Rate My Professor Angela Barns

Dr. Angela Barns is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work and serves as Program Head and Co-Lead for the Social Work program in the Curtin School of Allied Health, part of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. A qualified social worker, she holds a Bachelor of Social Work with Honours (BSW Hons) and a PhD from Curtin University. Her doctoral thesis examined young women's stories of negotiating futures in the space and place of work and family, employing feminist poststructuralist framings of the economic-social nexus. Barns commenced her academic career at Curtin as a sessional lecturer while completing her PhD, progressing to her current senior position after more than 20 years in social work education. Previously associated with the School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, and earlier the Faculty of Humanities, she has held leadership roles including Head of the School of Social Work. Her teaching portfolio includes social theory, social policy, and research methods, fostering critical thinking and practical skills among social work students.

Barns' academic interests and research specializations encompass feminist perspectives on gender equality and women's employment, social work education and pedagogy, interprofessional practice, workers' compensation policy, and everyday experiences of living with chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis. She has co-authored key publications including 'A Model for a Social Justice Hub for Social Work Education' (Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 2025, with David Hodgson et al.), 'Messiness in International Qualitative Interviewing: What I Did, What I Didn’t Do, and a Little Bit About Why' (International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2022), 'An Exploration of Social Work Students’ Experience of an Interprofessional First Year' (Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 2021, with Robin Shortland-Jones), 'Living in the Present: Women’s Everyday Experiences of Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis' (SAGE Open, 2015, with Frida Svanholm, Anna Kjellberg, Ingrid Thyberg, and Sture Falkmer), 'Workers Compensation in Western Australia: The Shifting Landscape of Workers’ Rights' (2014), 'Part-time Employment and Effects on Australian Social Work Students: A Report on a National Study' (Australian Social Work, 2011, with Donna McAuliffe et al.), and 'Is Australia Really a World Leader in Closing the Gender Gap?' (Feminist Economics, 2010, with Alison Preston). With 14 publications and over 137 citations on ResearchGate, her work has influenced discussions on labor market reforms, social justice, and professional training. Barns has received the Curtin University Guild Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007 and the Executive Dean’s (Faculty of Humanities) Award for Excellence in 2006, recognizing her contributions to teaching and learning.