Carlene Cornish

I joined UEA in September 2019. Originally from South Africa, I have both local and international experience in social work, probation and academic research. I have various academic qualifications and professional experiences across a range of disciplines, which includes postgraduate and professional qualifications in Social Work, Probation Services and Education. These qualifications led to specialist practice in areas of child protection, fostering and adoption, youth offending and restorative justice.

Within the School of Social Work and Faculty of Social Science, I play a significant leadership role in the following key areas: I am the Admissions Director for the Social Work and Sociology degrees. Demonstrating academic leadership, I was Co-Chair of the Vice Chancellor's Taskforce on Race Equality and Co-Chair of the Academic Staff Workstream on Race Equality. Through my active involvement in this REC working group, I have established close collaborative networks with colleagues across UEA and especially peers in the Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) Staff Network. Evidence of me raising UEA’s profile, is notable in my advisory work with Norfolk County Council, assisting the local authority in their evaluation of social work practice. I was Project Lead on the SUC project, responsible for co-ordinating the creation of a digital library resource, aiding the improvement in social work provision in the Norfolk and Suffolk areas.

I am the School's specialist in the area of Race Equality, as demonstrated in my teaching and scholarship activities. Evidencing academic leadership, I am the Principal Investigator and lead a funded joint Schools of Social Work,  Education, and Health Sciences research project investigating the placement experiences of Black, Asian, Mixed heritage, and ethnic diverse students aiming to tackle racial inequalities and devising culturally appropriate assessments and placement support. I am also part of a research team on a Wellcome Trust grant undertaking research to tackle ongoing systemic exclusion and under-representation of marginalised staff in HE research culture.  

Given the increasing reports of racism and oppression in Children's Social Work, urgent change, new ways of thinking, and working with ethnic minoritised birthmothers were required. Drawing on my African knowledge and South African child protection experiences, I designed SAWUBONA practice model illustrating professional values of equality, empathy, dignity, tolerance and respect. Knowledge was disseminated in a journal article, recently published in the British Journal of Social Work. Moreover, on the 19th of October 2023, I was a keynote speaker at the British Association for Social Work (BASW) England conference, reporting on my research and emphasising the significance of Anti-oppression & Anti-discrimination through a lens of race. A symposium with a Q&A session was held, which facilitated knowledge exchange and interaction with the audience. Focussed on transforming social work practice and policies, other decolonialisation activities were undertaken in my committee roles with BASW International, BASW England, and NSPCC Policy Co-opted Committee Member.  As BASW International Committee member I have an international role representing the UK on the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and Commonwealth. As BASW England Committee member, I attend meetings focused on reviewing the operations of BASW and special interest groups. In my role of NSPCC Policy Co-opted Committee Member, I actively contribute to UK strategic safeguarding plans and work practices. 

Spanning both university and industry contexts, I chaired a joint UEA-NCC project team delivering a staff conference aimed for university academics and social workers employed with the local authority. Titled, Re-Imagining Anti-Oppressive and Anti-Discriminatory Practice in Social Work, the conference was scheduled for Friday 19th May 2023 at the Mercure Hotel, Norwich. As Chair, I ensured that the conference activities aligned with UEA’s institutional agenda and the SWK School’s Athena Swan action plan.

Following the completion of my PhD in Sociology, I contribute to research and scholarly activities through journal publications and conference attendance. I have an undergraduate social work qualification and Honours and Masters qualifications in Probation and Correctional Practice. My teaching qualifications include a PGCE qualification with QTLS as well as Fellowship status with the Higher Education Academy (HEA). I am a registered Social Worker with Social Work England occasionally working as an independent consultant social worker with British Association of Social Workers (BASW). 

The acquisition of my PhD, teaching qualifications, industry knowledge and experience, and ongoing research activities evidence my commitment to excellent teaching in the HE context

Director of Admissions for Social Work and Sociology degrees

Academic Advisor Link with Norwich City College

Race Equality Steering Committee Member

Teaching Partnership Lead Norfolk and Suffolk

Dissertation Supervisor 

External Examiner

Previously Co-Chair on Vice Chancellor's Taskforce on the Race Equality Charter

Previously Co-Chair on REC Academic Workstream

UEA Committee Roles and Membership:

