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Dr Jung-Sook Lee
Senior Lecturer

Dr Jung-Sook Lee

PhD & MSW, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

MEd & BA, Seoul National University, South Korea

Arts,Design & Architecture
School of Social Sciences

Jung-Sook Lee is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences. Her research focuses on breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantages. She worked in the education and social work sectors for seven years before she returned to academia. She authored a much-cited article, 'Parent involvement, cultural capital, and the achievement gap among elementary school children (Lee & Bowen 2006)’. She also authored manuscripts regarding multicultural practice, out-of-home care, child poverty, school social work, student engagement, and higher education. She is a CI of 2 ARC funded projects. Her expertise is well recognised as evidenced by her appearance on TES Magazine and The Australian.
Phone
+61 (2) 9065 1271
E-mail
js.lee@unsw.edu.au
Location
140 Morven Brown

2015-2018 Australian Research Council Linkage Grant [LP150100528]. Lost in Transition: Young People with Complex Support Needs [Dowse, Mendes, Strnadova, Lee, Cumming, Snow, Smith, Ellem, Birt] $392,200

2013-2016 Australian Research Council Linkage Grant [LP130101010]. Long-term Outcomes of Forgotten Australian Study [Fernandez, Lee, Courtney, Stein, Foote, Cheers, Pocock, Gray, Walsh, Conroy] $240,000

2013-2015 The Children and Violence Evaluation Challenge Fund. Ubuntu Care: Evaluating a child-centered approach to reducing sexual violence against children with disabilities in Burundian society [Pittaway, Bartolomei, Lee] €89,408 equivalent to $96,621

LSAY Research Innovation and Expansion Fund Research Fellowship, National Centre for Vocational Education Research, Australia (2008-2009)

Spencer Fellowship in Education Policy Research, USA (2005-2007)

Fulbright Scholarship, USA (2003-2005)

Current Research Projects

  • Equity in Education: A project to investigate people’s beliefs and attitudes about equity in education. It examines various issues related to educational equity such as people’s perceptions of equity in the current school system, their understanding of the concept of equity in education, their normative beliefs about educational equity, and their preferences for educational practices and policy to achieve equity in education.
  • Social Work in Diverse Society: An interdisciplinary study to explore the issues of toleration, respect, recognition, and power in social work discourse.

Past Research Projects 

  • Lost in Transition - Young People with Complex Support Needs:  A project to understand the lives of young people with complex support needs who experience overlapping forms of disadvantage and frequent transitions between services, institutions and care environments (funded by the ARC).
  • The Long-term Outcomes of Forgotten Australians: A project to understand life experiences of 'care leavers' who have lived in all types of institutions and other forms of out-of-home-care as children (funded by the ARC).
  • An Evaluation Study of the Ubuntu Care Project: A study to evaluate a project that aimed to prevent sexual abuse among children with a disability in Burundi, Africa (funded by the Children and Violence Evaluation Challenge Fund).
  • Education and Life Chances of Young People: A project to explore the role of education in shaping young people’s life chances including employment, income, social participation, and wellbeing.
  • The Effects of Poverty on Children’s Outcomes: A project to investigate the effects of poverty on children’s physical, socio-emotional, learning, and health outcomes. The duration, timing, and depth of poverty are given special considerations.
  • Social Work Services in Australian Schools: A project to investigate the current situations of and possibilities for social work services in Australian schools.

Editorial Boards

  • Children and Youth Services Review (2022–present)
  • Social Science Studies (2012–2018)
  • Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts (2013–2016)

Professional Memberships

  • The Australian Sociological Association (2021–present)
  • Australian Association for Research in Education (2021–present)
  • Society for Social Work and Research, U.S.A. (2007–2013)
  • National Association of Social Workers, U.S.A. (2008–2009)

Media engagement

My Research Supervision

Nirosha Boaden - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in rural and remote schools (the recipient of the Norma Parker Award)

Murni Sianturi - Technology and family-school partnerships for Indigenous students (Scientia PhD candidate)

MD Badiuzzaman - Technology and family-school partnerships for students with disabilities (Scientia PhD candidate)

Peter Conway - Restrictive practices within behaviour support plans for NDIS participants

My Teaching

Current teaching

  • SOCW1004 Lifespan, Health, and Resilience
  • SOCW2008 Culture, Identity, and Diversity
  • SRAP1001 Social Research and Society
  • SRAP5101 Research Methods and Project Design

Previous teaching

  • SOCW2001 Human Behaviour 2
  • SOCW2005 Research for Social Work
  • SOCW3007 Research Methods 2
  • SOCW3005 Research Honours
  • SRAP2002 Policy Analysis
  • SRAP3001 Quantitative Social Research
  • SRAP3002 Social Research and Policy Project