| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Wes Shera Professor
B.A. Psychology, University of Regina, Canada
M.A. Social Work, University of Calgary, Canada
Ph.D. Community Systems Planning & Development, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Phone: (416) 978-5900
Fax: (416) 978-7072
Wes Shera, is Professor and Dean Emeritus at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. He is also cross-appointed as a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He previously held academic positions at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and the University of Hawaii in the U.S. From 1995 to 2002 he served as Dean of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto and was able to achieve significant increases in research activity and financial support for the Faculty.
Dr Shera earned his master’s degree in social welfare from the University of Calgary in 1975 and his doctorate in interdisciplinary social planning from Pennsylvania State University in 1982. His areas of teaching include community organization, social policy, groupwork, management and social work practice in the field of mental health. Dr. Shera’s research focuses on operationalizing and testing concepts of empowerment in working with clients, organizations, and communities. He has authored several books and numerous refereed publications. He has also been involved for many years as a consultant on several international projects in Sri Lanka, China, Ireland, Mexico, Cuba and Britain. A particular focus of this work has been on comparative policy analysis of mental health system reform in Canada, Israel, Britain, and Australia. His work in China has included elementary and secondary school reform, educational evaluation, capacity-building for schools of social work, community development, and the development of the non-profit (charity sector) in China.
Interests:
- Mental Health
- Empowerment Practice Community Organization
- Organizational Behavior/Organizational Development
- Social Policy
- Evaluation Research
- International Development
Selected Publications:
Shera, W. (2008). International social work and social welfare: North America. In Encyclopedia of social work, Vol. 2, (pp.518-522). Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.
Edwards, R., Shera, W., Reid, P. N., & York, R. (2006). Social work practice and education in the U. S. and Canada. Social Work Education, 25(1), 28-38.
Turner, L., & Shera, W. (2005). Empowerment of human service workers: Beyond intra-organizational strategies. Administration in Social Work. 29(3), 79-94.
Tsang, K. T., Yan, M. C. & Shera, W. (Eds.), (2004). Social work in China: A snapshot of critical issues and emerging ideas. Toronto: Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.
Shera, W. (Ed.), (2003). Emerging perspectives on anti-oppressive practice. Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press.
Shera, W. (2003). Doctoral social work education in Canada: Current issues and future challenges. Social Work Education, 22(6), 603-610.
Shera, W., Aviram, U., Healy. B., & Ramon, S. (2002) Mental health system reform: A multi-country comparison. Social Work In Health Care, 35(1/2), 547-575.