Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Steve Roberts is Professor of Education & Social Justice and Head of the School of Education, Culture and Society.
Steve is a sociologist and an internationally recognised expert in research in two areas: i) changes and continuitiues in boys and men's masculinity practices, and; ii) inequalities in young people’s transitions to adulthood. The former includes boys and men’s engagement with risky drinking; sexting; emotionality; computer gaming; violence; domestic labour; compulsory and post-compulsory education; employment. Steve has published widely in a variety of esteemed international journals, including The Sociological Review, Sociology, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Continuing Studies in Education, Boyhood Studies, British Educational Research Journal, Journal of Youth Studies, and New Media and Society. He is also (co)author of two monographs, (co)editor of six edited volumes, and co-author of the teaching text book 'Youth Sociology' (Palgrave, 2020).
Steve is Associate Editor of Journal of Youth Studies, on the Editorial Board of Sociology, an International Advisory Editor of Men and Masculinities, a Director of the Board of Respect Victoria, and a member of Movember's Global Men's Health Advisory Committee. He was a member of VicHealth's inaugral Research Expert Advisory Panel, and also was a member of the Scientific Advisory Group of the Australian Institute for Family Studies ‘Ten to Men’ study from 2019-2021. He has been awarded competitive research funding from the UK's ESRC, the Australian Research Council, VicHealth, ANROWS, Dept. of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dept. of Education, Skills and Employment, among others. He has undertaken a suite of work (with Karla Elliott), funded by VicHealth, looking to understand, evaluate and improve 'healthy masculinity' interventions aimed at boys and young men. He was also lead CI for the much publicised and prize winning 'Men’s Risky Drinking' project, funded by VicHealth, and co-lead (with Brady Robards) of research that was foundational to the development of Australia's 2021 Youth Policy Framework, funded by the Dept of Prime Minster & Cabinet.
Steve joined Monash University in February 2015, and was based in the School of Social Sciences for seven years before moving to the Faculty of Education, where among other things he has served as Associate Dean Graduate Research. Prior to joining Monash he held ongoing academic positions at the School of Education, University of Southampton, and then at the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent. Steve obtained an MA in Social Research Methods, a PhD in Social Policy (both funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council) and his teaching qualifications all at University of Kent.
Supervision interests
Steve is keen to hear from prospective research students who are interested in projects focussing on some aspect of either (broadly speaking):
1) men, masculinity, inequality and social change – this might be changes and continuities in masculinity, men's employment, boys or men's education trajectories and expriences, risk taking, friendships, social media engagments, homophobia, sexuality, drinking practices etc.
2) young people’s transition to adulthood and their experience of the contemporary world - this might be gender identities (especially masculinity), housing, family formation, leisure lives, risk taking, cultural consumption, education or work, for example.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
External positions
Global Men's Health Advisory Committee, Trustee for For The Movember Foundation (trading as Movember Foundation)
2024 → 2027
Committee Member, Alliance of Working Class Academics
2023 → …
Board Director, Respect Victoria
2023 → 2026
Research Expert Advisory Panel, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (trading as VicHealth)
2021 → 2024
Co-editor, Emerald Advances in Masculinities, Emerald Group Publishing Ltd
2020 → …
Associate Editor, Journal of Youth Studies
Jan 2018 → …
International Advisory Editor, Men and Masculinities
2018 → …
Co Editor in Chief, Sociological Research Online
Jan 2016 → Jan 2020
Research area keywords
- Sociology, history, and philosophy of education
- Masculinities
- Youth transitions
- Young People
- Social Justice
- Men and masculinity
- Social Change
- Higher education and lifelong learning
- Precarity
- Sexting
- Alcohol
- Men's Behaviour Change
- Education and Work
- Education aspirations
- Digital cultures
- Social Class
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Supporting secondary school teachers to address online spaces as pathways to gender-based violence for boys and men: teacher professional development to tackle the influence of the 'manosphere'
Pfitzner, N. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), McCook, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wescott, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Roberts, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Phelan, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Clark , O. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Hewson-Munro, S. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Hendriks, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Cavalin, R. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Hendriks, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Harris, B. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Contos, C. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Atkin, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Eap, K. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Trevaskis, L. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Willmett , S. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Fahour, H. (Associate Investigator (AI))
29/07/24 → 31/08/26
Project: Research
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Transdisciplinary Scholarship Connector Grants - (Un)Doing Masculinities Summit: An International Dialogue
