Dr Michael Emslie

Michael is currently employed as a lecturer in the Youth Work program in the school of Global Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University. Michael's key academic duties include teaching and Michael invests deeply in inspiring students' learning, nurturing students' capabilities to know and do good practice, and providing life-changing experiences, in particular by delivering quality applied and practice-based approaches to education that include industry connected work integrated learning. Michael is also heavily involved in many independent and collaborative industry-relevant and creatively designed intellectual adventures and research projects that aim to make a positive and imaginative impact and contribution to the world. And Michael actively pursues teaching-research-industry nexus activities that include focusing his research efforts on developing ideas and perspectives that are directly relevant to and embedded in his teaching and useful to the communities he serves, and by working closely with and facilitating deep and meaningful partnerships between students and industry to support worthwhile sector based-student placements that deliver benefits for all involved. 

Michael's sustained engagement with a broad range of intellectual endeavours is demonstrated by over thirty peer reviewed publications, over thirty further publications, reports, conference papers, submissions and book reviews, and many qualifications. Michael's work as a researcher demonstrates a deliberate commitment to produce and share knowledge that will inspire imaginative and good practice and help to positively shape the world, and his writing covers areas of creative research methods, youth studies, LGBTQI+ young people, youth work studies, good practice in human services, professionalization debates, university and higher education, quality teaching and learning, reflective practice, work-integrated learning, technology, ethics, politics, and policy studies. Michael's latest book released in 2018 and co-authored with Dr Michael Crowhurst is titled 'Working Creatively with Stories and Learning Experience: Engaging with Queerly Identifying Tertiary Students' and published by Springer as part of the 'Creativity, Education and the Arts' series edited by Assoc. Prof Anne Harris. Michael's article co-authored with Prof Rob Watts titled 'On Technology and the Prospects for Good Practice in the Human Services: Donald Schön, Martin Heidegger, and the Case for Phronesis and Praxis' was a finalist in the 2018 Fran R. Breul Memorial Prize. 

ResearchGate profile

Google Scholar profile

LinkedIn profile

Awards

• 2015 RMIT School of Global, Urban and Social Studies Higher Degree by Research Candidate Publication Award
• 2012 Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
• 2011 RMIT University School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning Learning and Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Human Services Academic Group
• 2010 RMIT University School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning Learning and Teaching Award for Outstanding Achievement in Understanding Student Difficulties
• 2010 RMIT University Teaching and Learning Award in the category Work Integrated Learning

Research supervision

Michael is a registered Category 2 Supervisor and is interested in being an Associated Supervisor for PhD students, and supervising Honours and Masters by Research students in topics that are related to youth work, good practice, young people, professional practice and human services.

Honours theses supervised: 'An unfortunate reality': Teachers' views on student mobile phone use in schools.

Selected media publications

• The Conversation, 'Sidelined and scorned: young people are set up to be soft targets', 5 March 2015
• The Age, 'The poor get poorer', 4 January 2015
• The Age, 'Face up to crisis', 25 July 2014
• The Age, 'The rich get richer, the poor get poorer', 1 July 2014
• The Age, 'Youth now cop it', 28 May 2014
• The Conversation, 'Using youth as 'whipping boys' sets scene for Generation Grim', 7 May 2014
• The Saturday Age, 'Poor judgments', 27 October 2012
• The Saturday Age, 'The law must prevail', 14 January 2012

Submissions

• 2011 Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry (co-authored)
• 2009 National Human Rights Consultation (co-authored)
• 2009 Australian Fair Pay Commission 2009 Minimum Wage Review (co-authored)
• 2008 Vulnerable Youth Framework (co-authored)
• 2007 YACVic Victorian Sector Code of Ethical Practice (co-authored)

• Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 2009
• Masters Social Science (Research), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 2001
• Graduate Certificate in Family Sensitive Practice and Family Therapy, La Trobe University, 2002
• Bachelor of Arts (Youth Affairs), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 1993

Michael contributed over fifteen years of dedicated direct practice work in the human service sector before commencing full-time work in the university. Michael's work as a Youth and Family worker with Crossroads Reconnect was recognised as one of the thirty-six examples of good youth work practice selected to be included in the 'What Works' series commissioned by the Foundation for Young Australians that documented and celebrated best practice in working with young people. Michael's teaching and research continues this commitment to giving back to the community. For example, many of Michael's publications strongly advocate for improving the pay, working conditions, education, professionalization, resourcing and support for youth and community workers to secure quality practice. Moreover, Michael made a specific commitment following his years of service in human service work to focus his research and writing efforts on giving back to this sector, which he experienced first-hand is in desperate need of relevant and engaging knowledge production and intellectual leadership that has the direct intent of building the viability, strength, value, and worth of the workers and practices within it. Michael's students are also a key audience for his research and writing because Michael appreciates that his students' can and do make significant and good contributions to the lives of young people and others and the youth and human services sectors while they are studying and after graduating. And Michael also draws on his years of hands-on experience to champion approaches to field education that make valuable and much appreciated contributions to students and the human services sector. Michael continuously reflects deeply on his work experiences, research and teaching to ensure it remains relevant, connected, inspiring, creative and worthwhile. 

Michael is a member of the following:

• AHURI RMIT Research Centre (Associate Member)
• AIEJI International Association of Social Educators
• Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) 
• Australian Research Alliance for Childhood and Youth (ARACY)
• DGGS (Diverse Genders and Sexualities) network RMIT
• Global Social Service Workforce Alliance
• Journal of Applied Youth Studies International Editorial Board
• RMIT EIP Design and Creative Practice
• RMIT EIP Social Change
• RMIT Youth Work Alumni Network Representative
• Social and Global Studies Centre RMIT
• Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic)
• Youth Workers Association (YWA)

Other professional activities include:

• I am a registered assessor for the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching Grants, Awards and Fellowships Program
• I am registered and have conducted peer review of teaching at RMIT