Associate Professor Trudi Cooper

• Ethics and humans services
  
• Principles of youth work
  
• Policy, politics and youth work
  
• Practicum units in youth work
  
• Social program evaluation

Trudi’s first degree was in philosophy, and included studies in behaviour in organisation, politics, computing and mathematics, her Master’s degree was in Educational Research, and her thesis was on team teaching. In her PhD Trudi critically examined the use of quality management systems in Australian higher education. She spent the first twenty years of her adult life in the UK where she qualified as a qualified teacher and as a youth worker and community worker and where she was employed as a youth and community worker, and as a manager and trainer of youth and community workers. She also worked as a play leader and program deputy manager, as a home tutor for a young woman who was school phobic, worked in the occupational therapy department of a large psychiatric hospital, taught English as a second language, and taught in various academic institutions including Lancaster University, St Martin’s College (now University of Cumbria), W.R. Tuson College (now University of Central Lancashire). She was recruited to teach Youth and Community Work at Edith Cowan University, and specialises in applied research that benefits practitioners. Mostly recently, this has taken the form of program evaluations and Trudi has strong links with many government and community agencies.

Trudi is a member of the Australasian Evaluation Society and of the Youth Affairs Council of Western Australia. Trudi has had a life long interest in professional development of practitioners, and in teaching. She has authored several books on portfolio assessment, and in 2006 received national recognition through a Carrick citation for ‘Development of portfolio-based assessment within a social science professional degree program and dissemination of learning across other professional fields’. She went to Flinders University as a visiting scholar in the School of Nursing in 2000 and 2001.Trudi is a member of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia. She received an award for Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision, Edith Cowan University, 1996.

• Youth and youth work research
  
• Evaluation research, especial social program evaluation
  
• Systems research and the scholarship of integration
  
• Teaching and learning research: especially improvement of professional practice, assessment and especially portfolio assessment, quality management systems, adult and independent learning
  
• Research with youth and community agencies to address problems identified by practitioners and managers of community work and youth work; reflexive links between theory and practice; practitioner training; solution focused collaborative research; action research 

Since 2005
Trudi Cooper, Paul Cozens, Terry Love, Joe Clare, Frank Morgan, ‘Research into Criminal And Anti-Social Behaviour On The Southern Rail Line’, WA Office of Crime Prevention, 2007-2008

Peter Hancock, Trudi Cooper, Evaluation Of The Integrated Services Centre (ISC) Pilot Project, WA Office for Multicultural Interests, 2007-2008

Peter Hancock, Trudi Cooper, Orietta Simons, ‘Evaluation of the City Of Stirling Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Youth, Sport and Leisure Programs’ funded by City of Stirling, WA Department of Sport and Recreation and the WA Office for Multicultural Interests, completion 2009

Trudi Cooper, Evaluation of the DrugARM/PTA Train Outreach Project. Funded Drug ARM WA completion October 2007

Trudi Cooper, Andrew Guilfoyle, Peter Hancock, Judy Kulisa, Jude Bridgland (2006)‘Young People’s Participation In Communities (Indicators And Performance Measures) – Scoping Study’ Conducted Under The Auspices Of The National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS). Funded by the FaCIA., completion July 2007

Trudi Cooper, Evaluation of the Wilderness Therapy Program. Funded by for the Department of Sport and Recreation. First stage evaluation on-going.

Trudi Cooper, Erin Donovan, Orietta Simons, Judy Kulisa, Andrew Hall (2005), “Research into the effectiveness of mentoring as a crime prevention strategy with homeless young people” Collaborative project between Edith Cowan University and Joondalup Youth Support Services. Funded by the Office of Crime Prevention, completed 2007,

Trudi Cooper, Terence Love, Fred Affleck (2005), “Action Research to design and evaluate integrated crime prevention strategies for rail station environs” through the Planning & Transport Research Centre (PATREC), Edith Cowan University, Curtin University and collaborating local government and public transport partners. Funded by the Office of Crime Prevention, completed 2007.

