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Dr. Sinead Whiting

Assistant Professor (Social Studies)

 


Sinéad is an Assistant Professor in Social Work, and Practice Education Coordinator, in the School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin. She holds a PhD from Trinity College Dublin (2023), a Masters in Social Work from University College Dublin (2001), and a BA(Hons) in History from Trinity College Dublin (1998). Sinéad's PhD research is a qualitative study investigating the lived experiences of a group of young adults who grew up in long-term foster care with permanence, in Ireland. Prior to joining the School of Social Work and Social Policy Sinéad had 20 years experience working as a social worker in the fields of adoption, foster care and child protection and welfare. Sinead teaches 'Social Work Theories and Counselling Practice Approaches' and 'Preparation for Practice Learning; A Reflective Practice Approach' on the Master in Social Work programme. She also delivers lectures as part of the 'Children in Care' Modules on the Master in Social Work programme, the Bachelor in Social Studies (Social Work) undergraduate degree and the Post Graduate Diploma in Child Protection and Welfare. In addition she teaches 'Preparation for Practice-based Learning' modules across all years on the undergraduate BSS (Social Work) degree programme. Sinéad is involved in delivering continuous professional development courses for professional social workers in the areas of practice education and supervision and reflective practice.
  Social work education, work practice teaching   Social work with children and families
 The lived experience of of young adults who grew up in foster care with permanence
 Pivot Project Research Consortium
 Hybrid Placement Model
 

Details Date
Reviewer Child Care in Practice 2019
Irish Council of Social Workers in Adoption Member Executive Committee 2018
Member of Trinity Research in Childhood (TRiCC)2017-present
Reviewer Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning 2023
Member of Tusla Adoption Committee for Dublin/Mid Leinster 2023
Member of International Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (INTRAC)
Details Date From Date To
CORU registered Social Worker 2014 Present
Irish Association Of Social Workers January 2012 Present
Irish Council of Social Workers in Adoption September 2018 Present
Whiting, S., Dorney, L., Rose, J., O'Connor, E., Slavin, P., Kelly, E., Melaugh, B., Feeney, B., National Practice Teaching in Social Work Initiative; a rare opportunity to shape the development of social work student placements and practice teaching in Ireland., Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 2023, Journal Article, APPROVED  DOI
Recent developments in aftercare provision in Ireland in, editor(s)Refaeli, T Mann-Feder, V. , , Leaving Care around the world: Twenty years of the International Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care, 2025, [Brady, E., Gilligan, R., Whiting, S.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
O'Connor, E., Whiting, S., Mapping blended learning in social work practice education to national standards - a Hybrid Placement Model Teaching and Learning Resource, Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Quigley, Duana; Poole, Claire; Whiting, Sinead; O'Connor, Erna; Gleeson, Claire; Alpine, Lucy, University student experiences of work-based placements during COVID-19 pandemic: An inter-disciplinary survey of allied health and social work students., Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 13, (1), 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
O'Connor, E., Roulston, A., Whiting, S., & Olusa, O.,, Editorial: Special Across Ireland Issue of the Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 20, (2), 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
O'Connor, E., Whiting, S., Gilligan, R.,Holt, S., Brady, E.,Eliffe, R., Feely,M., Flynn, S., Houston, S., McEvoy., P., 'Hybrid Placement Model: A Social Work Teaching and Learning Resource http://hdl.handle.net/2262/96780', TARA, TCD, 2020, -, Protocol or guideline, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Whiting, S, Birth Family Connections: the perspective of young adults who grew up in permanent foster care, EUSARF 2021: The Perspective of the Child, Zurich, 1-3 November 2021, 2021, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Whiting, S, What Difference does Adoption Make: the experiences of young adults adopted as older teenagers from long-term foster care, ICAR7 International Conference on Adoption Research, Milan, 6th-9th July 2021, 2021, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
  

Murphy, N., Rose, J., Feeney, B., Melaugh, B., Kelly, E., O'Connor, E., Byrne-Cummins, J., Dorney, L., Slavin, P., Whiting, S., The Experience of Practice Teaching in Ireland, September, 2023, Report, PUBLISHED
Conlon, Catherine and Antosik-Parsons, Kate and Flynn, Susan and Caffrey, Louise and Byrne, Julie and Whiting, Sinead, , Lessons from Pivoting to Online Interviewing: Ethical and Technical Considerations for Qualitative Researchers following the COVID-19 Pandemic (February 1, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4345037 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4345037, 2023, Report, PUBLISHED

  

Sinéad's research interests are strongly grounded in her experiences in professional practice and are located in the field of children in care and care leavers, with a focus on experiences of permanence for young people in care, including adoption from foster care. Sinead has a particular interest in themes related to youth transitions and how common youth transitions intersect with issues such as adoption and foster care in early adulthood. She is interested in research relating to the experiences of foster care and adoption for those from the Travelling community and other ethnic minority groups, including experiences of transracial placements and intercountry adoption. Sinead's PhD research examined experiences of permanency and stability for young adults who grew up in foster care, drawing upon qualitative methodologies to understand more about the lived experiences of young adults who grew up in foster care with permanence and using the lens of youth transitions to gain deeper insights into key issues. Sinead's research interests also extend to Practice Education in a social work and interdisciplinary context, contributing to current Irish based research drawing on innovation in the field of practice education, within allied health and social care professions. Underpinning her academic career is Sinéad"s previous career as a social work practitioner, with eighteen years experience across the areas of child protection and welfare, fostering, and adoption. Sinéad"s familiarity with practice has been pivotal in informing her research and her teaching, providing an authorative familiarity with the challenges and rewards of professional practice and the policy and practice context of her field.