The Role of Social Work Education to Address Environmental and Racial Injustice
Keywords:
Environmental justice, Racial justice, Education, Student advocacyAbstract
Social work is positioned to further environmental justice, and it is well established that environmental justice requires concrete development within curricula to ensure graduates have the tools to respond adequately to structural inequality exacerbated by the climate crisis. With a focus on the United States curricular guidelines and international calls to action, this case study discusses how Master of Social Work students in a large, public research university took steps to resolve a curricular gap and explored local and international environmental justice efforts. Building skills and knowledge around environmental racism, equitable climate solutions, ecofeminism, consumption behavior, and past social work responses to environmental disasters, this case study serves as a model for future student advocacy and curricular development.
References
Appleby, K., Bell, K., & Boetto, H. (2017). Climate change adaptation: Community action, disadvantaged groups and practice
implications for social work. Australian Social Work, 70(1), 78–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2015.1088558
Austin, M. J. (2019). Pathways for promoting macro practice in social work education: A commentary. Human Service Organizations:
Management, Leadership & Governance, 43(4), 241–257.
Beltrán, R., Hacker, A., & Begun, S. (2016). Environmental justice is a social justice issue: Incorporating environmental justice into
social work practice curricula. Journal of Social Work Education, 52(4), 493–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2016.1215277
Bullard, R. D., Mohai, P., Saha, R., & Wright, B. (2008). Toxic waste and race at twenty: Why race still matters after all of these years.
Environmental Law, 38(2), 371–411.
Commission on Racial Justice. (1987). Toxic waste and race in the United States: A national report on the racial and socio-economic
characteristics of communities with hazardous waste sites. United Church of Christ.
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). (2015). Educational policy and accreditation standards for baccalaureate and master’s
social work programs. https://www.cswe.org/getattachment/Accreditation/Standards-and-Policies/2015-EPAS/2015EPASand
Glossary.pdf.aspx
Council on Social Work Education [CSWE]. (2020). Specialized practice curricular guide for environmental justice. 2015 EPAS
curricular guide resource series. CSWE.
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). (2022). Educational policy and accreditation standards for baccalaureate and master’s
social work programs. https://www.cswe.org/getmedia/94471c42-13b8-493b-9041-b30f48533d64/2022-EPAS.pdf
Decker Sparks, J. L., Massey Combs, K., & Yu, J. (2019). Social work students’ perspective on environmental justice: Gaps and
challenges for preparing students. Journal of Community Practice, 27, 476–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2019.1655124
Erickson, C. L. (2021). Environmental justice. In D. Bailey & T. Mizrahi (Eds.) The encyclopedia of macro social work. National
Association of Social Workers Press and Oxford University Press. https://oxfordre.com/socialwork/view/10.1093/ acrefore/
001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-132?rskey=pBIbuc&result=1
Gebeyehu B., Adugna B., Gammie T., Simane B., & Mekuriaw, A. (2019). Environmental justice and sustainable development.
In W. Leal Filho (Ed.), Encyclopedia of sustainability in higher education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_277-1
International Federation of Social Workers [IFSW]. (2022). The role of social workers in advancing a new eco-social world.
https://www.ifsw.org/the-role-of-social-workers-in-advancing-a-new-eco-social-world/
Kozol, J. (2012). Savage inequalities: Children in America’s schools. Crown.
Miller, S., & Hayward, R. (2014). Social work education’s role in addressing people and a planet at risk. Social Work Education, 33,
–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2013.805192
National Association of Social Workers. (2017). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.
org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Pellow, D. N. (2018). What is critical environmental justice? Polity Press.
Schmitz, C., & Matyók, T., Sloan, L. & James, C. (2012). The relationship between social work and environmental sustainability:
Implications for interdisciplinary practice. International Journal of Social Welfare, 21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-
2011.00855.x
Teixeira, S., Mathias, J., & Krings, A. (2019). The future of environmental social work: Looking to community initiatives for models
of prevention. Journal of Community Practice, 27(3–4), 414–429.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Copyright © Australian & New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Advances in Social Work & Welfare Education by Australian and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research (ANZSWWER) is licensed underCC BY 4.0