Case Studies in Sustainable Social Work: MSW Students Explore Principles in Practice

Jones (2010) believes an action-oriented approach to social work education can provide transformative experiences for students that highlight the importance of understanding ecological systems and the potential negative impacts of degrading those systems on human and community health and wellness, a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sustainability education 2017-01
Main Authors: Jones, Kevin, Merritt, Lindsay, Brown, Ashley, ShelDavidson, Nulliner, Diana, Smart, Jennine, Walden, Lisa, Winges-Yanez, Nick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Education
Environmental conditions
Social work
Social workers
Students
Sustainability
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Jones (2010) believes an action-oriented approach to social work education can provide transformative experiences for students that highlight the importance of understanding ecological systems and the potential negative impacts of degrading those systems on human and community health and wellness, as well as the urgency of integrating environmental concerns in social work practice settings. Two important elements of these efforts are highlighting the ways that sustainability theories, principles, and goals are directly relevant to social work, and providing specific examples of issues and contexts that could and would be addressed by sustainability-oriented practice. [...]sustainability initiatives like the ones described here are successfully integrated into all aspects of social work education, it is important to offer focused opportunities for students to have exposure to and experiment with sustainability-related concepts. [...]the discussion section identifies some of the major advantages of the case study assignment for students, several limitations of the approach, and describes some implications for the future of social work education. For the class’s culminating project, each student completed a case study of an organization, program, or initiative using a sustainability assessment framework in a social work context.
ISSN:2151-7452