Elspeth McInnes

Research Interests

Applied Sociology Applied sociology, program evaluation and social impact assessment Child protection Cultural responsiveness and working with Pacific Peoples communities education Early Childhood Education Education policy, sociology and philosophy Law and society and socio-legal research Pacific Peoples early childhood education Sociology of Education Sociology of family and relationships

Teaching Strengths

Online courses
Early Childhood Education
Teaching emotionally difficult content
Higher Degree Research supervision

Prof Elspeth McInnes

Professor of Sociology in Education

School of Education

College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences

Available For Media Comment.

My teaching and research provides expertise in two fields: child protection and wellbeing in early childhood education, and Australian family violence laws and policies impacting family safety. I have a strong research-teaching-engagement nexus. My program of research investigates ways in which educators can support young children’s wellbeing and learning and social policy impacts on vulnerable families.

  • Families and Separation
  • Child abuse and child protection
  • Gender and Violence
  • Social policy and social inequality
  • Women in Small Business

Date Position Institution name
2002 - 2025 Professor of Sociology in Education University of South Australia

Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
2006 Honour Member of the Order of Australia Australian Honours Australia -

Date Institution name Country Title
1991 - 2001 Flinders University Australia PhD
1989 - 1991 Flinders University Australia Bachelor of Arts Honours 1

