Dr Sharlene Nipperess

Sharlene is a social work educator and researcher. She teaches across the Bachelor and Master of Social Work programs, focusing on learning and teaching in the first year. She currently teaches History and trends in social work, an introductory social work course, and Ethics and reflexive practice, an interdisciplinary ethics course. As a social work researcher, Sharlene focuses on three broad but interrelated areas: a) social work ethics, with a focus on human rights-based practice, a critical ethics of care and environmental justice; b) social work policy and practice research, with a focus on forced migration and superdiversity, mental distress and disability, and homelessness; and c) social work scholarship of teaching and learning, with a focus on critical multicultural practice, social work doctoral education and technology in social work education and practice. Sharlene has co-edited two books Critical multicultural practice in social work: New perspectives and practices (2019) and Doing critical social work: Transformative practice towards social justice (2016). She is Book Editor (social work) and member of the Australasia-Pacific Board of the international journal Ethics and Social Welfare and a member of the RMIT Design and Social Context College Human Ethics Advisory Network.

• Doctor of Philosophy, Curtin University
• Graduate Certificate of Higher Education, Deakin University
• Bachelor of Social Work, James Cook University
• Bachelor of Arts, James Cook University