Prof. Claudia Bernard
Staff details

Claudia is a Professor of Social Work and Head of Postgraduate Research in the Department of Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies. Claudia is a qualified social worker and, has worked in local authority children and families social work and has retained this interest in her research and teaching.
Claudia joined Goldsmiths in 1994 and previously held a lectureship at the university of Portsmouth.
Her general interests lie in the areas of social work with children and families, gender-based violence, critical race theory, equalities and social justice. Claudia has also developed an interest in research ethics.
Claudia teaches on courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and also leads the PhD programme in the Department.
As an educator and researcher, her primary interests are in delivering the highest quality of social work education, and in developing students’ research-mindedness for research-informed practice.
Claudia has published widely in child abuse and neglect and in equality and diversity issues in social work education.
Claudia is a board member of the South East London Teaching Partnership and the City of London/Goldsmiths Knowledge Transfer Programme.
She is also currently the Co-Chair of the UK Joint University Council Social Work Research Committee and Co-Editor of the Journal Ethics & Social Welfare.
Location: Room 104, 21 St James
Academic qualifications
- PhD in Social Work
- MA in Gender and Society
- Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW)
- Diploma in Applied Social Studies
Teaching
Claudia teaches modules on child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, the social policy context of social work and research methods
Areas of supervision
Claudia is interested in supervising students in the broadly defined areas: child abuse and neglect, gender-based violence and social work, child welfare inequalities, childhood transitions.
Featured publications
- Bernard, C. (2016) Black Children’s Experiences of Living with Domestic Violence, in C. Bernard & P. Harris (Eds) Safeguarding Black Children: Good Practice in Child Protection, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
- Bernard, C. & Thomas, C. (2016) Risk and Safety: A Strengths-based Perspective in Working with Black Families when there are Safeguarding Concerns, in C. Williams & M. Graham (Eds) Social Work in a Diverse Society: Transformative Practice with Ethnic Minority Communities. Policy Press
- Edited Book: C. Bernard & P. Harris (Eds) (2016) Safeguarding Black Children: God Practice in Child Protection, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
- Book Section: Bernard, C. (2016) Child Sexual Abuse in the Lives of Black Children, in C. Bernard & P. Harris (Eds) Safeguarding Black Children: God Practice in Child Protection, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
- Article: Bernard, C. (2015) Black Teenage Mothers' Understandings of the Effects of Maltreatment on their Coping Style and Parenting Practice: A Pilot Study, Children and Society, 29, 5, 355- 365.
Keynote lectures
- Socio-Economic Differences. Learning From Experience: The Findings of two Recent Serious Case Reviews. London Borough of Wandsworth, London. 20th April 2016.
- Social Work with Black and Ethnic Minority Families: Messages from Research, at the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College, Dublin, 18th February 2016.
- Anti-Racist and Anti-Sexist Practice in Contemporary Social Work to the Making Research Count Conference, London Borough of Wandsworth. 9th September 2015.
- Reflecting on my Research Journey, at the Annual Postgraduate Research Conference Faculty of Health & Wellbeing, Canterbury Christ Church University. Canterbury, 27th June 2015
- Intersectionality as an Analytical Tool: Gender-Based Violence, Queens University Social Work, North Carolina Students, Senate House, University of London. 13 May 2015
- Advancing a Social Justice Agenda in Social Work In Neoliberal Times. Discourse, Power and Resistance 15 Annual Conference, Goldsmiths, University of London, 15-17 April 2015.
- Keynote address at the Making Research Count Conference Wandsworth Social Services, on Anti-Racist and Anti-Sexist Practice in Contemporary Social Work to the Making Research Count Conference, London Borough of Wandsworth. 9th September 2015.