Year Citation
2025 Harris, P., McInnes, E., Farndale, A., Aghayeva, G., Depares, L., & Evans, P. (2025). Dialogically constructing a culturally sustaining multilingual family literacies approach in early childhood Settings. Social Sciences, 14(3), 1-29.
DOI
2025 Ey, L. A., Tippett, N., McInnes, E., Cockram, L., & Ostovar Ravare, A. (2025). Australian Catholic teachers' preparedness in identifying and responding to harmful sexual behavior and their training and resource needs. Child Protection and Practice, 5(100181), 1-13.
DOI
2024 McInnes, E., Whitington, V., Neill, B., & Farndale, A. (2024). Professional learning supporting multilingual children's social and emotional development in diverse Australian early childhood education and care settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 53(3), 779-790.
DOI
2024 McLinton, S. S., Menz, S. N., Guerin, B., & McInnes, E. (2024). Evidence-based guidelines for low-risk ethics applicants: a qualitative analysis of the most frequent feedback made by human research ethics proposal reviewers. Journal of Academic Ethics, 22(4), 735-758.
DOI
2022 Harris, P., Camaitoga, U., Brock, C., Diamond, A., McInnes, E., & Neill, B. (2022). Co-creating multilingual books with children to foster their literacies. The Reading Teacher, 75(5), 555-565.
DOI
2022 McInnes, E. (2022). Bystander attitudes to hearing family violence: an Australian survey. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 11, 48-54.
DOI
2021 McInnes, E., Harris, P., Neill, B., Diamond, A., Brock, C., & Camaitoga, U. (2021). Supporting preschool age children's wellbeing through home-based literacy development in three Fijian communities. New Zealand International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 23(2), 36-51.
2020 McInnes, E., & Ey, L. A. (2020). Responding to problematic sexual behaviours of primary school children: supporting care and education staff. Sex education, 20(1), 75-89.
DOI
2020 Harris, P., Brock, C. H., McInnes, E., Diamond, A., Neill, B., Carter, J., & Giannakis, E. (2020). Co-constructing culturally sustaining practices for fostering young children's literacy in Fiji. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 34(1), 127-152.
DOI
2018 Ey, L. A., & McInnes, E. (2018). Educators' observations of children's display of problematic sexual behaviors in educational settings. Journal of child sexual abuse, 27(1), 88-105.
DOI
2017 McInnes, E., Whitington, V., Colmer, K., Sisson, J., & Scales, M. (2017). A multi-dimensional approach to pedagogical development in long day care centres. New Zealand-International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 20(1), 46-58.
2017 Whitington, V., & McInnes, E. (2017). Developing a 'classroom as community' approach to supporting young children's wellbeing. Australasian journal of early childhood, 42(4), 22-29.
DOI
2017 Ey, L. A., McInnes, E., & Rigney, L. I. (2017). Educators' understanding of young children's typical and problematic sexual behaviour and their training in this area. Sex education, 17(6), 682-696.
DOI Scopus17 WoS14
2015 Ey, L. A., & McInnes, E. (2015). Sexualised music videos broadcast on Australian free-to-air television in child-friendly time periods. Children Australia, 40(1), 58-68.
DOI
2013 McInnes, E. (2013). Madness in family law: mothers' mental health in the Australian family law system. Psychiatry, psychology and law, 21(1), 78-91.
DOI
2012 Briggs, F., & McInnes, E. M. (2012). Commentary: Can family law protect young children?. Children Australia, 37(2), 54-55.
DOI
2011 Walsh, K., Laskey, L., McInnes, E., Farrell, A., Matthews, B., & Briggs, F. (2011). Locating child protection in preservice teacher education. Australian journal of teacher education, 36(7), 31-58.
DOI
2011 Hume, M., McInnes, E. M., Rendell, K., & Green, B. (2011). Women's services in the twenty-first century: where are we heading?. Australian domestic and family violence clearinghouse, 46, 3-4.
2011 McInnes, E., & Nichols, S. M. (2011). Partnerships in integrated early childhood centres: getting from policies to practices. New Zealand research in early childhood education, 14, 81-93.
2011 Walsh, K., Laskey, L., McInnes, E., Farrell, A., Mathews, B., & Briggs, F. (2011). Locating child protection in preservice teacher education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(7), 45-58.
DOI Scopus62
2011 Bagshaw, D. M., Brown, T., Wendt, S. C., Campbell, A. D., McInnes, E. M., Tinning, B., . . . Fernandez Arias, P. (2011). The effect of family violence on post-separation parenting arrangements: the experiences and views of children and adults from families who separated post-1995 and post-2006. Family matters, 86(86), 49-61.
Scopus16 WoS22
2010 McInnes, E. M., Ward, L. C., & Knight, D. F. (2010). Family day care providers' occupational health and safety. Journal of Health, Safety and Environment, 26(5), 403-412.
2010 McInnes, E. M. (2010). Family Law and Women's Homelessness. Parity, 23(10), 11-12.
2010 Bagshaw, D. M., Brown, T., Wendt, S. C., Campbell, A. D., McInnes, E. M., Tinning, B., . . . Aries, P. F. (2010). Family violence : parent's and children's experiences before and after the 2006 reforms. Australian family lawyer, 21(2), 11-18.
2007 McInnes, E. M. (2007). The attitudes of separated resident mothers in Australia to children spending time with fathers. Australian journal of family law.
2005 McInnes, E. M. (2005). Battling for independence - government and the sector. Impact.
2005 McInnes, E. M. (2005). Single mothers managing work, self and family. On-line Opinion.
2005 McInnes, E. M. (2005). Devaluing children in their best interests. On-line Opinion.
2005 McInnes, E. M. (2005). Welfare to work : 'money and mummy cuts' for single parent families. Developing practice : the child youth and family work journal.
2004 McInnes, E. M. (2004). The impact of violence on mothers' and children's needs during and after parental separation. Early child development and care, 174(4), 357-368.
DOI
2004 McInnes, E. M. (2004). When governments define 'family'.... On Line Opinion (http://www.onlineopinion.com.aulprint.asp?article=2827).
2004 McInnes, E. M. (2004). Fatherlessness, joint custody and politics.... Inner Voice: Journal of the Inner Sydney Council for Social Development.
2004 McInnes, E. M. (2004). Is a pro-contact legal culture more important than child safety?. on line opinion - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate.
2003 McInnes, E. M. (2003). Compulsory child distribution and the politics of fatherlessness. Just policy: a journal of Australian social policy.
2003 McInnes, E. M. (2003). Single mothers, social policy and gendered violence. Women Against Violence.
2003 McInnes, E. M. (2003). What's wrong with a presumption of joint custody?. Family matters.
2002 McInnes, E. M. (2002). Single mothers and systems responses to violence against women and children. Stateing Women's Health.

