Chihota, Clement Dr

Position: Senior Lecturer
Study area: Social Work, Community and Human Services
Location: Berwick Campus, Room 901-223
Phone: 5122 6059
Email: c.chihota@federation.edu.au

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy – University of Cape Town

Master of Applied Social Work – Massey University (New Zealand)

Masters in Applied Linguistics – University of Zimbabwe

Graduate Certificate in Education – University of Zimbabwe

Teaching

Courses

  • Master of Social Work (Qualifying)
  • Master of Social Work (Qualifying) (Children and Families)
  • Graduate Certificate in Social and Community Services

Units

  • MSWPG7115 Social Work Practice in Diverse Contexts
  • MSWPG7205 Integrative Social Work Practice
  • MSWCF7110 Navigating Child and Family Services
  • GCSCS6003 Ethics for Professional Practice
  • GCSCS6004 Conflict Management

Biography

A Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Community, and Human Services, Clement has a rich and diverse professional background. Originally from Zimbabwe, he has held various key roles, including: Subject Specialist in Applied Linguistics at the Zimbabwe Open University; Academic Writing Consultant and Lecturer in Postgraduate Development at the University of Cape Town; Child Protection Social Worker with the Child Youth and Family Services (now Oranga Tamariki) in New Zealand, and Social Work Educator at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute (also in New Zealand).

Clement is deeply committed to student-centered teaching and the integration of interdisciplinary lenses in social and community work education. His approach combines practical experience with academic expertise, creating a dynamic learning environment that fosters holistic and impactful learning.

Areas of expertise

  • Critical Language Awareness/ Critical Discourse Analysis
  • Critical social theory
  • Social policy and social change
  • Cultural diversity and dialogue across difference
  • Migrant and minority group experiences

Research interests

  • The scope for Critical Language Awareness (CLA) in social and community work practice
  • Language and power (i.e. how discourses shape and are in turn shaped by social structures, institutions and relations).
  • Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual (BPSS) frameworks for holistic engagements with clients
  • Barriers and affordances for academic literacies
  • Migrant and minority group experiences

Higher degrees by research supervision

Completed supervision

Carina O’Neil – Masters by Research (Associate Supervisor)

Current students

Matthew Crane – PhD Candidate (Associate Supervisor)

Stephan Davis – PhD Candidate (Associate Supervisor)

Fiona Robson – Graduate Certificate in Research Candidate (Principal Supervisor)

Publications

Refereed journal articles

Chihota, C. & Kudeva, R. (2025). Fractional Belonging: The Experience of Bulgarian and Zimbabwean Immigrants Living in Australia. British Journal of Social Work.

Thesen, L. with Chihota, C. and Humna, A. (2024). Chapter 7. ‘I remember a few rogue popcorns’: Teaching for the trace. In Thesen, L. Knowledge Making from a Postgraduate Writers’ Circle: A Southern Reflectory. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Martin, J., McCartin, C., Chihota, C. & Kooyman, T. (2023). Field Education Organisational Roles and Responsibilities: A Snapshot of Australian Social Work Education Providers. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education and Research, 24(2). Pp. 20-36.

Chihota, C. (2022). A Rock and a Hard Place: The curious collusion between neo-liberal, racist and ‘anti-racist’ discourses in ostracising Black African communities in Victoria, Australia. New Community Journal, 20(4), 46-51.

Wilson, J., Chihota, C. & Marks, G. (2021). Teaching White Privilege. International Journal of Inclusive Education. DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2021.1909154

Chihota, C. M. (2017). Critical Language Awareness: A Beckoning Frontier in Social Work Education? ANZASW Journal, 29 (2). Retrieved: https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/287.

Paxton, M., Arend, M., van Pletzen, E., Archer, A. & Chihota, C. (2008). Writers' Stance in Disciplinary Discourses: a Developmental View. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 26(1).

Chihota, C. (2007). The Games People Play: Taking on Postgraduate Identities in the Context of Writer Circles. Journal of Applied Linguistics,4(1).

Book chapters

Chihota, C. (2023). A Moment of Fuzziness: Connections between Shifting Notions of ‘Home’ and Welfare Arrangements ‘Back Home’ for Black Zimbabwean Migrants Living under COVID-19 Travel Restrictions in Australia. In Ottmann, G. & Noble, C. (Eds.), Post-Pandemic Welfare and Social Work. London: Routledge. Pp. 197-209.

Arkwright, J. & Chihota, C. (2018). Using Appreciative Inquiry and Multimodal Texts as Transformative Tools within a Christ-following Missional Learning Community. In J. M. Luetz, T. Dowden & B. Norsworthy (Eds.). Reimagining Christian Education – Cultivating Transformative Approaches. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd: Singapore.

Chihota, C. M. & Thesen, L. (2014). Rehearsing 'the Postgraduate Condition' in Writers' Circles.' In L. Thesen & L. Cooper (Eds.), Risk in Academic Writing: Postgraduate Students, their Teachers and the Making of Knowledge.  Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Industry reports

Chihota, C., Ottmann, G., Sadowski, C., Leonard, Z. & Martin, J. (2023). Ballarat Industry Mentoring Pilot Phase 2 Evaluation Report – Participant Experiences. Federation University Australia. ISBN: 978-1-922874-07-8

Chihota, C., Ottmann, G., Sadowski, C., Leonard, Z. & Martin, J. (2023). Phase 1: Evaluation of the Ballarat Industry Mentoring Pilot. Federation University Australia. ISBN: 978-1-922874-06-1 

Vishwanath, T., Mummery, J., Cooper, S. & Chihota, C. (2021). Proposed Diversity and Social Inclusion Principles for Child and Family Services (CAFS). Ballarat: Federation University Australia.

Refereed conference publications

Gibson, A., & Chihota, C. (Eds.). (2018). Modelling Christ’s love and hope within professional practice. ICCE Proceedings: Conference peer reviewed papers. Tauranga, New Zealand: BTI Publishing.

Non-refereed and creative publications

Chihota, C. (2024). The Leper’s Fire and Other Poems. Suffolk: Carnelian Heart Publishers.

Chihota, C. (2021). Before the Next Song and other Poems. Suffolk: Carnelian Heart Publishing.

Chihota, C. M. (2016). Proposing a Marxist Stylistics: Beyond Althusser, Past Critical Discourse Analysis. Saarbrucken: Ominisciptum.

Chihota, C. (2009). The Problem with being Broke. Warwick Review 3(4).

Chihota, C. (2002). Shipwreck. Tripwire Journal of Poetics. 6(Fall), 51-54.

Chihota, C. M. & Muponde, R. (2000). No More Plastic Balls. Harare: College Press.

Chihota, C. M. (1998). The Interfaces of Language, Literature and Communication. Harare: Zimbabwe Open University.

Academic and professional memberships

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) – Berwick Campus

New Community Journal – Member of the Management Committee

Social Work Registration Board (New Zealand) – Associate Member