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 relationshipsTeaching Strengths
Prof Elspeth McInnes
Professor of Sociology in Education
School of Education
College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
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 |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Mills-Bayne, M. (2017). Fostering children's capacity for empathic reasoning: the role of community of inquiry in an empathic pedagogy. (University of South Australia). |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Bagshaw, D., Brown, T., Campbell, A., McInnes, E., Tinning, B., Batagol, B., . . . Fernandez Arias, P. (2010). Family Violence and Family Law in Australia: The Experience and Views of Children and Adults from Families who Separated Post - 1995 and Post 2006: Volume 1. DOI |
| - | McInnes, E., Ey, L. -A., & Tippett, N. (n.d.). Families’ Perspectives on Services’ Responses to Australian Children’s Harmful Sexual Behaviours. DOI |
| - | McInnes, E., Whitington, V., & Neill, B. (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
Courses I teach
- EDUC 3001 Children in Families and Communities (2025)
- EDUC 3001 Children in Families and Communities (2024)
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Supporting teachers to respond effectively to students experiencing trauma | - | Doctorate | Part Time | Mrs Erin Louise Mann |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | In what ways do culturally relevant resources support Young Children's Language and Literacy Development? | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Alessandra Perna |
| 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Risks of harm and child sexual abuse in Australian family law cases: do judicial and legislative responses uphold a childs right to protection? | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Ms Courtney Louise Dolphin |
| 2019 | Principal Supervisor | The exploration of domestic violence within culturally and linguistically diverse multicultural communities and the intersectionality to accessing domestic violence services and the responses of cultu | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mrs Renee Romeo |
| 2012 | Principal Supervisor | Managing life in two homes: what are the routines, relationships and experience of primary school children from separated homes and their parents and teachers within the school environment | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Miss Luisa Matacin |
| 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 |
Available For Media Comment.