Dr Cristina Asenjo Palma
Lecturer - Social Work

Summary

I am a lecturer in Social Work at the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. My research focuses on community development, well-being and conflict resolution. These research interests stem from my practice. I have over twenty years of professional experience, having worked for a wide range of community development organisations in Spain, Bangladesh, Ireland and the U.K.

I have a strong commitment to undertake research that contributes to community practice and social justice. As a practitioner, I became interested in how different organisations address social justice issues differently, some focussing on what people can improve by themselves; others on promoting changes at a structural level. I undertook my PhD to explore the strengths, weaknesses, and complementarities of applying different community development approaches.

Qualifications

PhD (ESRC funded) in Social Policy from the University of Edinburgh, UK

MSc in Community Education (Distinction) from the University of Edinburgh, UK

PgDip in Conflict and Dispute Resolution Studies from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

BA in Social Education from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain