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Dr Lucy Rai

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Professional biography

Summary

Dr Lucy Rai is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at The Open University and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. She was the founding Director of the Scholarship and Innovation Centre (WELS) (2017-2020) and is an editor of Open Learning; The journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning and former editor in chief of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. Lucy completed her PhD on student writing in social work education on 2008 and has been undertaking research and publishing in the field of academic and practice writing in social work..

 Lucy has been the academic consultant on three BBC series, Child of Our Time, Someone to Watch Over You and Protecting Our Children, which won the 2012 Grierson Award for best documentary series.

Background

Lucy qualified as a social worker in 1989 and has worked in a range of statutory settings with children and families in the South West before becoming involved in teaching in higher education in 1995. Her experience included statutory child protection work and therapeutic groupwork and counselling with children and families. Over the past 15 years she has developed her interest in adult learning and widening participation in social work with a specific focus on academic and professional writing. Lucy was the academic champion on Project Minerva (https://minerva.open.ac.uk/), a university wide innovation project developing digitla pedagogies. From 2012- 2016 she was Associate Dean Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Health and Social Care. She has been working at The Open University as a senior lecturer and lecturer in social work since 2001. She began her career in higher education as a lecturer in Social Work at North East Worcestershire College. Prior to that she worked as a qualified social worker in children’s services. 

Research interests

Research interests

Lucy has been researching writing in social work for 16 years, initially focusing on student writing and latterly exploring professional social work writing and the ways in which writing undertaken during qualifying education prepares practitioners. She has particular interests in reflective writing, identity and the role of emotion in writing.

Lucy completed her PhD in 2008 which was entitled Student writing in social work education and is currently writing a book entitled Writing in social work: Making a difference to be published by Policy Press in 2012.

Lucy was the chair of the Impact Advisory Committee for an ESRC funded research project, Writing in Social Work Practice (WiSP). 

PhD Supervision

Ruth Hamilton ‘Women’s Writing and Widening Participation in Higher Education in the UK’

 Jenny Macmilan ‘Widening Participation for Women:  Are non-traditional educational routes truly empowering for women seeking professional qualification through the social work degree?’

Publications

Books

Rai, Lucy (2021) Writing for Social Work SAGE

Rai, Lucy (2014). Effective writing for social work. Social work in practice. Bristol: Policy Press.

Book Chapters

Rai, Lucy (2021) 'Writing skills for social workers'  in Parker, J. (Ed) Introducing Social Work SAGE

Rai, Lucy (2010). Reflections on writing in social work education and practice. In: Seden, Janet; Matthews, Sarah; McCormick, Michael and Morgan, Alun eds. Professional development in social work: complex issues in practice. Post-qualifying social work. Abingdon, UK and New York, NY, USA: Routledge, pp. 163–170.

Lucy Rai and Debbie Stringer (2010) ‘Partnership and Participation’ in Long, L et al (Eds) The Law and Social Work: Contemporary Issues for Practice, Palgrave Macmillan, p.40-55. ISBN 978-0-230-54303-4. 50%. Course reader.

 

Journal Articles

Rai, Lucy and Simpson, Jennifer  (2020) Listening to stories of study: Identity and the awarding gap experienced by Ethnic Minority students in the context of distance education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning DOI: 10.1080/02680513.2020.1850250

 

Rai, Lucy  (2019). [Book Review] Academic Writing and Referencing for your Social Work Degree: Jane Bottomley, Patricia Cartney and Steven Pryjmachuk. The British Journal of Social Work

 

Rai, Lucy (2018). How to Get Published in a Peer Reviewed Journal: Reflections on Panel Discussion at the International Council for Open and Distance Education: World Conference on Online Learning 16–19th October 2017, Toronto, Canada. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 33(1) pp. 70–74.

 

Rai, Lucy and Lillis, Theresa (2013). ‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice. Teaching in Higher Education, 18(4) pp. 352–364.

 

Rai, Lucy (2012). Responding to emotion in practice-based writing. Higher Education, 64(2) pp. 267–284

 

Lillis, Theresa and Rai, Lucy (2012). Quelle relation entre l’écrit académique et l’écrit professionnel? Une étude de cas dans le domaine du travail social [What is the relationship between academic writing and professional writing? A case study in the field of social work]. Pratiques(153/4) pp. 51–70

 

Rai, L and Lillis, T. (2011). A Case Study of a Research-based Collaboration Around Writing in Social Work, Across the Disciplines, Special Issue,: http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/clil/index.cfm

 

Rai, Lucy and Lillis, Theresa (2011). A case study of a research-based collaboration around writing in social work. Across the disciplines, 8(3)

PhD Thesis

 

Rai, Lucy (2008). Student writing in social work education. [Thesis]

Rai, Lucy (2008). Student writing in social work education. PhD thesis The Open University

 

Rai, Lucy (2006). Owning (up to) reflective writing in social work education. Social Work Education, 25(8) 785 -797

 

Rai, Lucy (2004). Exploring literacy in social work education: a social practices approach to student

writing. Social Work Education, 23(2) pp. 149–162.

