Senior Lecturer
I am a Lecturer on BSc (Hons) Health, Wellbeing and Care in Society. I have over nine years of experience as a lecturer and teacher, in higher, further, special, mainstream education and alternative provision. My background is in mental health and also working with children and vulnerable adults. I have also worked in both health and social care settings for over five years before becoming an educator.
I joined the University of Sunderland in 2012 where I completed my FD, BSc, PGCE, PgCert (SEND), MA, and FHEA.
Teaching and supervision
- SSC227 Working Together to Safeguard Vulnerable Children, Young People and Adults
- SSC230 Lifecourse Approaches in Health, Social Care and Ageing
- SSC312 Substance Use and Society
- SSC330 Lifecourse Approaches In Health, Social Care And Ageing
- SSC310 Practical Application
- HSC308 Pain Or Happiness? Understanding Somatic Illnesses
- HSC105 Everyone's Accountable: Safeguarding To Promote, Prevent And Protect
- SOC333 Social Science Work-Based Dissertation
- HSC303 Drugs, 'Madness' And Violence As Responses To Liquid Modernity?
Research interests for potential research students
- Neurodiversity
- Effects of domestic violence on children
- Woman and child abuse
- Gender inequality issues
Research
I am an experienced researcher, competent in both qualitative and quantitative research and analysis. My research interest is primarily focused on practice and how services respond to people.
My research specialisms include; neurodiversity, health, social care, interventions, food poverty, practice-based research, domestic violence, and gender inequality.
Currently, I am undertaking a PhD that explores domestic violence experiences from the perspective of abused women in Bulgaria.
Publications
Reports, briefing/ working papers
Deacon, Lesley, Phillips, Carrie, Bikova, Zeta, Cuthbertson, Alex, Denny, Simon, Gray, Simon, Stamp, Dean, Bramwell, Mel, Swainston, Charlotte, Keyes, Suzie, Thomason, Paige and Herschel, Donald (2023) Facilitated Practice-based Research Report: Working together in Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults. Project Report. University of Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Deacon, Lesley, Lockhart, Kate, Gray, Gill and Bikova, Zeta (2023) Practice Report: Story of Place, 2023. Project Report. University of Sunderland, Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Deacon, Lesley, Phillips, Carrie and Bikova, Zeta (2023) Newly Qualified Social Workers’ Perceptions and Experiences of Support during the Assessed and Supported Year of Employment. Project Report. University of Sunderland, Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Deacon, Lesley and Bikova, Zeta (2023) An exploration of Children’s Community Practitioners’ Perspectives of Local families’ Challenges during Covid-19. Project Report. University of Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Conference or Workshop Item
Deacon, Lesley and Bikova, Zeta (2024) NEURODIVERSITY WORKSHOP: Taster for BASW. In: BASW UK Conference, 18-19 Jun 2024, Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh. (Unpublished)
Deacon, Lesley, Phillips, Carrie and Bikova, Zeta (2024) An empowering pedagogical approach to alleviating research anxiety and sustaining research capacity in social work practitioners. In: The Social Work & Social Development SWSD2024, 04-07 Apr 2024, Panama.
Deacon, Lesley, Phillips, Carrie and Bikova, Zeta (2023) Facilitated Practice-based Research: An Empowering Pedagogical Approach to Reframe Research Capacity in Social Work Practitioners. In: JSWEC 2023, 15-16/06/2023, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
- Neurodiversity
- Effects of domestic violence on children and adults
- Gender inequality issues
- Education
