Duffy is Programme Director for the Relevant Graduate Route Social Work degree.Before joining Queen’s in 2006, I had taught social work and social care in several HE settings in Northern Ireland. I had also worked as a social worker and senior social worker in both residential and field social work settings in Northern Ireland since qualifying as a social worker in 1985. These frontline experiences are the foundation of my approach to teaching.

I am passionate about teaching and helping students in their professional development towards becoming social workers. My contribution to social work education has been recognised by Queen’s University Teaching Awards, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, the UK Higher Education Academy National Teaching Award Scheme and, in 2018, a Fulbright All-Disciplines Scholar Award.

My research centres on service user involvement in social work education,

research and policy. I aim to help students understand challenging concepts in the social work curriculum such as the impact of trauma and political conflict. For many years I have worked with WAVE, an organisation supporting those affected by the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, inviting people with lived experience of bereavement, trauma and injury to share their experiences with social work students in the classroom.

My Fulbright Scholarship in 2018, a first in social work since 1967, involved a year in the USA, introducing this distinct pedagogical approach. Working with survivors of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks in New York, I helped bring their unique personal experiences to the classroom in New York University’s Silver School of Social Work. I replicated this teaching model with social work students at Belmont University, Nashville, working with community organisations whose members shared their experiences of homelessness, mental health challenges, addictions and trauma.

Continuing the Fulbright Research, I am leading the development of a Specialized Practice Curricular Guide for Service User Involvement for the USA accrediting body for Social Work. This will be an essential tool informing Social Work Education across the country. I have recently published a co-edited Routledge collection on the challenges facing social workers during political conflict in international contexts and have a co-edited Routledge International Handbook on Service User Involvement in Human Services Research and Education due for publication later in the summer.

In my spare time I enjoy music, playing guitar and working with plants. I have a passion for cooking and love stargazing.

Staff Profile - Joe Duffy

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Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma Presentation

We were delighted to welcome back to the University all the successful School of SSESW students who joined us for our Postgraduate Taught Presentation of parchments in January.The event was hosted in the beautiful Great Hall by SSESW academic lead Dr Anne Campbell. On behalf of the School, our Director of Graduate Studies Dr Dirk Schubotz welcomed the students and their guests to the presentation, which celebrated their achievement in completing Certificates or Diplomas across all our postgraduate programmes while also managing busy professional lives and other commitments.The guest speaker was Professor Ian Young, Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department of Health and Director of HSC Research and Development. Professor Young congratulated the students on their academic success. He highlighted that their completion of courses such as these, which extend their knowledge base, not only supports their own professional development but also enhances the experience of those in their care.

Our academic leads Anne Campbell, Michael Duffy, Suzanne Mooney and Stephen Coulter then presented parchments to the completing students from their respective programmes while family and friends took photos of the moment.After the formal part of the ceremony, students enjoyed an opportunity to catch up with fellow students and School of SSESW staff over a light lunch. Many of the completing students from January’s event have already returned to Queen’s for the next stage of their study and their professional development.For information about postgraduate taught programmes at the School of SSESW see http://bit.ly/2PGougv

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Study at the School

Undergraduate (2020/21 entry)• BA (Hons) Criminology

• BA (Hons) Criminology and Social Policy

• BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology

• BA (Hons) English and Sociology

• BA (Hons) History and Sociology

• BA (Hons) Social Policy and Sociology

• BA (Hons) Sociology

• BSW (Hons) Social Work (3 year Undergraduate Route)

• BSW (Hons) Social Work (2 year Relevant Graduate Route)

Postgraduate (2020/21 entry)Taught ProgrammesApplied Behaviour Analysis

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Children’s Rights

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Programmes

Educational Leadership

Educational Studies

Higher Education Teaching (PGCHET)

Inclusion and Special Needs Education

International PGCE

Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law

Social Science Research

Social Work with Children, Young People and Families

Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders

Systemic Practice and Family Therapy

Systemic Psychotherapy

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Youth Justice

Initial Teacher Education (PGCE)• English• Information Technology/Computing• Mathematics• Modern Languages• Religious Education• Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)• Social Science

Research Programmes

Integrated PhD

PhD in Education

PhD in Social Policy/Sociology

PhD in Social Work

We offer a friendly and dynamic learning environment for short course, undergraduate, master’s level and doctoral study. Our innovative, flexible teaching methods and welcoming environment create a unique experience for our students. For further information on the courses below, visit our website at www.qub.ac.uk/ssesw

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Visiting Professor

Professor Kaori Tsukazaki, Vice President of the National Institute of Technology, Kagoshima College, Japan, is spending some time as a Visiting Research Professor in the School of SSESW. Kaori is a graduate of Nagasaki University and Kyushu University and is the first female professor in the

56-year history of Kagoshima College. Her academic research focuses on the empowerment of female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and the cultural contexts of English Language Teaching. Her project on empowering women in STEM, entitled ‘Robogals Kagoshima’, was included in the White Paper on Gender Equality produced by the Japanese government in June 2019. Professor Tsukazaki was a Fulbright Scholar and has received a prestigious award from KOSEN National Institute of Technology in Tokyo acknowledging her extensive contribution to education.

