A Qualitative Evaluation of the Social Work Curriculum: Focusing on Sustainable Development and Ecological Justice

Abstract

PurposeThe extant social work literature reveals the need for transformation in the social work curriculum to strengthen its ecological orientation. Focusing on this orientation, this study aims to evaluate the knowledge, skills and value base of the curriculum from the perspective of social work academics in the context of sustainable development and ecological justice.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative case study recruited 11 participants via the criterion-based sampling method using the snowball technique. In-depth interviews were conducted for data collection. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted using MAXQDA 2022.FindingsThe findings revealed that education based on knowledge, skills and values in the human-centered work curriculum, which focuses only on the human component in the social work curriculum, is a significant obstacle to strengthening the curriculum's ecological orientation. To achieve such an orientation, human-nature interaction should be emphasized under all three pillars, and ecological justice and sustainable development should be integrated into the social work curriculum.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first attempt in the field to focus on "ecological justice" and "sustainable development" as a way to strengthen the ecological orientation within the knowledge, skills and value base of the social work curriculum.