Biography
Susan is an Asst. Professor in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. Prior to this, she lectured full-time in social sciences at the Institute of Technology, Sligo. Additionally, Susan has experience teaching at the National University of Ireland, Galway, primarily on the Masters in Social Work Program (including coordination work for the law and human rights law module) and the Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work Practice Teaching, Supervision and Management.
Susan's PhD examined the impact of the economic recession on intellectually disabled young people and their families, primarily through a biographical narrative interpretative method. Within this, an affirmative non-tragedy theoretical lens situated within an overarching critical disability studies perspective, was adopted. More broadly her work has, and continues to, focus upon two major areas of research interest: (1) child protection and disabled children in the Republic of Ireland (2) critical disability studies.
Susan has approximately a decade of practice experience in a diverse range of applied social settings including child protection and welfare social work; intellectual disability; residential social care practice; acting managerial work; youth justice work; special education; counselling and advocacy; disability day activation work, and other roles. Susan also has experience as a social science researcher in the industry.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Susan Flynn, Social Constructionism and Social Care: Literature on Evidence Informed Practice within the Professionalisation of Social Care Professionals who work with children in Ireland. , Child Care in Practice , 2019
Susan Flynn, Revisiting Hegemony: A Gramscian Analysis for Contemporary Social Work. , Irish Journal of Sociology , 2019
Susan Flynn, Irish Intellectual Disability Services for Children and Austerity Measures: The Qualitative Impact of Recession through Framework Method, Child Care in Practice , 2019
Susan Flynn, Making Acquaintance: Compatibility of Critical Disability Studies Conventions with Child Protection and Welfare Social Work Practice in Ireland. , Practice: Social Work in Action , 2019
Susan Flynn, Life Stories of the Economic Recession: Biographical Narrative Interpretative Method (BNIM) and the Lived Experience of Disability in Times of Austerity, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research , 21, (1), 2019, p58 - 66
Susan Flynn, Towards Parity in Protection: Barriers to Effective Child Protection and Welfare Assessment with Disabled Children in the Republic of Ireland, Child Care in Practice , 2019
Susan Flynn, Learning from the Literature on Social Work and Social Care with Children: The Utility of a Jansson Framework of Policy-Practice, Child Care in Practice , 2019
Susan Flynn, Rethinking Debates in Narrative Methods: Narrative Orthodoxy and Research Challenges with Children with Intellectual Disability, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research , 2019
Susan Flynn, Theorizing Disability in Child Protection: Applying Critical Disability Studies to the Elevated Risk of Abuse for Disabled Children, Disability & Society , 2019
Susan Flynn and Caroline McGregor , Recessionary Tales: An investigation into how intellectually disabled young people, and their families, experienced the economic downturn, 2018
Susan Flynn, Disabled children and child protection: Learning from the literature through a non-tragedy lens, Child Care in Practice , 23, (3), 2017, p258 - 274
Susan Flynn, Engaging with materialism and material reality: Critical disability studies and economic recession, Disability & Society , 32, (2), 2017, p143 - 159
Susan Flynn, Social work practice within an economic downturn: Understanding austerity through an anti-oppressive framework, Practice: Social Work in Action , 29, (3), 2017, p179 - 199
Susan Flynn, Perspectives on austerity: The impact of the economic recession on children with intellectual disability, Disability & Society , 32, (5), 2017, p678 - 700
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Susan Flynn, Disability and Irish Austerity: Socio-Biographic Narratives of Intellectually Disability and Economic Recession, Nordic Network on Disability Research Conference, 2019
Susan Flynn, Social Care and Self Care: Exploring the Implications of Evidence Informed Practice (EIP) and Professionalisation for the Care of Social Care Professionals in Ireland, Social Care Ireland Conference. , 2019
Susan Flynn, Economic Recession, Austerity and Disability: Socio-Biographic Learning for Social Work from the Exceptional Case of Ireland, European Conference Social Work Research., 2019
Susan Flynn, A History and Sociology of Willowbrook State School., Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 64, (2), 2017, p227 - 229
Susan Flynn, Economic recession and children with intellectual disability: Applying an affirmative non-tragedy framework to the issue of austerity, Disability Studies Conference, Lancaster. , Lancaster, 2016
Susan Flynn, Investigating how children with intellectual disabilities, and their families, experience the current economic downturn.', Lunchtime Seminar: Centre for Disability Law and Policy. , 2016
Susan Flynn, Narrative Continuities: Reflexivity in Action Between Research and Practice. , IASW Research and Practice conference. , 2016, 2016
Susan Flynn, Children with intellectual disability, their families and the economic recession: Serious concerns and practical challenges through an affirmative non-tragedy optic., Sociological Association of Ireland Annual Conference. , 2016
Susan Flynn, The Impact of the economic downturn on children with intellectual disability and their families. , Seminar Series: School of Political Science and Sociology, NUI Galway, 2016, 2016
Susan Flynn, Literature through an affirmative non-tragedy lens: the impact of the economic recession on children with intellectual disability, Theorising Normalcy and the Mundane Conference, 2016, 2016
Susan Flynn, Novel Narrative Possibilities: Using a Biographical Narrative Interpretative Method (BNIM) within Intellectual Disability Research, 3rd International Irish Narrative Inquiry Conference. , 2016, 2016
Susan Flynn, The current economic recession: Social work perspectives on it's impact on people with intellectual disability, The Irish Social Worker , Spring 2015, 2015, p31 - 55
Susan Flynn, Proposition for a PhD: The impact of austerity on intellectually disabled young people and their families. , Irish Association of Social Workers Annual Conference , 2015, 2015
Susan Flynn, Poster: Recessionary Tales: An investigation into the impact of the economic recession on young people with intellectual disability, and their families,, Youth Mental Health and Self Stigma Conference. 2015., 2015