Dr Liam Foster

Lecturer in Social Work (BA, MA, PhD)

Academic Profile

I rejoined the department in January 2007 as a University Teacher in Social Policy and Research Methods having completed my PhD within the department in 2006 under the supervision of Professor Alan Walker. In September 2008 I was appointed as a Lecturer in Social Work within the Department. I had previously conducted my undergraduate and postgraduate MA degrees at the University of Leeds. In 2006 I spent time teaching at Leeds Metropolitan University in the Health Sciences Department and was employed as a postgraduate teaching assistant within the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield throughout my PhD.

My research interests are as follows: gender and pension provision, gender inequality in the workplace, funeral provision and poverty, disability and ageing research, and the sociology of sport.

Research

My research focus has largely been on gender differences in pension acquisition. My ESRC funded thesis `Gender, the Life Course and Pension Provision in the UK´ incorporated a mixed method approach to analyse pension provision in the UK. By using a large secondary data set, the General Household Survey (GHS), I analysed the links between education, employment characteristics and pension acquisition for both men and women. By also conducting a case study of the Teachers´ Pension Scheme (TPS) largely dependent on the use of interviews it provided a more detailed explanation of some of the trends apparent within the survey data as to the causes of women´s typically inferior pension situation within a particular profession. This process of triangulation enabled an assessment of the current debates about the future of the British pensions system and the potential affect of policy changes. I have recently been awarded a pot of money to conduct some research on the impact of socio-economic status on financial planning and perceived quality of life in older age. I have also recently completed consultancy work for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) employing quantitative methods to evaluate student satisfaction and career paths following the completion of Architecture degrees. The findings of this were subsequently published in the RIBA journal.

Funded Research Projects
Date	Sponsor	Details
2012-13	AHRC	Home Improvements: Improving quality and value in the provision of volume house building through architectural knowledge exchange (CI)
2012	University of Sheffield, Research Stimulation Fund	‘I might not live that long!’ A study of young people’s pension planning in the UK
2009-10	University Devolved Fund	Young women's pension planning (PI)

Teaching

I teach and supervise students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Much of my teaching is driven by my research interests, skills and experience which incorporate quantitative and qualitative approaches. At all levels I encourage learning through inquiry and seek to expose students to the most up to date research and techniques. In my methods teaching students are encouraged, both in lectures and seminars, to conduct and analyse research, learning first-hand the vital contribution of empirical and grounded knowledge. For instance, in order to enhance student’s quantitative skills workbooks including student activities are employed. These were developed jointly with Dr Tom Clark with the assistance of a CILASS grant award and have proved to be a useful resource for students. My social work methods teaching draws heavily on evidence based practice and uses specific research examples in order to give students the capacity to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of social research and how it may be employed in practice settings. In all of the modules I convene students are encouraged to work on an individual basis and in groups in creative ways such as in the Law and Policy in Practice module where an innovative class debate is used. The participation of service users is also encouraged in order for students to understand subjective views and experiences and challenge notions of the ‘expert’ in relation to knowledge production.

I currently convene the following undergraduate modules:

• SCS2003 Social Research Principles

See our Undergraduate Degree pages.

I currently convene the following postgraduate modules:

• SCS6101 Law and Policy for Social Work
• SCS631 Evidence Informed Practice
• SCS633 Dissertation - Professional Practice with Children and Families

I am also involved in the supervision of students taking extended essays and dissertations at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and undertake teaching on other postgraduate modules in social work and sociology.

See our Taught Masters Degrees pages.

Postgraduate Supervision

I am currently second supervising 2 students working on topics which include: research on family care for older people in Trinidad and Tobago; and perceptions of disability.

I welcome applications to study full-time or part-time with me for MPhil or PhD research degrees that are related to my activities and experience.

