Victoria McDonagh

Victoria McDonagh is a Lecturer and Head of the Department of Social Care & Early Childhood Studies at South East Technological University. She holds external roles as an External Examiner at Technological University of the Shannon and Munster Technological University, and co-edited the Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies (2022–2025). Her research focuses on children, youth, families, social care practice, mental health, and young carers in Ireland. She is affiliated with SETU’s Analysing Social Change research group and completed a Doctorate in Social Science at University College Cork.

Education:

• Masters Degree, MA in Child, Youth and Family Studies (2017–2019, SETU)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Family Therapy (2014–2015, La Trobe University)
• Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Applied Social Studies (2003–2007)

Her research contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in education and social well-being. Recent publications (2021) focus on proficiency standards for social care workers, emphasizing assessment processes and professional practice integration. She received the IT Carlow Caroline Murphy Student of the Year Award (2019).