Year Citation
2023 Harris, P., Camaitoga, U., Krishna, M., Brock, C., McInnes, E., Diamond, A., & Neill, B. (2023). Co-constructing opportunities for shared, collective literacies learning in communities in Fiji. In C. Brock, B. Exley, & L. -I. Rigney (Eds.), Source details - Title: International Perspectives on Literacies, Diversities, and Opportunities for Learning: Critical Conversations (pp. 212-227). UK: Routledge.
DOI
2021 Harris, P., Diamond, A., Neill, B., McInnes, E., Brock, C., & Camaitoga, U. (2021). Fostering young children's literacy in home and community settings: a dialogic approach to developing culturally relevant and sustaining practices. In L. A. Henry, & N. A. Stahl (Eds.), Source details - Title: Literacy Across the Community: Research: Research, Praxis, and Trends (pp. 73-88). UK: Routledge.
DOI
2020 McInnes, E., Whitington, V., Diamond, A., & Neill, B. (2020). Embedding wellbeing and creating community in classrooms - 2nd edition. In K. Brettig (Ed.), Source details - Title: Building Stronger Communities with Children and Families (2nd ed. ed., pp. 123-149). UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
2019 McInnes, E. (2019). Young children's drawings after sexual abuse: disclosure and recovery. In E. McInnes, & A. D. Mason (Eds.), Source details - Title: Where to from Here? Examining Conflict- Related and Relational Interaction Trauma (pp. 47-69). Netherlands: Brill Publishers.
DOI
2019 McInnes, E., & Schaub, D. (2019). Introduction - What happened? Re-presenting traumas, uncovering recoveries: processing individual and collective trauma. In E. McInnes, & D. Schaub (Eds.), Source details - Title: What happened? Re-presenting traumas, uncovering recoveries: processing individual and collective trauma (pp. XI-XIII). Netherlands: Brill Publishers.
2018 Harris, P., Brock, C., Diamond, A., McInnes, E., Neill, B., Camaitoga, U., & Krishna, M. (2018). "You, us and a bus": exploring analysis as cross-cultural collaboration in Fiji. In S. Akpovo, M. J. Moran, & R. Brookshire (Eds.), Source details - Title: Collaborative cross-cultural research methodologies in early care and education contexts (pp. 169-186). US: Routledge.
DOI
2016 McInnes, E., Diamond, A., & Whitington, V. (2016). Developing trauma-informed pedagogy in a classroom with 6-8 children. In D. Schaub, & E. McInnes (Eds.), Source details - Title: Trauma and meaning making (pp. 209-231). UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press.
2015 McInnes, E., Diamond, A., & Whitington, V. (2015). Embedding wellbeing and creating community in classrooms. In K. Brettig (Ed.), Source details - Title: Building stronger communities with children and families (pp. 104-127). UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
2014 McInnes, E. M. (2014). A feminist perspective: system responses to Australian mothers exiting an abusive relationship. In M. Taylor, & J. A. Pooley (Eds.), Source details - Title: Overcoming domestic violence: creating a dialogue round vulnerable populations (pp. 155-170). New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc.
2014 McInnes, E. M., Diamond, A. K., & Whitington, V. (2014). Developing Trauma-Informed Pedagogy in a Year 2-3 Classroom. In M. Callaghan (Ed.), Source details - Title: How Trauma Resonates: Art, Literature and Theoretical practice (1 ed., pp. 127-138). UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press.
2011 McInnes, E., & Diamond, A. (2011). Child and family centres: how effective?. In K. Brettig, & M. Sims (Eds.), Source details - Title: Building integrated connections for children, their families and communities (pp. 52-72). Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Year Citation
2019 McInnes, E., Whitington, V., & Neill, B. (2019). A 'classroom as community' approach to supporting student well-being and reducing bullying in primary schools. In 9th International Conference The Future of Education proceedings (pp. 1-5). Italy: Filodiritto.
2013 McInnes, E., Diamond, A., & Whitington, V. (2013). An inclusive classroom-based approach to improving student well-being. In J. White (Ed.), AARE Conference Proceedings 2013. Australia: Australian Association for Research in Education.
2012 McInnes, E., Diamond, A., & Whitington, V. (2012). Supporting children's well-being in a year 2/3 classroom. In Conference Proceedings 13 International Mental Health Conference 2012 (pp. 20-25). QLD, Australia: AST Management.
2008 McInnes, E. M. (2008). System failure and children at risk: when family law, mental illness and family law come together. In Shared Parental Responsibility in Australian Family Law and the Impact on Children [proceedings]. Adelaide, South Australia: Centre for Peace, Conflict and Mediation, University of South Australia.
2007 McInnes, E. M., & Taylor, J. (2007). Single Mothers' Struggles for Survival in the Job Network system. In 2nd National Our Work Our Lives Conference. South Australia: Hawke Research Instutute, University of South Australia.
2006 McInnes, E. M., & Nichols, S. M. (2006). Parent partnership in a new service landscape: Getting form policy to practice. In 10th New Zealand Early Childhood Research Conference. Wellington, New Zealand.
2006 Nichols, S. M., McInnes, E. M., & Jurvansuu, S. (2006). Parent partnership in integrated early childhood contexts : policy and practitioner perspective. In 10th New Zealand Early Childhood Research Conference. Wellington, New Zealand.
2006 McInnes, E. M. (2006). When unpaid care work doesn't count : the commodification of family life in the new welfare to work order. In Road to where? : the politics and practice of implementing welfare-to-work, Brisbane, Qld , 17-18 July 2006 : conference papers. Brisbane, Qld.: University of Queensland.
2004 McInnes, E. M., Glover, A., & Ikupu, A. (2004). Developing early childhood child protection in Papua New Guinea. In Proceedings of the XXIV OMEP Congress 2004. Melbourne, Australia: OMEP.
2003 McInnes, E. M. (2003). Parental alienation syndrome: a paradigm for child abuse in Australian family law. In Child sexual abuse: justice response or alternative resolution conference.
2002 McInnes, E. M. (2002). Supporting mandatory reporting in schools. In The Role of Schools in Crime Prevention Conference.
2002 McInnes, E. M. (2002). How much reform do we need: The case of lone parents. In Toweards Opportunity and Prosperity Conference.