Teaching interests

Teaching interests

Lucy has specialised in teaching, leaning and pedagogies having acted as co-director of the Practice Based Professional Leaning CETL, Associate Dean Learning and Teaching and recently academic champion on Project Minerva, which promoted the development of innovation in the application of pedagogies and technologies. She has over 20 years experience of teaching social work, with particular expertise is in children and families. She has also acted as academic advisor on three BBC series, Child of Our Time, Someone to Watch Over You and Protecting Our Children, which won the 2012 Grierson Award for best documentary series.

Lucy is an academic reviewer for the Open University Validation Services.

External Examiner

University of the West of England - 2006-2009

Royal Holloway (University of London) - 2011 - 2015

Goldsmiths University of London - 2011- 2015

Impact and engagement

Lucy is chair of the Impact Advisory Group for the ESRC funded 'Writing in Social Work Practice' (WiSP) project.

Publications

[Editorial] The shifting landscape of open and distance learning (2020)
Rai, Lucy
Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning, 35(1) (pp. 1-3)


Reflecting on open and distance educational practices based on insights from educational practitioners and learners (2020)
Rai, Lucy
Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning, 35(2) (pp. 103-104)


Listening to stories of study: Identity and the awarding gap experienced by Ethnic Minority students in the context of distance education (2020)
Rai, Lucy and Simpson, Jenny
Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning, 38(2) (pp. 149-164)


[Book Review] Academic Writing and Referencing for your Social Work Degree: Jane Bottomley, Patricia Cartney and Steven Pryjmachuk (2019)
Rai, Lucy
The British Journal of Social Work, 49(6) (pp. 1696-1698)


How to Get Published in a Peer Reviewed Journal: Reflections on Panel Discussion at the International Council for Open and Distance Education: World Conference on Online Learning 16–19th October 2017, Toronto, Canada (2018-12-20)
Rai, Lucy
Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 33(1) (pp. 70-74)


‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice (2013)
Rai, Lucy and Lillis, Theresa
Teaching in Higher Education, 18(4) (pp. 352-364)


Responding to emotion in practice-based writing (2012-12-08)
Rai, Lucy
Higher Education, 64(2) (pp. 267-284)


Quelle relation entre l’écrit académique et l’écrit professionnel? Une étude de cas dans le domaine du travail social [What is the relationship between academic writing and professional writing? A case study in the field of social work] (2012)
Lillis, Theresa and Rai, Lucy
Pratiques(153/4) (pp. 51-70)


A case study of a research-based collaboration around writing in social work (2011-07)
Rai, Lucy and Lillis, Theresa
Across the disciplines, 8(3)


Owning (up to) reflective writing in social work education (2006-10)
Rai, Lucy
Social Work Education, 25(8) (785 -797)


Exploring literacy in social work education: a social practices approach to student writing (2004-04)
Rai, Lucy
Social Work Education, 23(2) (pp. 149-162)


Writing for Social Work (2021-02-24)
Rai, Lucy
Transforming Social Work
ISBN : 1526476355 | Publisher : SAGE | Published : London


Effective writing for social work: Making a difference (2014-09-17)
Rai, Lucy
Social work in practice
ISBN : 978-1-44730-516-3 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


Reflections on writing in social work education and practice (2010-09-03)
Rai, Lucy
In: Seden, Janet; Matthews, Sarah; McCormick, Michael and Morgan, Alun eds. Professional development in social work: complex issues in practice. Post-qualifying social work (pp. 163-170)
ISBN : 978-0-415-55336-0 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Abingdon, UK and New York, NY, USA


Voices of Practice: Narrative Scholarship from the Margins (2021-03-16)
Morris, Sean Michael; Rai, Lucy and Littleton, Karen eds.
ISBN : 978-0578868837 | Publisher : Hybrid Pedagogy Inc | Published : Washington DC, USA


Student writing in social work education (2008-07)
Rai, Lucy
PhD thesis The Open University