Transforming the curriculum: social work education and ecological consciousness

Abstract

Virtually from its inception as a professional activity, social work has had an interest in the interactions between people and their environment. Indeed this interest has seen the emergence of a number of influential theoretical orientations and practice theories, including the 'person-in-environment' and ecological approaches (see, for example, Germain, 1979; Germain & Gitterman, 1980; Karls, 2002). However, within social work, environment and ecology have often been conceptualized as almost exclusively social domains, neglecting to take into account broader relationships between humans and the non-human world. For over a decade, a small number of writers have advanced the argument that a more fully developed, expanded ecological orientation was needed in social work, (for example, Berger & Kelly, 1993; Besthorn, 2000; Coates, 2003a; Hoff & Polack, 1993; Park, 1996). While the evidence suggests that an expanded ecological orientation remains a marginalized perspective in social work, there are hopeful signs that the profession might be ready to begin shifting from its traditionally narrow view.