Trudi Cooper & Judy Kulisa, (2005) Evaluation of the YMCA Wheatbelt Multi Purpose Mobile Youth Service Project. Funded by the YMCA completed December 2005

Ron Macdonald (2007) – Pagbukadkad ng Bulaklak (blooming of the flower): An Ethnographic Study of a Friendship Group of Same-Sex Attracted Middle-Class Young Men from Metro Manila in the Philippines. (co-supervisor) 

Judy Kulisa (2006) –Developing practice: youth work with young women living with violence (co-supervisor) 

Award: Carrick CAAUT 2006 Citation title: ‘For enhancement of quality of student learning, through systematisation of portfolio-based assessment within professional degree programs and dissemination of learning to other professional fields’.

Award: Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching 2006 Citation for outstanding contribution to student learning: Citation Title: ‘Development of portfolio-based assessment within a social science professional degree program and dissemination of learning across other professional fields’

Highly commended application for Professionalism In Teaching And Learning Awards 2005: Trudi Cooper, Erin Donovan, Judy Kulisa, Orietta Simons – Innovation in Practicum Delivery (2005)

Award: Best paper award: Love, T and Cooper, T., ‘Designing Online Information Systems for Portfolio-Based Assessment: Design Criteria and Heuristics’ Informing Science Conference, Pori, Finland: June 2003 

• Member of the Youth Affairs Council of Western Australia,
  
• Member of the Australasian Evaluation Society,
  
• Member of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia

Trudi Cooper, Paul Cozens, Terry Love, Joe Clare, Frank Morgan, ‘Research into Criminal And Anti-Social Behaviour On The Southern Rail Line’,  WA Office of Crime Prevention, 2007-2008

Peter Hancock, Trudi Cooper, Evaluation Of The Integrated Services Centre (ISC) Pilot Project, WA Office for Multicultural Interests, 2007-2008

Trudi Cooper, Evaluation of the DrugARM/PTA Train Outreach Project. Funded DrugARM WA,  completion October 2007

Trudi Cooper, Andrew Guilfoyle, Peter Hancock, Judy Kulisa, Jude Bridgland (2006)‘Young People’s Participation In Communities (Indicators And Performance Measures) – Scoping Study’ Conducted Under The Auspices Of The National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS). Funded by the FaCIA. $22,000, completion June 2007

Trudi Cooper (2006) Evaluation of the Wilderness Therapy Program. Funded by for the Department of Sport and Recreation. First stage evaluation, on-going.

Trudi Cooper & Judy Kulisa, (2005) Evaluation of the YMCA Wheatbelt Multi Purpose Mobile Youth Service Project. Funded by the YMCA $9,776 completed December 2005

Trudi Cooper, Erin Donovan, Orietta Simons, Judy Kulisa, Andrew Hall (2004),  “Research into the effectiveness of mentoring as a crime prevention strategy with homeless young people” Collaborative project between Edith Cowan University and Joondalup Youth Support Services. Funded by the Office of Crime Prevention. Completion date March 2007,

Trudi Cooper, Terence Love, Fred Affleck (2004), “Action Research to design and evaluate integrated crime prevention strategies for rail station environs” through the Planning & Transport Research Centre (PATREC), Edith Cowan University, Curtin University and collaborating local government and public transport partners. Funded by the Office of Crime Prevention. Completion date February 2007.

Supervised Kirsten Janke who completed an honours project (2004) ‘An Examination Of The Transitional Support Needs For Young People Leaving Detention’ jointly managed by YACWA, Youth Legal Service, Outcare and Edith Cowan University and funded by Outcare, completed 2005,

Howard Sercombe, Paul Omaji, Neil Drew, Trudi Cooper and Terry Love. (2002) Youth and the future: effective youth services for the year 2015". Hobart: Australian National Youth Clearing House/ National Youth Affairs Research Scheme. (NYARS)

Stuart Boyd, Trudi Cooper, Howard Sercombe. Young people and Public Space. (2000) Funded by Joondalup City Council.

Stuart Boyd, Trudi Cooper, Howard Sercombe. Youth Activity Centre Research.  (2000) Funded by Kwinana Town Council.

Stuart Boyd, Trudi Cooper, Sherry Saggers, Pamela Weatherill, Neil Drew. Benchmarking: Local government, Community Services and performance measurement. (2000). Funded by a consortium of Local Government partners with the Local Government Community Services Association and Edith Cowan University Institute of Service Professions, Edith Cowan University.

Teresa Hutchins, Margaret Sims, Trudi Cooper and Lydia Hearne. Training needs of Bilingual support workers. (1996) Ethnic Childcare Resource Unit. /Edith Cowan Collaborative Research Fund.