Academic freedom, reasoned debate and a respect for evidence

Andrew Azzopardi interviews Dr Sue Vella, the recently appointed Head of the department of Social Policy and Social Work within the Faculty for Social Wellbeing.

Dr Vella can you give us a brief description of your academic career?

After leaving University in 1994, I read for a Master degree in Social Policy and Social Planning at the London School of Economics. After almost twenty years in the public sector, and obtaining my doctorate from the University of York, I took up a full-time academic post in 2013. I am currently Head of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work where I lecture mainly in the history and management of social policy and in policy analysis.

What is your main area of research interest?

My main research interests are employment and social security, from both historical and contemporary perspectives, and in terms of their relation to poverty. I am also interested in contemporary challenges to NGO governance and I’m in the early stages of developing a cross-national research proposal on this subject with colleagues abroad. In addition, together with colleagues and under the auspices of the Malta Foundation for Social Wellbeing, I’ve recently worked on quantitative and qualitative studies on families in Malta and we are about to embark on an exciting new project this year. I am also participating with another colleague on a COST inter-disciplinary project on disadvantages facing youth in a comparative context.

How is the Department of Social Policy and Social Work you lead trying to address this area of interest?

Beyond the above, colleagues in our department have many and varied research interests in both social policy and social work. Policy areas include the Maltese welfare state; housing policy; community care; the economics of social care; supported living and persons with disability; mental health; sexual and reproductive health and rights; feminist motherhood; teenage pregnancy; and gender in social policy and adaptive policy transfer. Colleagues’ interests also include social work supervision; the regulation of the social work profession in Malta; professional identity; resilience; decision-making in social work; social work with children and children in care; spirituality in social work and psychotherapy; forgiveness in therapeutic work; and domestic violence.

What is the deal students get when enrolled with your Department?

Our Department has a range of under-graduate and postgraduate programmes in social work and social policy. When students enter our under-graduate programme, they are introduced to both areas in their first year, at the end of which they choose which route to take in the second and subsequent years. In their first year with us, we support student development through not only our academic curriculum but also through applied units in scholarship skills and social skills. Student wellbeing is our topmost priority, and we support it through a long-established academic advisory system. We also offer a number of post-graduate programmes whether taught or by research, and supervise doctoral students too. Our programmes are designed to encourage critical thinking, professional values and social awareness and commitment, imparting both knowledge and skills, and include supervised practice.

What do you see to be the role of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing in today’s society?

I believe our Faculty brings together a range of disciplines, expertise and interests that provide perspective on social change. As a Faculty we can provide policy input, give voice to service users and equip our students with the knowledge, skills and values to contribute to public life. We have an important role in the formation of our students and in supporting them throughout their academic journey, being a resource to which they can return as they navigate through their professional lives.

Why is the University of Malta such an important voice in our community?

I think that established university traditions – academic freedom, reasoned debate, a respect for evidence and so on – mean that universities have historically played a critical role in creating and strengthening civil society and continue to do so. It’s not only academics themselves who use ‘voice’ through innovation, disseminating knowledge, public commentary etc. but also our skilled and confident graduates capable of critical thought, impartiality and social commitment, and who go on to take up leadership positions across various sectors of public life.

Academics have always been catalysts for change, through, for instance, dispassionate analysis and activism, and I think that this opportunity is one of the privileges and responsibilities that comes with university life and one which is rightly safeguarded.

How come so many people still suffer notwithstanding the culture of support we have in our communities, the strong voluntary sector and the high expenditure in social services?

That’s quite a difficult question to answer in a generic sense. Material factors can certainly induce stress and anxiety; levels of poverty remain largely constant and some groups face higher risks than others, especially (relative to EU averages) lone parents, large families and those over 65. Access to the housing market is a worry for many young people and vulnerable groups; persons whose livelihood (and that of their employees) is threatened by Covid-19 are also experiencing very difficult times. Yet not all those with incomes below the national median necessarily identify themselves as suffering, which involves a subjective appraisal of one’s circumstances. Of course, circumstances can be objectively very challenging and the subjective nature of suffering doesn’t reduce the imperative to address poverty or to educate and protect against a range of risks. Relational difficulties can cause the most acute suffering, and navigating relationships in an era with far fewer social certainties, immense work-life balance pressures and the cognitive-affective impact of social media has become more challenging. Recent Faculty work has brought to light the prevalence of loneliness and how resilience can be undermined without authentic and committed relationships.

How can communities function better in our society?

I strongly believe in capitalising on a community’s strengths, moving away from a ‘deficit’ analysis to understanding what works well and building upon it. A remark by a colleague some years back brought about a shift in my thinking on this. As he pointed out, sometimes we tend to take an ‘x-ray’ approach, with the intention – and effect – of only identifying the problems. An exclusive focus on needs, excluding a community’s assets, does not make the most of the insight and abilities of people in a given community to make it function better. This is not to say that a community’s needs should be overlooked – far from it – but in terms of approach, taking an inventory of its assets and opportunities is a more useful place to start. Communities are less homogenous and static than they once were, and people are so busy, yet I think in most communities there are people who already do, or would like to, contribute to a stronger sense of place and belonging and who can be supported to do so.