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Monday, 15 November 2010

At the age of 87, Marcia Foley may be the oldest student to have completed a PhD at UWA. Her years set her apart from other graduate students but so does the curious phenomenon of role reversal.

Marcia has just finished (and had accepted) her thesis on the history of social work in the mental health arena in WA, from 1959 to 1999. During the 10 years that it took to research and write her dissertation, she was supported and encouraged by her six children and many grandchildren.

"My grandchildren, especially the teenagers and the University students, are so proud of me," said Marcia, remarking on the fact that it was usually grandparents who talked of being proud of their grandchildren. "And my children gave me a great party when my thesis was accepted." Her work was co-supervised by Associate Professor Maria Harries in Social Work and Social Policy. In another example of role reversal, Professor Harries had been Marcia's practicum student at Heathcote Hospital in the 1960s.

"She learnt from me back then when she was an undergraduate student, then 40 years later I was learning from her," Marcia said.

She studied economics at UWA in the early 1940s.

"I was the only woman in my class," she said. "I didn't know anything about economics but I didn't want to be a teacher, a nurse or a stenographer, which seemed to be the only choices for women in those days."

Marcia married during her Arts course, then worked for a while as a graduate assistant with the Under Treasurer. After having six children, she decided to go back to study.

"Social workers were in short supply and, with a big family, I thought I probably had the experience that was necessary, so I became one of the six students in the first year of the inaugural social work course at UWA in 1965. Things only got difficult when I had to juggle full-time study with children who had the measles!"

Her research showed that, in the 1950s and 60s, social workers were very much under the influence of doctors. "They did what the doctors told them to do," she said. "But I was lucky working at Heathcote Hospital, in mental health. Everybody was equal there and the doctors weren't revered as gods."

After a successful career in mental health social work and having added a MPhil in Women's Studies to her degrees, Marcia was encouraged by her children to write her memoirs.

"I'd never done any history so I enrolled in a postgraduate course in Irish history, as I have Irish ancestors. I wrote my own history, then thought what about the history of social work?"

Associate Professor Charlie Fox from the discipline of History co-supervised Marcia's research.

"Unusually for history, Marcia was part of her own research, part of the history of social work in the mental health sector in WA," he said.

Oral history formed a major part of her research. "There was very little written so I had to interview people who were working in the area across those years," she said.

Marcia plans to continue with some different aspects of her research and publish some papers.

  • Published UWA News 15 November 2010

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