William Harvey Building
0845 196 4777
allister.butler@anglia.ac.uk

Qualifications & Memberships

• BASW (Hons) - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
• MASW - University of Iowa, USA
• PhD - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

• Member of GSCC (General Social Care Council)

Courses

• Assessment and Intervention (BA Social Work) Year 3
• Ethics, Values and Legal Context (BA Social Work Part Time) Year 1
• BA Social Work Part time Pathway Leader (Chelmsford campus)

Outline of career

Dr Butler has worked in various social work capacities (practitioner, researcher, evaluator and academic) in the area of children, youth and families for the past 20 years. At the end of Dr Butler's undergraduate training he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue his Post Graduate education in the United States of America. He has worked in different international settings, namely: South Africa, United States of America, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Upon completing his Ph.D. in South Africa in 2000, he took up the post as Research Fellow for the University of Plymouth Health Action Zone Initiative.

Thereafter Dr Butler was employed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Sheffield Hallam University. One of his tasks was to develop and deliver cross-faulty education around HIV and AIDS for health and social care students. Dr Butler has been published in a wide range of specialisms, ranging from young carers, gay and lesbian youth, HIV and AIDS, secondary education and homophobia, adolescent mental health, workforce development and international social work practice.

He has been invited as an International Socrates scholar to teach at various higher education institutions in Europe (Sweden, Holland, Denmark and Norway).

His teaching interests include: anti-discriminatory practise, integration and social work practise and theory, homosexuality and homophobia, international social policy, changing paradigms of pedagogy, direct practise with individuals, groups, families and communities, amongst others. Dr Butler held tenure as a Principal Lecturer in Social Work and Programme Director for the MA in Social Work degree at Canterbury Christ Church University (UK). Most recently Dr Butler also held tenure as Associate Professor in Social Work in South Africa. Presently Dr Butler is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Anglia Ruskin University.

Research Interest

Adolescent Mental Health
Homophobia, Heterosexism and Anti-Oppressive Practice
Young Carers
International Social Work Practice
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Youth
Innovative teaching practices

Selected Publications

Butler, A.H. (2006). A five-year evaluation of the Isle of Wight Young Carers Project. Commissioned evaluation by the IOWYCP and Spurgeons Child Care, South East England Directorate

Butler, A.H. and Astbury, G. (2008). The use of defense mechanisms as a precursor to coming out: A South African gay and lesbian youth perspective. Journal of Homosexuality. Vol 55 (1), pp 1 -21.

Butler, A.H. and Astbury, G. (2006). Navigating institutional homophobia: a challenge for South African social work with gay and lesbian youth. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services. In press.

Moran, A., Nancarrow, S., and Butler, A. (2005). "There's no place like home." A pilot study of perspectives of international health and social care professionals working in the UK. Australia and New Zealand Health Policy, 2:25.

Butler, A.H. and Astbury, G. (2005). South African gay and lesbian youth coming out to their families: analysing various decision-making pathways and outcomes. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work. Vol 20, 22 - 42.

Butler, A.H. and Astbury, G. (2005). A five-year evaluation of the Cornwall Young Carers Project. Commissioned report by the Cornwall Rural Community Council.

Butler, A.H. and Astbury, G. (2005). South African LGBT youth. In James T. Sears (Ed.), Youth, education, and sexualities: An international encyclopedia. Pp 810- 814 and 814 - 817. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Butler, A.H. and Astbury, G. (2005). Over the Rainbow: recommendations for service provision as voiced by post-Apartheid South African gay and lesbian youth. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work. Volume 19, pp. 126-136

Butler, A.H. and Astbury, G. (2004). The Caring Child: an Evaluative case study of the Cornwall Young Carers project. Children and Society. Volume 19 no 5.

Butler, A.H., Alpaslan, N, Strumpher, N. & Astbury, G. (2003). Gay and lesbian youth experiences of homophobia in South African secondary education. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Secondary education. 1, no 2: 3-28