To find out more about our PhD programmes, go to:

Studying for a PhD in Sociology

Publications since 2005

Foster, L. (2013) Pension reform needs to focus on women. Poverty and Social Exclusion

Foster, L. (forthcoming) ‘Women's pensions in the European Union and the current economic crisis’, Policy and Politics

Foster, L. and Clark, T. (forthcoming) ‘An Inquiry-Based Approach to Teaching Quantitative Secondary Survey Methods in Sociological Studies’, in Andrews, J., Clark, R. And Thomas, l. (Eds) Compendium of Effective Practice 2nd Edition

Clark, T., Foster, L., Warren, L. and Farnsworth, K. (forthcoming) ‘Research methods teaching in the social sciences: An integrated approach to inquiry-based learning and curriculum development in Sociological Studies’, in Andrews, J., Clark, R. And Thomas, l. (Eds) Compendium of Effective Practice 2nd Edition

Foster, L. (forthcoming) 'Review of: Chris Phillipson (2012). 'Ageing, Cambridge: Polity Press'. Practice

Foster, L. (forthcoming) 'Review of: Malcolm Carey (2012). 'Qualitative Research Skills for Social Work, Farnham: Ashgate'. British Journal of Social Work

Foster, L. (forthcoming) 'Review of: Jeffrey Longhofer, Jerry Floersch, and Janet Hoy (2012). 'Qualitative Methods for Practice Research, Pocket Guides to Research , New York: Oxford University Press'. British Journal of Social Work

Walker, A. and Foster, L. (forthcoming) Active ageing: Rhetoric, theory and Practice, In, R. Ervik and T. Skogedal Lindén (eds): The Making of Aging Policy: Theory and Practice in Europe. Cheltenham; Edward Elgar.

Foster, L. (forthcoming) “Gender and Pensions: An analysis of factors affecting women’s private pension scheme
membership in the UK”, Journal of Aging and Social Policy

Foster, L. (forthcoming) 'The economic crisis and women’s pensions in the EU', Pensions World

Foster, L. (2012) Active ageing and pensions in the EU, Journal of Comparative Social Welfare 28(3): 223-234

Foster, L. and Walker, A. (2013) Gender and active ageing in Europe. European Journal of Ageing 10(1): 3-10

Foster, L. and Woodthorpe, K. (2013) ‘'What Cost the Price of a Good Send Off?’ The Challenges for British State Funeral Policy’, Journal of Poverty and Social Justice 21(1): 77-89.

Foster, L. (2012) 'Forward' – 'AXA Cost of Living in Retirement Report'

Foster, L. (2012) "Using a Political Economy and Life Course Approach to Understand Gendered Pension Provision in the UK" Sociology Compass, 6(11): 883-896. DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2012.00504.x

Foster, L. (2012) "‘I might not live that long!’ A study of young women’s pension planning in the United Kingdom" Social Policy and Administration, 46(7): 705-726

Foster, L. (2012) 'Review of: Sally French and John Swain (2011). 'Working with Disabled People in Policy and Practice, Basingstoke: Palgrave'. British Journal of Social Work, 42(2): 388-389

Foster, L. and Woodthorpe, K. (2012) 'A Golden Silence? Acts of Remembrance and Commemoration at UK Football Games', Journal of Sport and Social Issues, (published online before print February 8, 2012) doi: 10.1177/0193723511433866

Foster, L. (2011) 'Privatisation and pensions – What does this mean for women?', The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 19 (2) 103-115.

Foster, L. (2011) 'Older people, pensions and poverty: An issue for social workers?', International Social Work, 54 (3), 334-360

Foster, L. (2010) 'Towards a new political economy of pensions? The implications for women', Critical Social Policy, Vol. 30, No. 1, 27-47

Foster, L. (2010) 'Review of: Miriam Bernard and Thomas Scharf (eds.)(2007). Critical Perspectives on Ageing Societies. Bristol: The Policy Press'. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 2009 4(2) 1-4

Foster, L. (2008), 'Do women teachers get a fairer deal? An assessment of the gendered nature of the teachers' pension', Social Policy and Society 7 (1) 41-52

Foster, L (2007), 'Gender, the life course and pension provision in the UK', Doctoral Research Report Generations Review 17 (2)

Walker, A and Foster, L (2006), 'Caught between virtue and Ideological Necessity - A century of pensions policy in the UK', The Review of Political Economy 18 (3) 427-448

Walker, A and Foster, L (2006), 'Ageing and Social Class. An Enduring Relationship', in Vincent, J, Phillipson, C and Downs, M (Eds) The Futures of Old Age, London, Sage

Foster, L (2006)'Conference Report', BSG Conference Keele 2005 Generations Review 16 (1) 27-28

Foster, L (2005) 'Gender, Pensions and the Life Course', Sheffield Online Papers in Social Research http://www.shef.ac.uk/socstudies/shop