Dr Olga Bursian - Researcher Profile

As  a young social work graduate, I witnessed the debilitating impacts of low incomes and the empty material, cultural and social spaces of outer Western Sydney on the lives of families and young people.   The cultural revolutions of the 1970s and visionary teachers contributed to my abiding commitment to social justice.  The efficacy of specific policies in extending the human capabilities of large segments of the Australian population also demonstrated the importance of social research and political engagement by social professionals and community groups.

In the late 1980s, as the re-structurings of Australia's economic and  social fabric began in earnest , my  social policy and research roles (eg:The Brotherhood of St Laurence, Social & Community Services Industry Training Board Vic) focussed on unemployment, poverty, family support services, and divergent access to labour market, training and education opportunities for major groups, such as women, young people and migrants.  Formal production of research evidence based recommendations to governments for budgetary allocations and a period as a statewide manager of early childhood services in the public service deepened my understanding of policy development  within government parameters.

I have worked for small ngos in the multicultural sector including managing settlement services, community development with refugee groups in urban and regional Victoria and cross cultural training of workers and bureuacrats in family and childrens services, health, education and local government.  

This professional background informs current academic teaching and research.   I seek to apply the paradigms of emancipatory social work, critical pedagogies, anti-colonial knowledges and praxis, and equality for people, cultures  and all living systems.  My overarching reference point as an academic is the impact of public policies on people's daily lives.

Research Interests.

1. The historic and contemporary roles of public and social policies in shaping Australian civil society, culture  and the discursive and material spaces available to various groups for democratic engagement. The study of comparative welfare states and the nature and quality of publicy funded infrastructure typical of modern wealthy democracies to enable people to flourish in self determination.  Research into the impact of specific policy repertoires on people's daily lives, with a focus on families, young people and women. 

2. Multiculturalism, immigration policies, settlement services, citizenship and human rights. The public policies and programs shown to facilitate the agency of migrant women as engaged citizens. Migrant women, national and international movement of labour, education, training  and industrial issues, protection of human and citizenship rights.

3. Tranformative social work and community development theory and practice, processes for social and cultural change, advocay and activism.

4. Global knowledges, ontologies, decolonising research methodologies, ethics and professional/personal   practices.