Dr Aaron Wyllie is a Researcher-in-Residence at Essex County Council in Adult Social Services, and is part of the NIHR ARC East of England's ASCENT programme.
Aaron is a Lecturer within the Division of Social Work and Social Justice and the Programme Lead/Course Director for the BA Social Work programme at the University of Essex. Aaron's research is broadly focused across three key areas, including building on his previous practice experiences with older people, his doctoral research explored the role of place and space in shaping experiences of disadvantage and community connectedness among older people. During COVID, Aaron continued this area of research through collaboration with colleagues from the Essex Autonomy Project, focusing on the rights and wellbeing of older people living in locked down care homes. He is also interested in the history of social work as a profession, both within the UK and globally. Aaron has recently published (with Professor Vasilios Ioakimidis), an edited volume with Policy Press exploring incidents of social work complicity and resistance with oppressive and punitive practices. He is currently continuing this work through an exploration of the history of transport as an enabling technology for social work's 'neo-liberal turn' within the United Kingdom, alongside a range of collaborations with international colleagues focused on documenting and highlighting social work history. Thirdly, he has broad interests and expertise with respect to creative and participatory research methodologies, and research ethics and integrity.