Metadata
Title
Mandi MacDonald
Category
undergraduate
UUID
ac4f89631f114a03a724ec83198f3392
Source URL
https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/mandi-macdonald/
Parent URL
https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/social-work-relevant-degree-entry-bs...
Crawl Time
2026-03-23T18:55:24+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

Mandi MacDonald

Source: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/mandi-macdonald/ Parent: https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/social-work-relevant-degree-entry-bsw-l501/

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Mandi MacDonald

Professor

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7433-712X

United Kingdom

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

2011Research output 2011: 1Projects 2012: 2Research output 2012: 2Research output 2013: 3Research output 2015: 3Research output 2016: 3Research output 2017: 2Projects 2018: 1Research output 2018: 8Research output 2019: 12Projects 2020: 1Research output 2020: 7Research output 2021: 14Projects 2022: 1Research output 2022: 3Research output 2023: 9Research output 2024: 6Research output 2025: 4Research output 2026: 12026

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Research Interests

My career as a social work practitioner and academic has focused on the needs and rights of children, young people and their families experiencing adversity. I worked for eleven years as a social worker and senior social worker in statutory child welfare practice, with expertise in child protection, family support, foster care, adoption and permanence planning. Since employment in 2010 as a social work lecturer, I have continued to develop teaching and research that is focused on dedicated to children and young people in state care and adopted from care, and to supporting the families of children in need.

I am involved in research in relation to parenting, family support, children in alternative care, and the experience of family life in foster care, kinship foster care and adoption, with expertise in interpretative qualitative research methods. I work alongside social workers and child welfare agencies to translate research into innovative practice solutions to benefit children and families. I am especially interested in children’s experiences of alternative care internationally and am involved in research partnerships in South Africa and Australia.

I am a Fellow of the Centre for Effectiveness and Social Innovation at. I contribute to ongoing knowledge exchange between the research and child welfare practice communities, on a national and European level, as a core member of: EuroFam-Net, the Pan-European Family Support Research Network; the NI Inter-Agency Child Care Legal Issues Group; the advisory group of Adoption UK (NI), and the CoramBAAF research group advisory committee.

I co-ordinate the social work with children and families module for the Bachelor in Social Work programme, and the enhancing outcomes for children in state care module on the Masters in Applied Social Studies.

I supervise a number of PhD students and welcome proposals in relation to child welfare, adoption, kinship foster care, family life, or parenting.

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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Projects

Montgomery, L. (PI), Bunting, L. (CoI), Coulter, S. (CoI), Davidson, G. (CoI), Hayes, D. (CoI), MacDonald, M. (CoI) & Mooney, S. (CoI)

29/08/2018 → …

Project: Research - ### R1667SES: IAA: support needs of Ugandan carers of chronic non-communicable disease patients

Montgomery, L. (PI), MacDonald, M. (CoI), McShane, C. (CoI) & Santin, O. (CoI)

24/05/2022 → 31/12/2022

Project: Research - ### R3232SES: Tackling the escalating burden of care: A qualitative exploration of the roles, responsibilities and support needs of Ugandan carers, caring for someone with chronic non-communicable disease

Montgomery, L. (PI), Jenkins, C. (CoI), MacDonald, M. (CoI), McAneney, H. (CoI), McShane, C. (CoI) & Santin, O. (CoI)

14/09/2020 → 30/11/2021

Project: Research - ### R2989SWK: The Fostering Network's Kinship Carers Needs Assessment and Service Evaluation

Houston, S. (PI), Hayes, D. (CoI) & MacDonald, M. (CoI)

01/08/2012 → 30/09/2013

Project: Research - ### R2974SWK: Families First; informal kinship care project

MacDonald, M. (PI), Hayes, D. (CoI) & Houston, S. (CoI)

01/08/2012 → 30/07/2013

Project: Research

Research output

MacDonald, M., Oterholm, I., Kelly, B., Höjer, I. & Brænne Bennwik, I.-H., Feb 2026, In: Child & Family Social Work. 31, 1, p. 636-646 11 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Open Access

File

1 Citation (Scopus)

57 Downloads (Pure) - ### Amplifying the voices of care-experienced youth through participatory arts: building capacity and connections for international youth-led, arts-based advocacy

MacDonald, M., 13 Mar 2025.

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Templeton, M., Heard, E., Byrne, B., Lloyd, K., Lundy, L., MacDonald, M., McNamee, C. B., Schubotz, D. & Weisler, V., 2025

Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report - ### Recognising foster family practices as a form of extended care for emerging adults transitioning out of long-term fostering

MacDonald, M., Marshall, G. & Pinkerton, J., Oct 2025, In: Emerging Adulthood. 13, 5, p. 1228-1241 14 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access

File

1 Citation (Scopus)

62 Downloads (Pure) - ### United and unique: amplifying the voices of care leavers in South Africa and Northern Ireland – Youth Report

McCallin, M., Menda, S., Brown, R., Siyo, Y., van Zyl, D., MacDonald, M., Jamieson, L. & Kelly, B., 2025, 20 p.

Research output: Book/Report › Other report

Open Access

File

84 Downloads (Pure)

View all 78 research outputs

Prizes

MacDonald, M. (Recipient), 12 Apr 2023

Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)

File

MacDonald, M. (Recipient), 01 Jun 2018

Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)

Activities

MacDonald, M. (Invited speaker)

21 Nov 2025

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference - ### Invited presentation 'Amplifying the Voices of Care-Experienced Youth' presented at VOYPIC's Annual Conference: 'Thrive not Just Survive'

MacDonald, M. (Invited speaker) & Kelly, B. (Invited speaker)

01 Oct 2025

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference - ### Informal Kinship Care - Definitions and Research

MacDonald, M. (Invited speaker)

27 May 2025

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference - ### Post-Adoption Contact - Learning from the Northern Irish Experience

MacDonald, M. (Invited speaker)

04 Oct 2024

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference - ### Elicia Savvas

McCafferty, P. (Host), Hayes, D. (Host), MacDonald, M. (Host) & McAlister, S. (Host)

09 May 2024

Activity: Hosting a visitor types › Hosting of external, non-academic visitor

View all 99 activities

Impacts

Montgomery, L. (Participant), MacDonald, M. (Participant) & Houston, S. (Participant)

Impact: Public Service Impact, Public Policy Impact, Quality of Life Impact