Nick Burke

Nick Burke is a trans non-binary social work practitioner-academic at the University of Sheffield, holding the title of University Teacher in Social Work within the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations. They are also a practising social worker in post-adoption support and an NIHR Doctoral Fellow. Their doctoral research explores kinship dynamics in child adoption in England, focusing on family time and relationships to develop a user-led measure for social workers. Burke’s work emphasizes user-led methodologies, creative research approaches, and critical social work theory.

Research interests include Bayesian social network analysis, practitioner research literacy, and radical social work. They have presented at European conferences on practitioner research and co-authored a journal article on ethical balances in insider research. Supervised by Dr. Michaela Rogers, Dr. Anju Devianee Keetharuth, and Dr. Mark Taylor, their interdisciplinary research spans the Centre for Care and iHuman.

Teaching roles include convening modules on MA Social Work and Continuous Professional Development programs, such as the Advanced Contextual Safeguarding With Children module. Burke is a HEA Fellow, recognized for innovative supervision methods adopted regionally. They have developed masterclasses on Peer Reflective Supervision and Kinship Care, contributing to social work education and practice in South Yorkshire.

Grants include NIHR fellowships (2021/22 and 2023/26) supporting their doctoral work. Their research aims to reduce preventable harm in adoption by improving kinship relationship support, with applications for both practitioners and future researchers.