Rate My Professor Stephan Lund

Professor Stephan Lund serves as Professor of Practice in Social Work and Social Policy and Head of Division, Social Work and Social Policy, in the School of Health and Clinical Sciences at the University of Western Australia. With more than 25 years of experience as a front-line social worker and senior manager in the field, he has established himself as a mid-career researcher and academic leader. Lund earned his PhD in Social Work from UWA in 2018, with a thesis titled 'Connection and Relationship in Care - the Voices of Foster Carers: A Western Australian study.' He also holds a Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) from 2000, a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Industrial Relations from 1989, and a Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Teaching from UWA in 2021. Previously, he coordinated the MSW and BSW programs, chaired the School of Allied Health Learning and Teaching Committee, and currently acts as a Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Munich (2024-2025), consultant to the Department of Communities (Western Australia), and member of advisory boards including Affirm Care and the University of the Sunshine Coast's Social Work External Advisory Board.

Lund's research focuses on out-of-home care, particularly challenges and innovations for foster and kinship carers, trauma-informed practice, scholarship of teaching and learning, and student mental health and wellbeing. He leads multiple funded projects, such as the ARC project 'Empowering peer-parent and family advocacy in Australian child protection' (2024-2027), evaluations for the Palmerston Child Support Service, and the Valuing Children Initiative exploring Australian adults' attitudes towards children. Notable publications include 'International Trauma-Informed Practice Principles for Schools (ITIPPS): expert consensus of best-practice principles' (2024, The Australian Educational Researcher, co-authored), 'Virtual simulation for person-centred care training across the learning continuum: a pilot study' (2026, International Journal of Healthcare Simulation), 'A qualitative meta-synthesis of carers’ perceptions of factors influencing preschool children’s oral hygiene practices' (2024, Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology), and 'The Valuing Children Initiative Survey 2023' (2023). His contributions have earned him Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2023), UWA Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2023), Vice-Chancellor's Award for Indigenous-Led Research Commendation (2023), and UWA Guild Student Choice Award (2020).