The Natural Environment in Social Work Education: A Content Analysis of Australian Social Work Courses
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Author(s)
Harris, Celeste
Boddy, Jennifer
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2017
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The natural environment is increasingly incorporated into social work research, policy, and frameworks for practice in recognition of the importance of ecological justice and the interconnectedness of humans with nature. However, it is unclear to what degree social work education has broadened its scope to include the natural world. Using a content analysis of 937 subject descriptions within Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work (Qualifying) degrees, this article reports on the extent to which Australian social work education appears to cover content related to the natural environment. The findings from this study ...
View more >The natural environment is increasingly incorporated into social work research, policy, and frameworks for practice in recognition of the importance of ecological justice and the interconnectedness of humans with nature. However, it is unclear to what degree social work education has broadened its scope to include the natural world. Using a content analysis of 937 subject descriptions within Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work (Qualifying) degrees, this article reports on the extent to which Australian social work education appears to cover content related to the natural environment. The findings from this study indicate there is an overall lack of engagement with this content. Reasons for this gap in social work education are discussed, as well as the implications for Australian social work education more broadly.
View less >
View more >The natural environment is increasingly incorporated into social work research, policy, and frameworks for practice in recognition of the importance of ecological justice and the interconnectedness of humans with nature. However, it is unclear to what degree social work education has broadened its scope to include the natural world. Using a content analysis of 937 subject descriptions within Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work (Qualifying) degrees, this article reports on the extent to which Australian social work education appears to cover content related to the natural environment. The findings from this study indicate there is an overall lack of engagement with this content. Reasons for this gap in social work education are discussed, as well as the implications for Australian social work education more broadly.
View less >
Journal Title
Australian Social Work
Volume
70
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Taylor & Francis (Routledge). This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Australian Social Work on 08 Jan 2017, available online: URLDOI
Subject
Specialist studies in education
Policy and administration
Social work
Social work not elsewhere classified
Environmental Social Work
Green Social Work
Social Work Education
Content Analysis
Curriculum Development
Climate Change