Kathleen Funder

Kathleen Rose "Kate" Funder, née Brennan, (19 September 1941 – 13 June 1998) was an Australian social scientist, who is recognised for her significant contribution to the Australian Institute of Family Studies as a principal research fellow. She was the mother of writer Anna Funder.

Early life and education Kathleen Rose Funder was born on 19 September 1941 in Wonthaggi, Victoria.

Career After graduating, Funder taught English at the Geelong West Technical School and at the Emily McPherson College, before joining the Department of Education as an educational psychologist. She was a member of the Victorian Psychologists Registration Board, the Research Advisory Committee of the Victorian Association of Family Therapists, and as Chair of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Psychological Society, and chair of the Advisory Committee of the Psychology Department at Swinburne University.

In 1983, Funder joined the Australian Institute of Family Studies as a principal research fellow.

Other roles Funder was an observer on the Family Law Council and a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission Reference on Children and the Law. She was also a member of the Committee on Family Research of the International Sociological Association and the National Council on Family Relations in the United States.

Publications Among her many publications were books Images of Australian Families: approaches and perceptions, and Remaking families: adaption of parents and children to divorce. Kathleen also contributed to Family Matters; a research journal of the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Personal life Brennan married endocrinologist John Funder. Their children are author Anna Funder, Joshua, and Hugh.

Funder Street in the Canberra suburb of Bruce is named after her.

Published works

Books Images of Australian families: approaches and perceptions, 1991 Settling down: pathways of parents after divorce, 1992 Remaking families: adaptation of parents and children to divorce, 1996 Family Law Evaluation 1996: parental responsibilities two national surveys (with Bruce Smyth), 1996 Citizen Child: Australian Law and Children's Rights, 1996 The workforce attachment of sole parents and ILO Convention 156 (report commissioned by The Department of Social Security) (with Christine Millward), 1993 Safety net or snare?: divorced women's reliance on social security (with Christine Barczak), 1989

Conference Proceedings Family configurations: post-divorce insights from children, 1989

Articles "Financial support and relationships with children", 1989 "A psychologist in family studies: research and social policy", 1994 "Australia, a proposal for reform: Economic hardship and inequalities due to marriage breakdown", 1992 "The Australian Family Law Reform Act and public attitudes to parental responsibility", 1998 "Marriage, parenthood and the law", 1993 "Changes in child support: Changes to the Child Support Scheme" announced by the Federal Government in 1997, 1997