Grants & awards
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2011: Goldsmiths, Research Office: Diversity and Progression Toolkit £1000.00
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2009: ESRC Researcher Development Initiative: Further Development of Research Skills of Mid-Career Social Work Academics: Supportive Learning Sets, Mixed Methodologies and Research Placements £99, 383.00
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2007-2011 Department of Health: Diversity and Progression Among Social Work Students in England: An Explanatory Study. £105, 983.00
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2007: British Association of the Society for the Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (BAPSCAN): An Exploration of the Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on Black Teen Mothers Parenting of Their Children: Pilot Study. £5000.00
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1995: Goldsmiths, Research Office Childhood Sexual Abuse Project £1500.00
Professional activities
- Co-Chair of Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee Research Sub-committee
- Co-Editor, Journal of Ethics and Social Welfare
- Member of the National Institute of Health Research
- Member of British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
- Member of The Social Work Academic Working Group to advise
- The Family Justice Council on the dissemination of lessons from research to the judiciary in public law
- Claudia reviews for various international academic journals
Professional development
- 2014: Coaching for Performance, Goldsmiths, University of London
- 2014: Leading Effective Teams, Goldsmiths, University of London
- 2014: Leadership and Change, Goldsmiths, University of London
- 2014: Managing Difficult Conversations, Goldsmiths, University of London
- 2012: Impact Case Study Workshop, Goldsmiths, University of London
Research Interests
Claduia's research projects explore the interplay of race, gender, social class, and child and family welfare.
These include childhood sexual abuse, domestic abuse, teenage mothers and the ethics of care.
Claudia is interested in developing methodologies that open up new ways for understanding violence and abuse in the lives of vulnerable children from disadvantaged groups, and much of my research has thus examined such issues as they occur in the UK.
Her research is concerned with standpoints that engage an intersectional lens for investigating how the effects of multiple and interacting oppressions contribute to lived experiences.
Publications and research outputs
Book
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2001. Constructing Lived Experiences: Representations of Black Mothers in Child Sexual Abuse Discourses. Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN 1840149388
Edited Book
Bernard, Claudia A. and Harris, Perlita, eds. 2016. Safeguarding Black Children: Good Practice in Child Protection. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 9781849055697
Book Section
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2019. Using an Intersectional Lens to Examine the Child Sexual Exploitation of Black Adolescents. In: Jenny Pearce, ed. Child Sexual Exploitation: Why Theory Matters. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 193-208. ISBN 9781447351436
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2018. Working with Cultural and Religious Diversity. In: Jan Horwath and Dendy Platt, eds. The Child's World: The Essential Guide to Assessing Vulnerable Children, Young People and their Families. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 649-665. ISBN 9781784503826
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2018. Working with cultural and religious diversity. In: Jan Haworth and Dendy Platt, eds. The Child’s World: The Essential Guide to Assessing Vulnerable Children, Young People and their Families (3rd Edition). London: Jessica Kingsley Publisher, pp. 649-665. ISBN 9781785921162
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2017. Reflecting on a Journey: Positionality, Marginality and the Outsider-Within. In: D Gabriel and S A Tate, eds. Inside the Ivory Tower: Narratives of Women of Colour Surviving and Thriving in British Academia. London: IOE Press, pp. 80-90. ISBN 978-1-858-56-848-5
Bernard, Claudia A. and Harris, Perlita. 2016. Introduction. In: Claudia A. Bernard and Perlita Harris, eds. Safeguarding Black Children: Good Practice in Child Protection. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, pp. 11-36. ISBN 978-1-84905-569-7
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2016. Child Sexual Abuse In The Lives Of Black Children. In: Claudia A. Bernard and Perlita Harris, eds. Safeguarding Black Children: Good Practice in Child Protection. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, pp. 94-110. ISBN 978-1-84905-569-7
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2016. Black Children's Experience Of Living With Domestic Violence. In: Claudia A. Bernard and Perlita Harris, eds. Safeguarding Black Children: Good Practice in Child Protection. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, pp. 58-75. ISBN 978-1-84905-569-7