Kehler, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Knott Eagle, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Barker, G. T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Messner, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Nelson, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Haywood, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Jackson, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ringrose, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ingvar Kjaran, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Keddie, A. M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Flood, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Elliott, K. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pease, B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Waling, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Roberts, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Henry, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bridges, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Ging, D. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/07/24 → 30/06/25
Project: Research
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Evaluation of the Job Ready Program model
Ang, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Arunachalam, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Roberts, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Robards, B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pham, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Le, L. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
30/10/23 → 29/05/24
Project: Research
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Change and Improvement in Girl's Experience
Wescott, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Roberts, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fernandes, V. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Lea, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/08/23 → 1/12/23
Project: Research
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Addressing the deficit in men's participation in paid care work
Roberts, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) & Elliott, K. (Chief Investigator (CI))
28/08/22 → 2/12/24
Project: Research
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Australian early childhood educators’ perspectives on digital teaching of geometry: the pedagogical enablers and barriers
Zhao, X. & Roberts, S., Mar 2025, In: Australasian Journal of Early Childhood. 50, 1, p. 5-18 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus) -
Beyond the clickbait: Analysing the masculinist ideology in Andrew Tate’s online written discourses
Roberts, S., Jones, C., Nicholas, L., Wescott, S. & Maloney, M., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Cultural Sociology. 25 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Conceptualising school-level responses to sexual harassment of women teachers as institutional gaslighting
Wescott, S. & Roberts, S., 2025, In: British Journal of Sociology of Education. 46, 1, p. 1-18 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Citations (Scopus) -
Examining the impact of domestic and family violence on young Australians’ school-level education
Stewart, R., Fitz-Gibbon, K. & Roberts, S., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Australian Journal of Social Issues. 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Institutional responses to sexual harassment and misogyny towards women teachers from boys in Australian schools in the post-#metoo era
Zhao, X., Roberts, S. & Wescott, S., 2025, In: Journal of Educational Administration and History. 57, 2, p. 141-158 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
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Dean's Award for Excellence in Honours Supervision, Faculty of Arts, 2019
Roberts, S. (Recipient), 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Dean’s Award for Research Enterprise, Faculty of Education, 2022
Roberts, S. (Recipient), Robards, B. (Recipient) & Lyall, B. (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Monash Graduate Association Supervisor of the Year Award, 2020
Roberts, S. (Recipient), 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Special Commendation, Faculty of Arts Dean's Awards for Research Excellence 2021, Excellence for Research Enterprise
Robards, B. (Recipient), Roberts, S. (Recipient), Lyall, B. (Recipient), Barbosa Neves, B. (Recipient), Ghazarian, Z. (Recipient), Trott, V. (Recipient), Lindsay, J. (Recipient), Smith, J. (Recipient) & Laughland-Booy, J. (Recipient), 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Special Commendation, Faculty of Arts Dean’s Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision, 2020
Roberts, S. (Recipient), 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
- 1 Submissions to industry or govt committees, commissions and inquiries
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Australian Department of Education Anti-Bullying Rapid Review
Leif, E. (Fellow), Allen, K.-A. (Fellow), Wescott, S. (Fellow), Roberts, S. (Fellow), Reupert, A. (Fellow), Subban, P. (Fellow), Bloomfield, B. (Fellow) & Hayward, B. (Fellow)
27 Jun 2025Activity: External Academic Engagement › Submissions to industry or govt committees, commissions and inquiries
Press/Media
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Women’s safety is not a side-benefit of better male health: What Sussan Ley’s press club address got right, and wrong (ABC Online)
27/07/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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The crisis that always is, but never was: A brief reflection on 150 years of panic about men, masculinity and social change
30/06/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Blogs
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Lesson for Aust Schools
Stewart, R., Fitz-Gibbon, K. & Roberts, S.
7/06/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Research shows schools need comprehensive support system to address needs of kids experiencing family violence
Fitz-Gibbon, K., Roberts, S. & Stewart, R.
6/06/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Kids reluctant to tell teachers about abuse: Monash University study finds less than one in five kids disclose family violence to teachers, as kids ditch school
Fitz-Gibbon, K., Roberts, S. & Stewart, R.
6/06/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research