Social Work Students Respond to Greening Social Work Curriculum: “It is Important to See a Change in the Narrative”

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to present students’ responses to learning about community development and groupwork within the context of the natural world and human communities under threat, sometimes referred to as “greening the curriculum”. Students’ perceptions of such greening initiatives are currently underrepresented in the literature. The community development and group work unit under study was part of an Australian qualifying Masters of Social Work program. Students’ perceptions of greening the curriculum were examined using a case study methodology, with quantitative and qualitative data collected. Their responses provided insight into efficacy of the Unit. Results indicated that students’ awareness of the connections between social work, the natural environment, and ecological justice increased, and their confidence to carry this connection forward into their social work practice was strengthened. These results illustrate how students with no prior, or little, interest in “green social work” can achieve deep, meaningful, and even transformative progress towards ecological social work practice. IMPLICATIONS Embedding ecological justice content into community development and group work curriculum can provide a holistic context for learning. The inclusion of ecological justice in social work curricula can be transformative for students and future social work practice. The student “voice” adds to the growing impetus of ecological justice in social work curriculum.