Christina David

Dr Christina David is a critical social work academic with extensive teaching and research experience. Dr David is Program Manager of undergraduate social work at RMIT, is engaged in funded research projects, and supervises HDR students.

Dr Christina David is Program Manager for the two undergraduate social work programs at RMIT, the Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) and the Bachelor of Social Work (Hons)/Bachelor of Social Sciences (Psychology). Dr David is also actively engaged in funded research projects mainly relating to the experiences of people living with disability engaging with different policy and service settings. Dr David's doctoral research explored individualised funding approaches for people with disability and her work continues to explore the role and impacts of choice and self- determination in policy reforms such as the NDIS and Consumer Directed Care. Dr David’s research interests and activities also include projects related to supportive housing models, ageing, and elder abuse service and support responses.

Dr David is primarily engaged in qualitative research and participatory methodologies, including co-design, which focus on working collaboratively with people with lived experience. Dr David also supervises HDR students undertaking research in related areas.

As an educator, Dr David is also interested in the development of critical social work education and engages in scholarship of learning and teaching (SoLT) research. As part of this work, Dr David seeks to collaborate with students to better understand their learning experience and how the curriculum and teaching approaches can be continually enhanced to support the development of engaged and critical social work graduates.

Dr David maintains strong relationships with industry partners in the community and government sectors. She also actively engages in cross disciplinary collaborations with colleagues within RMIT and from other universities. She has strong professional networks and is the secretary of ANZSWWER (Australia and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research).

Qualifications: PhD, Grad. Dip. (Bus.), BSW, BEd.

Dr David’s is an experienced educator and social worker. Her social work practice experience was in tertiary rehabilitation, working with people with disability toward employment and independent living goals. In this sector she held various roles including case-management, research and evaluation, quality, policy, and management. Prior to social work Dr David worked as a secondary teacher and journalist. 

Dr David is a critical social work academic with extensive research experience in projects related to the lived experience of people with disability and with particular emphasis on qualitative research and participatory methodologies. Her research seeks to apply a critical intersectional lens to lived experience to better understand implications for policy and practice reform. In addition to disability, Dr David is also engaged in research and evaluation projects related to supported housing models, ageing, elder abuse, and social work education. 

Disability, Applied Human Rights, Individualised Funding, NDIS, Social Work, Social Work Education, Ageing, Elder Abuse, Psychosocial Disability, Permanent Supportive Housing

Dr David is interested in supervising research projects relating to the experiences of people with disability and workforce in diverse policy and service settings. Dr David is also interested in hearing from students researching areas related to social work education as well as projects relating to elder abuse.

• Assistive Technology Transfer in Brazil: A multi sector policy analysis. (PhD)
• Exploring the potential for community academic partnerships in social work field education. (Masters by Research)