Christina David

Associate Professor David is a teaching and research academic in social work at RMIT University with a strong track record and sustained impact in academic leadership, teaching and learning, and participatory and collaborative industry and community engaged research. A unifying agenda across these domains of education, engagement, and research is the promotion of social justice, a commitment to belonging, inclusion, and equity, and lived experience participation and leadership. Dr David is primarily engaged in qualitative research and participatory co-design methodologies which focus on working collaboratively with communities to advance practice and policy reform and social change, in the areas of disability, mental health, family care and support, housing and homelessness, and elder abuse. Dr David also supervises HDR students undertaking research in related areas.

As an educator, Dr David is 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 curriculum design and teaching approaches can be continually enhanced to support access and inclusion, and the development of critical, creative, and hopeful 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 a member of the ANZSWWER (Australia and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research) committee of management.

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

Industry experience:
Dr David’s is an experienced educator, researcher, and social worker. Her social work practice experience was in tertiary rehabilitation, working with people with disability toward employment and independent living outcomes. 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.

Awards:
Early Career Researcher Excellence Award
Award date: 2019
School of Global, Urban and Social Studies

Academic Development Fellowship
Award date: 2023
RMIT University