The state of eco-social work training in Canada: Transformative praxis for climate constrained futures

Abstract

As climate disasters increase, social workers will increasingly be called upon to help communities with the related dislocations, eco-anxieties, and social transformations. This article explores the extent to which Canadian social work schools are preparing social workers to advance socio-ecological justice. It examines the coursework in these programmes as new standards come into effect in 2023. We consider radical, eco-social, feminist and Indigenous pedagogies, and focus on how experiential learning and transformative hope can address the manifold systemic challenges we now face. Rather than bolting eco-education onto existing programming, radical perspectives and transformative praxis must be embedded into social work.