Professor Jan Mason

Professor Jan Mason

Professor, Community and Social Work

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• Biography
• Areas of expertise
• Grants / Current projects
• Selected publications
• Professional activities

Biography

Jan a member of the UWS Social Justice and Social Change Research Centre, of which she was the founding director. Jan’s employment prior to her university career, in various practice and management positions in the NSW Child Welfare Department (now Department of Community Services), has informed her areas of concern as an academic. Her research focuses on linking theory, policy and practice on children’s issues, through collaborative work with major children’s agencies in New South Wales and with Australian and overseas academics. She has researched and published on child welfare and protection, child and family policy, child-adult relations, children’s needs in care and children's well-being. Her particular interest is in facilitating children’s participation in research and in practice and policy development on issues concerning them. She is a founding member of the Standing Committee of the International Society for Child Indicators and represents SJSC in the Childwatch International Research Network.

Qualifications
MA (Psych) (1969, University of Sydney)
Grad Dip Education (1979, DDIAE)
MSW (1982, UGA, USA)
PhD  (Social Work) (1986, UNSW)

Areas of Expertise

Childhood, child welfare, social work with children and families, social policy analysis.

Grants / Current projects

Facilitating children’s transition to school within families with complex support needs. ARC linkage with Dockett and Perry at Charles Sturt University, DoCS and Mission Australia

An examination of issues and assumptions around the support and supervision of Kinship Carers, with  a particular focus on NSW.  ARC with  Dr E. Watson and Associatiion of Child Welfare Agencies (ACWA).

Negotiating the challenge of cultural diversity in children’s health care: the Australian context. ARC Linkage with Chalmers and Ang, Centre for Cultural Research, UWS and South Western Sydney Area Health Service, Sydney and Westmead Children’s Hospitals

Children and Young People’s Understanding of Well-Being of Children with E. Watson and Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP)

Participation of Children in Assessment for Treatment with Benevolent Society

Exploring the Influences of Socio-Cultural Contexts of Child Participation in Asia Pacific Region. Childwatch International Research Network.

Developing a model of substitute care to meet the needs of individual children through participatory research Australian Research Council SPIRT.  With Natalie Bolzan and UnitingCare

Burnside Guide to the Participation of Children in Research with CCYP for website of Commissioner for Children and Young People .

Selected Publications 

Edited Books
Bolzan, N., Darcy, M. and  Mason, J (eds). Human Rights Overboard: Border Protection, Asylum and Detention in Australia. Sydney Common Ground Publishing. 2006.

Mason, J., and Fattore T. (eds). Children Taken Seriously. In theory, policy and practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London. 2005.
 
Mason, J. (ed.), Child Welfare Policy: Critical Australian Perspectives, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1993.

Chapters in Books
Bolzan, N and Mason, J., Hearing the Voices of Asylum Seekers. Bolzan, N., Darcy, M. and  Mason, J (eds). Human Rights Overboard: Border Protection, Asylum and Detention in Australia. Sydney Common Ground Publishing. 2006.
 
Mason, J. ‘Just Nobodies’ The Double Jeopardy of Refugee Children. In Bolzan, N., Darcy, M. and  Mason, J (eds). Human Rights Overboard: Border Protection, Asylum and Detention in Australia. Sydney Common Ground Publishing.2006.

Mason, J. ‘Social Work with Families’.  In Alston, M. and McKinnon, J., Social Work in Australia.  Oxford University Press. 2005.

Mason, J. , ‘Child Protection Policy and the Construction of Childhood’. In Mason, J., and Fattore T. (eds) Children Taken Seriously. In theory, policy and practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London 2005.

Mason J. ‘The Status of Childhood and Children’s Social Exclusion’. In Leonard, R., A Fair Go . Some issues of social justice in Australia. 2004 

Mason J and Falloon, J., Children Define Abuse: Implications for Agency. In  Alaneen, L.and Mayall, B., (Eds). Conceptualising Child-Adult Relations. Falmer Press. 2001

Mason, J., 'Introduction: Analysing Child Welfare Policy',.In Mason, J. (ed.), Child Welfare Policy: Critical Australian Perspectives, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1993.

Mason, J. and Noble-Spruell, C., 'Child Protection Policy in New South Wales', In Mason, J. (ed.), Child Welfare Policy: Critical Australian Perspectives, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1993.

Mason, J., 'Children Speak: Experiences of Being "In Care" ', Chapter 6 (Introduction to chapter and collation of material). In Mason, J. (ed.), Child Welfare Policy: Critical Australian Perspectives, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1993.

Mowbray, M. and Mason, J. 'Substitute Care Policy: The Context for Recent Developments in New South Wales', In Mason, J. (ed.), Child Welfare Policy: Critical Australian Perspectives, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1993.

Journal Articles
Fattore, T Mason J and Watson, E. Children’s Conceptualisation(s) of their well-being. On line 2006.   Journal of Social Indictors Research. 2007.  80: 5-29

Mason, J. A children’s Standpoint.: Needs in out-of-home care. Children and Society. 2007. online.

Satka, M. and Mason, J. Deconstructing post World War II Conceptualisations of children and child-adult relations. International Journal of Critical Psychology. Issue 11, 2004

Gibbons, L. and Mason J. Challenges Posed by Kinship Care. A study focusing on New South Wales . Children Australia. Vol. 28 (4) 2003

Mason J. Urquhart, R. and Bolzan N. Researching with Children in their Social Context. Special Edition. Children Australia. V 28 (2) 2003

Mason J. and Urquart, R. Confronting the Dilemmas of Involving Children as Partners: A Collaborative Research Project Around Decision Making”. Children Australia.26 (4) 2001.

Mason, J. and Steadman., 1997 Conceptualisation of Childhood and its Implications for Child Protection Policy.  Family Matters, 46.  Autumn 1997

Mason, J.  Privatisation and Substitute Care: Recent Policy Developments in NSW and their Significance Children Australia, 21(1) 1996

Noble, C., Mason, J.  and Campbell, L., Feminist Practice with Mothers of Children at Risk? Women in Welfare Education 1, 1994

Mason, J., Foster Care Policy and Permanency: A Social Policy Analysis,  Australian Journal of Social Issues 26, 4 (1991).

Mason, J., and Noble-Spruell, C., Education for Client Empowerment - School of Community and Welfare Studies, Macarthur Institute of Higher Education, Welfare in Australia (1989).
Mason, J., Wodarski, J.S., Parham, T.M., and Lindsey, E.W., 'Work and Welfare: A Re-evaluation of AFDC, Social Work 30, 3 (May-June 1985).

Reports
Fattore, T, Mason, J and Nixon, D. Participation: Count me in! Involving children and young people in Research. NSW Commission for Children and Young People. 2005.

Mason, J. and Michaux, A. The Starting Out with Scarba Project: Facilitating children’s participation in child protection processes. Benevolent Society.  A Report. July 2005.

Mason, J and Gibson, C. The needs of children in Care, A Report. 2004.

Mason, J, Gibbons, L, Falloon, J, Spence, N. Scott, E. Understanding Kinship Care. ACWA . 2002 Discussion Paper

Mason, J., “Mandatory Reporting of Abuse of Older Persons” Discussion Paper 4, June 1997. Sydney NSW.  Ageing and Disability Department. Video ‘Families’ Speak with Wesley Dalmar 2000 .

Professional Activities

Representative of Childhood and Youth Policy Research Centre and then Social Justice and Social Change Research Centre, UWS, to Childwatch International Research Network Meetings

Member, Standing Committee International Society of Child Indicators.

Member, ARACY and ARACY funded network group.

Member, UnitingCare Burnside Research Advisory Group.

Member, International Advisory Group, Children and Society Member, Editorial Board. International Journal Child Indicators.