Year Citation
2025 McInnes, E., & Neill, B. (2025). Supporting child wellbeing during transitions to preschool and school: report of the wellbeing transitions project. Australia: University of South Australia.
DOI
2023 McInnes, E., Ey, L. A., Tippett, N., & Curry, M. (2023). Responding to harmful sexual behaviours in Tasmania: review report on the Tasmanian prevention assessment support treatment [past] program. Australia: University of South Australia.
DOI
2023 McInnes, E., Whitington, V., Neill, B., & Farndale, A. (2023). Wellbeing and emotional literacy in diverse early childhood services. Australia: University of South Australia.
DOI
2023 McInnes, E., Ey, L. A., & Tippett, N. (2023). Parents' knowledge, views and experiences of service responses to children's problematic and harmful sexual behaviours. Australia: University of South Australia.
DOI
2020 McInnes, E., Whitington, V., & Neill, B. (2020). The wellbeing classroom as a whole school approach: impact evaluation. Australia: University of South Australia.
DOI
2017 Harris, P., McInnes, E., Brock, C., Neill, B., Diamond, A., Carter, J., & Camaitoga, U. (2017). Fostering preschool literacy in Fiji's communities. Australia: University of South Australia.
2014 McInnes, E., Diamond, A., & Whitington, V. (2014). The wellbeing classroom: embedding wellbeing, creating community report. Australia: Communities for Children Salisbury, the Salvation Army and the Schools Ministry Group.
2013 Diamond, A., McInnes, E., & Whitington, V. (2013). Family services in suburbs; do they make a difference in children's development? What 2009 and 2012 Australian Early Development Index results reveal about the efficacy of Salisbury Communities for children.. Australia: Salisbury Communities for Children.
2011 McInnes, E., & Diamond, A. (2011). Evaluation of child and family centre: Family Zone Ingle Farm Hub. Australia: Salvation Army Ingle Farm.
2010 Bagshaw, D., Brown, T., Wendt, S., Campbell, A., McInnes, E., Tinning, B., . . . Fernandez Arias, P. (2010). Family violence and family law in Australia: The experiences and views of children and adults from families who separated post -1995 and post-2006. Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.

Year Citation
- Neill, B., McInnes, E., & Whitington, V. (n.d.). The Wellbeing Classroom as a Whole School Approach.
DOI

  • North-West Adelaide Communities for Children Evaluation of Emergency Housing Services for Families with Children Under 12 Years of Age, Uniting SA, 29/04/2025 - 30/06/2026

  • Implementing a Family Literacy Approach to Promoting Children's and Families' Literacy in Home Languages and English in the Early Years Phases 1 and 2, Scanlon Foundation, 30/01/2023 - 30/06/2025

  • Assessing the Impacts of a Wellbeing Approach on Young Children's Transitions from Preschool to Junior Primary School, Salvation Army (SA) Property Trust, 30/01/2023 - 06/01/2025

  • Western Australian Catholic Teacher’s understanding of Problematic Sexual Behaviour and their Training Needs, Catholic Education Office of WA, 03/12/2021 - 15/12/2023

  • Developing a Family Literacy Approach to Promoting English Literacy in the Early Years, Scanlon Foundation, 01/01/2022 - 31/05/2023

  • Wellbeing in Early Childhood Settings, Salvation Army (SA) Property Trust, 24/02/2021 - 31/07/2022

  • Wellbeing Classroom Evaluation – Phase 2, Salvation Army (SA) Property Trust, 25/01/2019 - 30/12/2019

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2018 - 2025 Chair Human Research Ethics Committee University of South Australia Australia

Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
2025 - ongoing Member Journal of Family Trauma, Child Custody, and Child Development Editorial Board Taylor and Francis Online United States
2023 - ongoing Member Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Editorial Board Taylor and Francis Online United States
2012 - ongoing Member New Zealand Journal of International Research in Early Childhood Editorial Board Office of Early Childhood Education New Zealand New Zealand

Connect With Me

External Profiles

Other Links