Associate Professor Michelle Jones

Academic Status

College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

place Bedford Park (336)
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Michelle has worked in a variety of government roles including Principal Health Analyst with Health Performance Council Secretariat and Evaluation Manager in Public Health Services; OPAL (Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle), a State-wide community-based childhood obesity prevention program and eat well be active Community Programs, a community-based childhood obesity prevention program in Morphett Vale and Murray Bridge. Prior to working for Health, she evaluated sex offender, violent offender and Aboriginal offender group-based treatment programs for the Department for Correctional Services. Michelle has a PhD from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) from University of South Australia. Her PhD examined discourses of domestic violence and was part of the evaluation of men's stop domestic violence group programs. Michelle worked as a social worker in the area of women's health including unplanned pregnancy and rape and sexual assault. Michelle is a member of the SA Health Human Research Ethics Committee. Her research interests include health including Aboriginal health, public health, childhood obesity prevention, domestic violence, evaluation research, mixed-methods research, 'space, place and the body'.

Qualifications

Graduate Certificate in Management, Curtin University of Technology. 2009

PhD, University of Adelaide, 2005 Title: ‘A Fight about Nothing’ Constructions of Domestic Violence

Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training, Faculty of Technology and Industrial Education, Northern Territory University, 2002

First Class Honours, Bachelor of Social Work, University of South Australia, 1995 Title: “Social Workers and the Policy-making Processes of Federal Parliament”

Bachelor of Social Work, University of South Australia, 1995

Honours, awards and grants

Winner as part of SWIRLS of the Flinders University Reconciliation Action Plan 2021.

Winner of the peer nominated CEPSW Special Learning and Teaching Awards for Industry linked Social Work Honours program 2020.

Winner of the Industry Award ‘People and Community’ for the OPAL GIS Environment Evaluation at the South Australian Spatial Excellence Awards 2013. Awarded by the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute and Spatial Industries Business Association.

Australian National Preventive Health Agency Preventive Health Research Grants Program 2011/12 “Evaluating network and capacity development in large scale community obesity prevention”. Associate Investigator with Prof Steven Allender (Deakin University), Dr Melanie Nichols (Deakin University), Prof Boyd Swinburn (University of Auckland) and Prof Penny Hawe (University of Calgary). Amount Awarded: $207,080 GST exclusive.

Australian Research Council 2012-2015 “Ethnographic Study of the experience of OPAL in low income families in Playford.” Partner Investigator with A/Prof Megan Warin (University of Adelaide), Prof Vivienne Moore (University of Adelaide) and Prof Paul Ward (Flinders University). Amount Awarded: $163,000 GST exclusive

Key responsibilities

Deputy Teaching Program Director 2022

Bachelor of Social Work Course Coordinator 2021-2022

Social Work Honours Coordinator 2017-

Co-Chair, Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group, College Education, Psychology and Social Work

Member, Decolonising the Curriculum Working Group, College Education, Psychology and Social Work

Teaching interests

Public Health

Research

Health Social Work

First Nations Peoples and Communities Health and Wellbeing

Topic coordinator
SOAD7031 Research Principles and Practices
SOAD7012 Social Work Honours Thesis
SOAD1008 Introduction to Social Work