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2013. Black Feminist Thinking, Black Mothers, and Child Sexual Abuse. In: Simon Lapierre; Julia Krane and Susan Strega, eds. Failure to Protect: Moving Beyond Gendered Responses. Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing. ISBN 9781552665565
Article
Bernard, Claudia A.; Greenwood, Tom and Henri, Tom. 2023. A qualitative study of the perspectives of designated safeguarding leads responding to child protection concerns in fee-paying school. Child Abuse Review, ISSN 0952-9136
Turhan, Zeynep and Bernard, Claudia A.. 2022. Challenges and Strategies of Translation in a Qualitative and Sensitive Research. Qualitative Research, 22(3), pp. 487-495. ISSN 1468-7941
Turhan, Zeynep and Bernard, Claudia A.. 2022. The Lived Experiences of Turkish Men’s Engagement in Domestic Violence Interventions in England. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 6(1), pp. 209-226. ISSN 2398-6808
Bernard, Claudia A. and Carlile, Anna. 2021. Black girls navigate the physical and emotional landscape of the neighbourhood: Normalized violence and strategic agency. Qualitative Social Work, 20(3), pp. 866-883. ISSN 1473-3250
Turhan, Zeynep and Bernard, Claudia A.. 2020. Negotiating with Gatekeepers: Reflexivity in Exploring Turkish Men's Engagement in Domestic Violence Perpetrators Interventions in the UK. The Qualitative Report, 25(8), pp. 3065-3079. ISSN 1052-0147
Bernard, Claudia A. and Greenwood, Tom. 2019. ‘We’re giving you the sack’—Social Workers’ Perspectives of Intervening in Affluent Families When There Are Concerns about Child Neglect. The British Journal of Social Work, 49(8), pp. 2266-2282. ISSN 0045-3102
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2019. Recognizing and Addressing Child Neglect in Affluent Families. Child and Family Social Work, 24(2), pp. 340-347. ISSN 1356-7500
Bernard, Claudia A. and Harris, Perlita. 2019. Serious case reviews: The lived experience of Black children. Child and Family Social Work, 24(2), pp. 256-263. ISSN 1356-7500
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2018. Black History Month: a provocation and a timeline. Critical and Radical Social Work, 6(3), pp. 387-406. ISSN 2049-8608
Fletcher, Joan; Bernard, Claudia A.; Fairtlough, Anna and Ahmet, Akile. 2015. Beyond Equal Access to Equal Outcomes: The Role of the Institutional Culture in Promoting Full Participation, Positive Inter-Group Interaction and Timely Progression for Minority Social Work Students. British Journal of Social Work, 45(1), pp. 120-137. ISSN 0045-3102
Fairtlough, Anna; Bernard, Claudia A.; Fletcher, Joan and Ahmet, Akile. 2014. Black social work students’ experiences of practice learning: Understanding differential progression rates. Journal of Social Work, 14(6), pp. 605-624. ISSN 1468-0173
Bernard, Claudia A.; Fairtlough, Anna; Fletcher, Joan and Ahmet, Akile. 2014. A Qualitative Study of Marginalised Social Work Students' Views of Social Work Education and Learning. The British Journal of Social Work, 44(7), pp. 1934-1949. ISSN 0045-3102
Fairtlough, Anna; Bernard, Claudia A.; Fletcher, Joan and Ahmet, Akile. 2013. Experiences of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Students on Social Work Programmes: Developing a Framework for Educational Practice. British Journal of Social Work, 43(3), pp. 467-485. ISSN 0045-3102
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2013. Ethical Issues in Researching Black Teenage Mothers with Harmful Childhood Histories: Marginal Voices. Ethics and Social Welfare, 7(1), pp. 54-73. ISSN 1749-6535
McDonald, Lynn; Bernard, Claudia A.; Forrester, Donald; White, Sue and Shemmings, David. 2011. Mixed methods evaluation of a menu of research learning opportunities for mid-career social work academics with 'protected time'. Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 15(3), pp. 7-25. ISSN 0953-5225
Bernard, Claudia A. and Gupta, A.. 2008. Black African Children and the Child Protection System. The British Journal of Social Work, 38(3), pp. 476-792. ISSN 1468263X
Bernard, Claudia A. and Lachman, P.. 2006. Moving from blame to quality: How to respond to failures in child protective services. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(9), pp. 963-968. ISSN 01452134
Bernard, Claudia A.. 2002. Giving Voice to Experiences: Parental Maltreatment of Black Children in the Context of Societal Racism. Child & Family Social Work, 7(4), pp. 239-251. ISSN 13567500
Conference or Workshop Item
Ahmed, Sara; Anim-Addo, Joan; Bernard, Claudia A.; Mirza, Heidi; Puwar, Nirmal and Thobani, Sunera. 2013. 'Screening and Panel Discussion on the work of Angela Davis, Free Angela and Other Political Prisoners'. In: Centre for Feminist Research Screening and Panel Discussion. Goldsmiths, Universirty of London, United Kingdom.
Digital
Bernard, Claudia A.; Fairtlough, Anna and Fletcher, Joan. 2012. Toolkit of resources for use by social work educators for cultivating a diverse and inclusive learning environment for learning about difference.
Report
Bernard, Claudia A.; Fairtlough, Anna and Fletcher, Joan. 2011. Diversity and Progression among Social Work Students in England. Project Report. Kings College, London, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, London.