Jocelyn Sophia Hyslop (1897–1974) was mainly known for her contribution to

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

in Australia.

Education

She was a graduate of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE),

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

certificate, Diploma in Sociology, Bachelor of Science and a

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

certificate. In addition, she had won a number of awards, including the LSE Loch Exhibition, Commonwealth Fund Child Scholarship and the Metcalfe Scholarship for women.

Career

Her initial career started with her working in the slums of London and Leeds.

Australia

She arrived in 1934, having been recruited to initiate a formal program of education for social work professionals in Melbourne. After arriving in Australia, she initially spoke to the Melbourne newspapers about the welfare conditions of society. She was interviewed by the Argus, in which she discussed American and English methods to addressing social welfare. At the time, she was advocating for Australia to follow US methods, unusual as Australia at the time usually followed English methods. Working at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, she established a course in social work that was acceptable for the standards of the university. In 1940, the university agreed the course would run. This was the first social work course run in Melbourne, and there was a similar course run in Sydney in the same year. The establishment of the course opened up career paths for university educated women. While there were some women studying at university, most of the careers were dominated by men. Most of the students studying the

Social Welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet Basic needs, basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refe ...

course were women, unusual for women to be the majority of any university course at the time. Hyslop had advanced the role of the social worker, which she perceived to help people to find their own path in life. Hylsop was highly critical of 19th century charity workers who she saw had interfered in people's lives, saying they simply dispensed "soup, flannel and groceries " She was generally an advocate for social justice, defending the rights of the unemployed.

Rhodesia

After her work improving social work in Australia, she left academia, moving to

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

where she joined an Anglican order of nuns.

References

External links