• Admissions, Recruitment and Management Executive (FARME)
• SSF School Academic Promotion Committee
• Honorary Degrees & Awards Committee
• Project Lead for joint SWK & EDU BAME Student experiences’ research project.
• Project Lead for Inter-faculty (SWK, EDU, Physio & Nursing) research project investigating BAME students’ placement & university experiences.
• BAME Staff Network
• WHEN100 Black Professor UEA cohort

Race, Racism, Oppression, and Social Work Education & Practice concerning:

- Birthmothers

- Students & Placements

- Education and Curriculum

- Social Work Services

- Profession

Marginalised youth, i.e youth in care, school dropouts, socially excluded and Not in Education Employment Training NEET) youth

Children and Families - Child Protection, Fostering and Adoptions

Youth Offending, Probation Services and Child Criminal Sexual Exploitation

I have various academic qualifications and professional experiences across a range of disciplines, which includes postgraduate and professional qualifications in Social Work, Probation Services and Education. These qualifications led to specialist practice in areas of child protection, fostering and adoption, youth offending and restorative justice. My teaching qualifications include a PGCE qualification with QTLS as well as Fellowship status with the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

Since my appointment in the School, I have used my scholarship hours to expand my social work profile to align with a focus on Race and Social Work Education. Consequently, I have published in this area of Race and Social Work alongside research on the Marginalised and Excluded youth in the Education Sector.  Additionally, I have undertaken various engagement activities on Race within the University, our School as well as Norfolk County Council, which I will further discuss in the next section. I represent a small working group in the School, actively engaging BAME Social Work students, to discover how we can promote racially sensitive support and academic teaching for our BAME students.

Furthermore, drawing on my social work expertise, I have recently completed a peer review report for the NSPCC’s 10-year evaluation of their service, which furthermore demonstrates opportunities which I have used to raise our School’s profile and collaborative engagement with a key organisation delivering essential social work services in the community. Furthermore, through my regular attendance at conferences, it raised my research profile and I was approached and am now on the Editorial Board of ARPCE (Association for Research in Post Compulsory Education). As UEA staff, I lead as Chair of the ARPCE sub-group responsible for Seminar and Conference planning. I have been able to publish journal articles, mainly in England and also in Europe. I have several publications in the Sociology of Education field relevant to my PhD in Sociology qualification. Known for my PhD research on disengaged and NEET (not in education, employment and training) youth, Professor Pam Cox from the University of Essex invited me to work collaboratively on an evaluation research project on Antisocial Behaviour in Colchester. The project was commissioned through Colchester Borough Council’s Safer Partnership Group, The University of Essex Hefce-funded Catalyst initiative and local partnership agencies to assist in the development of interventions to reduce ASB, improve the life chances of marginal young people and make better use of community assets. In collaboration with others, I played an active role in the submission of funding application for this evaluation study, and in this role, I closely worked with a range of local businesses and partnership agencies within the private and public sector. I am the first author of the report, titled Young Colchester: Life Chances, Assets and Anti-social Behaviour (ASB). Furthermore, I discovered that leading scholars were also aware of my work when an Editor at Palgrave Macmillan approached me to review two Book Proposals after my name was listed as one of five experts in the area of NEET and Marginalised Youth. I have subsequently completed the two review reports, making recommendations accordingly. Another key responsibility is my role as Partnership Link, representing UEA and our School of Social Work at this Government funded Teaching Partnership (TP). Through this collaborative engagement, we consolidate our strong working relationships with Norfolk County Council, Suffolk County Council, University of Suffolk and the Service User and Carer’s Group and UEA thus contributes in enhancing initial and continuing training of social workers in the region. Also, with the release of government funding for TPs, I am Project Lead and our SWK School leads on this project, designed to involve community members by creating a digital resource to capture and share Service User and Carers’ experiences of social work, consequently shaping and educating academics, social workers and trainees in Norfolk and Suffolk regions.

Module Leader:

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health (M Level).
• Sociology Child Observation (BA Yr2).
• Introduction to Social Sciences for SWK seminars (BA Yr1)

Academic Adviser:

• 11 BA & MA Advisees
• Placement assessment and support
• Academic support
• Student wellbeing

Teaching Team:

• Research Dissertation teaching, supervision & assessment (BA Yr3).
• Research Dissertation supervision & assessment (MA Yr2).
• Social work skills (teaching and assessment BA Yr1)
• Working with diversity (BA & MA)

PhD:

• Probationary panel assessment (Yr1).
• PhD viva examination