Sunday Fakunmoju

Sunday B. Fakunmoju, PhD, MSW, has been a faculty member in the Department of Social Work at Westfield State University since 2010. He teaches in the research and practice sequences, guiding students through courses such as Research I & II, Advanced Practice with Children and Youth, and Field Seminar.

Education

• A.A. Liberal Arts
• B.A. Sociology
• M.A. Sociology
• M.A. Regional Science / Regional Planning
• M.S.W. Social Work – Hunter College School of Social Work, New York
• Ph.D. Social Work – University of Maryland, School of Social Work, Baltimore

Research Interests

Dr. Fakunmoju’s scholarship centers on the intersections of violence, child welfare, and sexual health across cultures. Employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, he investigates how parental and interpersonal violence shapes attitudes and psychosocial outcomes, evaluates the efficacy of violence-prevention interventions, and explores gender-based violence myths and stereotypes in cross-national contexts.

Recent work extends into corporal punishment abolition, life satisfaction among social workers, and the psychometric refinement of instruments measuring beliefs about relationship violence.

Publication Trends

His 2021-2025 output demonstrates a sustained focus on adolescent victimization, rape myth acceptance, and gender-based violence across the United States, South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria. Additional themes include corporal punishment policy, environmental/social governance (ESG) perceptions, and mental health among secondary-school students.

Scientific Presentations & Professional Sharing

• Oral presentations at annual conferences of the Society for Social Work Research (2016-2019)
• Invited guest lecture at the University of Johannesburg (2017)
• Presentations at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meetings (2008-2016)

Grants & Reports

Dr. Fakunmoju has co-authored funded reports examining student-loan-forgiveness impacts on social-work turnover and contributed to white-paper literature reviews for child-welfare group-care initiatives.

Clinical & Practice Background

Before academe, he practiced in child-protective services conducting abuse/neglect investigations, provided alcohol and substance-abuse counseling, managed casework in group-home and school settings, and maintained an independent practice with foster youths—experiences that deeply inform his teaching and research.