Dr Calvin Swords
Lecturer/Assistant Professor
Biography
Calvin Swords is an Assistant Professor of Social Work in the Department of Applied Social Studies, Maynooth University. As part of his core duties (teaching, research, scholarship, and service), Calvin is the Year 2 Coordinator of the Master of Social Science (Social Work).
Prior to his appointment in August 2021, Calvin worked as a CORU registered Social Worker. He brings with him experience in a wide range of practice settings within Ireland, the most recent of which was in a hospital setting working with people across all life stages. Calvin is also a graduate of the Master of Social Work from Trinity College, Dublin.
Calvin submitted his PhD in August 2021, which explored how recovery is socially constructed in Irish Mental Health Services. It was a qualitative case study design, which adopted an interpretivist methodology, using semi-structured interviews to gather the experiences of key stakeholders regarding their conceptualisation of recovery. For this study, Calvin was a recipient of the prestigious Irish Research Council postgraduate scholarship. This is one of the most competitive funding processes for doctoral research in Ireland.
During his PhD from 2018-2021, Calvin contributed to the social work courses in Trinity College, Dublin and Maynooth University as a part-time lecturer. He has lectured across a range of topics relevant to social work education in both Irish Universities. Some notable areas of teaching and scholarship include health-related social work, sociology of mental health, mental health recovery, critical social theory, and human development across social contexts.
Calvin has published in both Irish and International journals. His research interests are informed by a focus on seeking to make sense, and address, the social injustices faced by people through connecting the micro and macro levels of our social systems in order to drive positive change. This includes looking at social recovery in mental health, the influence of sociology on health-related social work, the role of interdisciplinary work, using philosophy in social work practice, and the role of lived experience and co-production withn human organisations.
Prior to his appointment in August 2021, Calvin worked as a CORU registered Social Worker. He brings with him experience in a wide range of practice settings within Ireland, the most recent of which was in a hospital setting working with people across all life stages. Calvin is also a graduate of the Master of Social Work from Trinity College, Dublin.
Calvin submitted his PhD in August 2021, which explored how recovery is socially constructed in Irish Mental Health Services. It was a qualitative case study design, which adopted an interpretivist methodology, using semi-structured interviews to gather the experiences of key stakeholders regarding their conceptualisation of recovery. For this study, Calvin was a recipient of the prestigious Irish Research Council postgraduate scholarship. This is one of the most competitive funding processes for doctoral research in Ireland.
During his PhD from 2018-2021, Calvin contributed to the social work courses in Trinity College, Dublin and Maynooth University as a part-time lecturer. He has lectured across a range of topics relevant to social work education in both Irish Universities. Some notable areas of teaching and scholarship include health-related social work, sociology of mental health, mental health recovery, critical social theory, and human development across social contexts.
Calvin has published in both Irish and International journals. His research interests are informed by a focus on seeking to make sense, and address, the social injustices faced by people through connecting the micro and macro levels of our social systems in order to drive positive change. This includes looking at social recovery in mental health, the influence of sociology on health-related social work, the role of interdisciplinary work, using philosophy in social work practice, and the role of lived experience and co-production withn human organisations.
Research Interests
- Social Recovery in Mental Health Service Delivery
- Peer Support Work in Mental Health
- Developing the Sociological Perspective in Social Work
- The Social Work Role in Health-Related Settings
- Interdisciplinary work
- Role of Lived Experience within Social Work and Social Policy
- Co-Production and Co-Creation in Mental Health Settings
- Qualifying and Transitioning into Social Work Practice
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Calvin Swords; Stan Houston (2024) 'Service User Perspectives on Recovery: The Construction of Unfulfilled Promises in Mental Health Service Delivery in Ireland'. Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, . [Full-Text] | |
| 2023 | Michael John Norton; Philip Archard; Calvin Swords (2023) 'The Ethics of Informality and Dual Relationships in Peer Support'. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 74 (2). [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Calvin Swords; Stan Houston (2023) 'Exploring the Evidence for the Paradigms of Recovery and Social Work Converging in Mental Health Service Delivery Worldwide: Reflections from an Irish Case Study'. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (15). [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Rebekah Dempsey; Calvin Swords (2023) '“A Critical Review of Elder Abuse and the Barriers to Disclosure and Reporting to Health and Social Care Professionals: Considerations & Possibilities For the Role of Social Work”'. Irish Social Worker, . | |
| 2021 | Houston, S. & Swords, C. (2021) ''Responding to the 'Weight of the World': Unveiling the 'Feeling' Bourdieu in Social Work''. British Journal of Social Work, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Houston S.; Swords C. (2021) 'Critical realism, mimetic theory and social work'. Journal of Social Work Practice, 22 (2):345-363. [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Swords, Calvin and Houston, Stan (2021) 'Using Social Constructionism to Research the Recovery Movement in Mental Health in Ireland: A Critical Reflection on Meta-theory Shaping the Inquiry'. Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, 21 (1). [Link] | |
| 2021 | Norton, MJ; Swords, C (2021) 'Social recovery: a new interpretation to recovery-orientated services - a critical literature review'. Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, 16 :7-20. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
| 2021 | Swords, C & Houston, S (2021) '“The ‘Social’ can really work in Mental Health Social Work: A Critical Literature Review of how the understanding of recovery has evolved and converged towards the skillset of Social Work”'. Irish Social Worker, (1). [Full-Text] | |
| 2021 | Norton M.J.; Swords C. (2021) 'Creating Equality for those in Crisis Transforming Acute Inpatient Mental Health Services through Co-Production'. Academic Quarter, 23 :64-79. [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Houston, S. & Swords, C. (2020) 'Analysing a Parents capacity to change: towards a model for child protection social workers'. Journal of Social Work Practice, . [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Swords, Calvin and Houston, Stan (2020) 'Exploring the Concept of Recovery in Irish Mental Health Services: A Case Study of Perspectives within an Inter-Professional Team, Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies : Vol. 20: Iss. 1, Article 4'. Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, . | |
| 2020 | Swords C.; Norton M.J. (2020) 'Is sharing really caring? A vision or an aspiration? Irelands new mental health policy 2020'. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, . [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Swords, C. (2019) 'Recovery and Co-Production: Understanding the Diverging Paradigms and Potential Implications for Social Workers'. Irish Social Worker, . |
Conference Contribution
Newspaper Articles
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kirwan, G.; Swords, C. (2024) 'When objects speak louder than words: Material ethnography in social justice research' In: Rights and Social Justice in Research: Advancing Methodologies for Social Change. [Link] |
Published Report
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Teaching Interests
- Social Work Theory
- Social Work Skills
- Critical Debates in Social Work
- Health-Related Social Work
- Mental Health Policy
- Mental Health Social Work
- Critical Social Theory
- Mental Health Social Work
- Lived Experience Involvement