Professor Tsukazaki’s visit to Queen’s University is facilitating international research collaboration with Aisling O’Boyle, our Director of Internationalization, and with a number of SSESW colleagues in the fields of Education and Social Sciences.

Visiting Fulbright Global Scholar

The School is looking forward to welcoming Fulbright Global Scholar, Dr Kimberly Ilosvay (University of Portland). She will be working on teaching and research projects on the theme of Interculturality and Internationalization in Ecuador, Northern Ireland and Tanzania. Working with academics and students in these three countries will provide rich opportunities for cultural and scholarly exchange and for building international partnerships.

At Queen’s, Kimberly will be working with Aisling O’Boyle (SSESW) and colleagues across the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Support for Abuse Victims with a Learning Disability

In January, SSESW academic Dr Berni Kelly presented at the launch of the findings from the Just US collaborative research project which aimed to identify and reduce barriers to accessing justice and support for victims of sexual violence and abuse who have a learning disability. The project was led by Positive Futures in collaboration with Compass Advocacy Network, Informing Choices NI, Nexus NI, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and SSESW.

The project followed a co-production model whereby four advocates with a learning disability co-led and delivered the project. Following a literature review by SSESW, a consultation was completed with 26 people with a learning disability to evaluate their awareness of criminal justice processes and support services. In addition, 18 police and PPS professionals were consulted on their experience of working with people with a learning disability.

The project also provided a pilot training

programme on learning disability for the PSNI and PPS.

Outputs from the project include: a screening tool to support first response officers and call handlers to identify if a victim (or suspect) has a learning disability; a Just US card for people with a learning disability to share their communication preferences with criminal justice professionals; and an accessible guide and short animated video summary on the criminal justice system for people with learning disabilities.

A pilot counselling programme for victims of sexual violence and abuse who have a learning disability was simultaneously delivered by Nexus with and evaluated by SSESW. The evaluation findings were largely positive, highlighting the benefits of inclusive counselling programmes for people with learning disabilities and the barriers to accessing therapeutic support.

See more at www.justusni.org/about

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Connecting Local and Global Expertise

• Professor Tony Gallagher is an education specialist with many years experience of working closely with schools through the Shared Education programme. Tony shared with the HIP Psychology podcast audience his views on how schools were coping with the disruption caused by COVID-19. He outlined how teachers and schools ‘responded absolutely magnificently’ during preparations to move teaching online, and beyond, by engaging across schools and sharing resources. The podcast is available at https://bit.ly/3eLwZUs

• Professor Laura Lundy provided expert advice to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on enhancing children’s participation in its work, using the Lundy model as a frame for evaluating progress. The session in Geneva was a follow-up to one conducted by Laura in 2013 following which the Committee significantly enhanced its engagement with children. Based on children’s rights research conducted locally, nationally and internationally, Laura was a visiting professor at Massey University in New Zealand in February. She gave keynotes at two conferences on children’s participation in educational decision-making and met researchers from several universities to advise on involving children in the governance of research.

• Dr Jenny du Preez (Nelson Mandela University) was a Visiting Research Fellow from September 2019 to March 2020, working with Dr Dina Belluigi on developing themes emerging from a joint Winter School held at Nelson Mandela University in August 2019 entitled Emancipatory Imaginations: Advancing Critical University Studies.

• Dr Grace Ese-osa Idahosa (University of Johannesburg) is a Visiting Research Fellow from October 2019 to September 2020, working with SSESW academic Dr Dina Belluigi on a project entitled Mid-level Managers Agency for Transformation in Post-Conflict Higher Education. It explores how university middle-management can be better empowered to enact their agency; and how this is impacted by their gender and social location.

• Dr Nicolás Brando has been awarded a Newton International Fellowship by the British Academy to join our Centre for Children’s Rights for the next two years. The project will be supervised and supported by Professor Laura Lundy and Professor Emeritus David Archard. Nicolás is a Colombian philosopher, working on ethics, and moral and political philosophy. His research studies the treatment of vulnerable and marginalised populations in liberal societies, with a particular focus on issues of discrimination and the protection of rights of children.

Staff Endnotes

School of Social Sciences,Education and Social Work

Queen’s University Belfast69-71 University StreetBELFASTNorthern IrelandBT7 1HLE ssesw@qub.ac.ukT +44 (0)28 9097 5941/3323/5117www.qub.ac.uk/ssesw

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