Catrine Torbjørnsen Halås

Dr. Catrine Torbjørnsen Halås is a Professor of Social Work at Nord University, a position she has held since 2023. She previously served as an Associate Professor at the University of Nordland from 2012, which later became part of Nord University. She has held significant leadership roles including Head of the Center for Practical Knowledge and Program Manager for the PhD program in Professional Science. She was also the cohort coordinator for the National Research School for Teacher Education (NAFOL) at NTNU from 2018 to 2020.

Her research centers on practical knowledge, experiential learning, and qualitative methodologies, with a strong emphasis on ethnographic and narrative approaches. She explores how professional practice in social work can be informed by lived experience and reflective processes. Her work with vulnerable youth focuses on participation, involvement, and creating meaningful change through dialogue and recognition.

The recent publications of Dr. Halås reveal a consistent engagement with knowledge-reflected practice, praxeology, and democratic knowledge production. Her research spans topics such as the role of practical knowledge in education, youth narratives challenging social norms, and participatory methods like the Dialogue Café. She emphasizes the integration of theory and practice in professional training and advocates for inclusive, reflective, and ethically grounded research.

She is actively involved in research networks such as the European Association of Social Work Research (EASWR), where she convenes a Special Interest Group on Social Work Practice Research, and the International Community for Practice Research in Social Work. She leads the PrepChild Research Center for Children and Youth and Social Preparedness and contributes to the Nordic research network on youth, belonging, and outsiders. Her editorial work includes influential anthologies like Practical Knowledge: An Introduction (2023) and Humanistic Research Approaches to Professional Practice (2017), which have shaped discourse in the field.

Dr. Halås has extensive experience in both academic and practical social work. Before her academic career, she served as a Senior Advisor to the County Governor of Nordland (1996–2011) and as a caseworker and manager in Oslo’s Grorud social welfare office (1989–1996). This background deeply informs her research, grounding it in real-world challenges and professional practice. She has not received any explicitly mentioned scientific awards, but her sustained scholarly output and leadership in research networks indicate significant influence in her field.