Janki Shankar

Biography

Janki Shankar is Professor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. She joined academia after 17 years of clinical experience as a social worker and therapist primarily in mental health and specialised vocational rehabilitation settings for people with severe disability in Sydney Australia.  She has also worked in West Africa and India.   Dr. Shankar’s research focuses on the challenges to integration and well-being arising from stigma, discrimination and racism experienced by immigrant workers and families, immigrant students and people with disabilities arising from mental illness and brain injury.  Her current research is on occupational safety, health and well being of immigrant and Canadian born workers in precarious employment settings and prevention of family violence and Children’s services intervention in immigrant families. Dr. Shankar has received several research awards as principal investigator and has been a coinvestigator/collaborator in many research projects. Her research has been funded by tri-council grants, namely Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and other major funding bodies like Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Policy Wise, Alberta Health, and Department of Labor, Government of Alberta. Dr. Shankar has the distinction of being one of the very few social work academics in Canada to receive tri-council funding for leading the research on occupational safety and well-being of new Canadians.    

Dr. Shankar’s scholarship includes over hundred refereed presentations and publications in international conferences and journals. She has been invited by Universities in Australia and India to talk about her research and serves on the examination committees of higher degree national and international students.  At a National level, she is a reviewer of research grant applications for major funders like SSHRC, Policy Wise (Alberta) and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR, British Columbia). As an Adjunct Professor at University Alberta since 2010,  she has  collaborated on research projects in the areas of aging and mental health, workplace health, family caregiving, supported employment and education,  taught in their mental health and addictions program, has provided research mentorship to junior professors on tenure track and been on the supervisory and examination committees of their doctoral students.  Besides research, Dr. Shankar has extensive teaching and higher degree student supervision experience. She teaches a wide range of courses in the areas of Diversity, Oppression and Social Justice, Cross Cultural Violence, Advanced Practice in Mental Health, Research and Critical Social Policy.  Her teaching philosophy and practices are strongly influenced by decolonizing pedagogies, critical race and post colonial theories

Publications

Selected Publications 

• Shankar, J & Ellis, Z (2020), Enhancing service provision for immigrant families experiencing domestic violence through partnerships between mainstream service providers and cultural brokers, In Press. 
• Shankar, J., Nicholas, D et al (2018). Transition from Pediatric to Adult Services: Challenges for Parents of Young Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury, SAGE Open, October-December 1–14     DOI: 10.1177/2158244018807954
• Shankar, J & Ip C (2018) Community College Counselors’ Experiences and Challenges with Postsecondary Students with Mental Health Disorders, Chapter 6, 83-99, Health and Academic Achievement   Intech Open Publishers. United Kingdom
• Shankar, J., Ip, E and Khalema, N.E (2017). Addressing Academic Aspirations, Challenges and Barriers of Indigenous and Immigrant Students in a Postsecondary Education Setting. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2017.1409675 (in Press)
• Drolet, J., Enns, R., Krietzer, L., Shankar, J., and Mclaughlin (2017), A Supporting the resettlement of a Syrian family in Canada: The social work resettlement practice experience of Social Justice Matters, International Journal of Social Work https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728177
• Nicholas, D., Newton, A., Calhoun, A., deJong-Berg, M., Hamilton, F., Kilmer, C., McLaughlin, A & Shankar, J(2016), The Experiences and Perceptions of Street-Involved Youth Regarding Emergency Department Services, Qualitative Health Research, 26 (6),  851-62 . DOI: 10.1177/1049732315577605
• Lai, D., Shankar, J and Khalema, N. E. (2017) Unspoken skills and tactics: Essentials for immigrant professionals in integration to workplace culture", has been accepted for publication in professionals in integration to workplace culture", Journal of International Migration and Integration, 18(3) 937-59. DOI: 10.1007/s12134-017-0513-5
• Higginbotham, GMA; Valliantos, H., Shankar, J, Safipour, J and Davey, C (2017), Immigrant women’s food choices in pregnancy: perspectives from women of Chinese origin in Canada, Ethnicity & Health, 23 (5)521-541 DOI:10.1080/13557858.2017.1281384
• Shankar, J., Gill, R and Ellis Z (2016), Perspectives on Honor and Crimes Against Women in the Name of Honor, in Mitchell, Ortiz ( Ed), Domestic Violence: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Perspectives, Chapter 7, 111-131, Nova Science Publishers 
• Khalema, N.E., & Zulla, R., Shankar, J., Chiu Y and Oritz, L (2016) Participatory community Action Research process addressing employment integration of internationally trained professionals (ITPs) in Canada, Action Learning and Action Research Journal Vol 22 (1)
• Higginbottom, G.M.A., Vallianatos, H., Shankar, J., Osswald, B., & Davey, C (2016). Understanding South Asian Immigrant Women’s Food Choices in the Perinatal Period, International Journal of Women’s Health and Wellness Volume 2 | Issue 1 1-7
• Nicholas, D., Newton, A., Calhoun, A., deJong-Berg, M., Hamilton, F., Kilmer, C., McLaughlin, A & Shankar, J(2016), The Experiences and Perceptions of Street-Involved Youth Regarding Emergency Department Services, Qualitative Health Research, 26 (6), 851-62 . DOI: 10.1177/1049732315577605

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Media Work

2016, https://twitter.com/UCalgary_FSW/status/804036087932997632

2015, Edmonton Journal, Group of Edmonton social workers aims to sponsor Syrian family. 

2015, CIHR South Asian Food Choices: healthy eating in perinatal period https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwHwXpz6Ntg 

Awards

Research Awards last 5 years

2020-2023     

Occupational safety and workers' rights among new working age immigrants: The role of settlement organizations, Partnership Development Grant, Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. 

2016-2018     

Immigrant employees’ perspectives on occupational safety, work conditions and their return-to-work experiences after occupational injury, OHS Futures, Funded by OHS Futures, Dept of Labor Alberta. 

2018-2019     

Prevention and Early Intervention Best Practices for New Canadian Children, Youth and Families. Funded by Ministry of Children’s Services, Alberta. 

2016-2020  

Immigrant worker, service provider and employer perspectives on the occupational safety and work conditions of immigrant workers and their return-to-work experiences after occupational injury or illness, Insight Grant funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. 

2013-2017    

Optimizing food choices and practices in the perinatal period for immigrant women. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 

2013-2015    

Working Together: Engaging communities to end violence against women and girls: Preventing and reducing violence against women and girls in the name of "honor" – Funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 

2012-2014    

Unspoken skills and tactics: Essentials for immigrant professionals in integration to workplace culture. Funded by RBC Canada. 

2012- 2015    

Transition from pediatric to adult care services:  the experiences of family caregivers of young adult survivors of traumatic brain injury.  Funded by Policy Wise, Alberta