Head of the School of Social Work Associate Professor Kieran O'Donoghue.
Associate Professor Kieran O’Donoghue, head of Massey University’s School of Social Work, commends social workers on the role they play towards personal and community transformation.
As Aotearoa New Zealand celebrates National Social Workers Day on Wednesday, Dr O’Donoghue applauds the country’s social workers for their commitment to the people they serve, who are often those most in need of social assistance and support.
“Social workers’ work in an environment in which there is social and economic inequality, scarce resources, increasing accountability and public scrutiny,” he says. “In the face of these challenges, social workers continually support people to manage and/or change the difficult social situations they experience.”
Dr O’Donoghue particularly acknowledges the social work graduates of Massey University who work to improve the situations their clients experience across all fields of social work practice.
“Today’s professional social work is complex and increasingly specialised and the University recognises this through its National Social Workers Day continuing professional education seminar entitled ‘Celebrating Transformative Change in Social Work’. The aim of the seminar is to gain new insights into current issues facing society and the social work profession, as well as, show case the work of recent Master of Social Work graduates, doctoral students and Massey University staff across all facets of social work, including supervision, decolonisation, work with gang members, and research and practice that transforms lives,” Dr O’Donoghue says.